Their spot in the playoffs clinched, the Boston Bruins took their foot off the gas in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Barry Trotz has coached the third-most games in NHL history. He's got a pretty good idea why the New York Islanders followed up clinching a playoff berth by suffering back-to-back losses to the worst team in the NHL.

There is the jostling at the top of the East standings to watch, of course. The Pittsburgh Penguins' final two games, Thursday and Saturday at home against the Buffalo Sabres, will help determine the final order among the division's four playoff teams.

Even during the three consecutive wins that put them back in the driver's seat to claim a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens went through a dangerous trend for a team that expects to make some noise in the second season.

The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to stay in playoff mode for the final few games of the regular season.

Edmonton's Connor McDavid has brushed off talk about scoring 100 points in this pandemic-shortened NHL season.