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On the Fly: 4 regular-season finale predictions

Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

With another wildly entertaining NHL season set to wrap in a little over two weeks - the production quality's been great, there's been tons of drama - we're using this week's roundtable to predict what some of the standings will look like when each team's played 82 games.

Sens will steal Atlantic from Habs

Navin Vaswani: I'll be honest: I've been doubting the Ottawa Senators all season long. So it's time to right some wrongs. Or at least try to.

Sure, Guy Boucher's team squandered a golden opportunity last weekend, earning only one of four points against the Montreal Canadiens in a crucial home-and-home set, and, sure, Ottawa's got a far tougher schedule the rest of the way, but the Sens have been surprising all season. What's another couple of weeks? It would be a hell of a plot twist.

Team Games Left VS. Playoff Teams Home Road
Canadiens 8 1 4 4
Senators 9 4 2 7

That one game the Canadiens have left against a playoff opponent? It's Ottawa. Again. Saturday, in Montreal.

After play Thursday, the Sens are a single point back of the Habs with a game in hand. Easy enough, right? But Saturday's game in Montreal is the first of a five-game road trip for Ottawa, ending April 3.

In other words: It won't be easy, but the Sens are about to pull off a bloody miracle, led by captain Erik Karlsson, who in the process will put the finishing touches on his Norris Trophy-winning season.

Sharks will take Pacific crown

Craig Hagerman: It's going to be a tight one down the stretch, but the San Jose Sharks will prevail as winners of the Pacific Division.

Sure, things aren't looking too good for the club - San Jose has dropped its last four games in regulation - but the Sharks will bounce back.

The team hadn't dropped four straight in regulation until its recent downturn, but during a stretch between Feb. 4 and Feb. 11, the club lost four in a row, three in extra time. After that stretch, the Sharks went on a tear, going 4-0-2 in their next six games.

It should also be noted that Brent Burns - who leads the club in scoring - has not picked up a single point in his last seven games, despite averaging four shots per game during. He's bound to break out.

Factor in the club's two-point divisional lead and the fact San Jose will play the Canucks twice down the stretch - a club the Sharks have gone 3-0-0 against this season - and it's clear that if the Sharks can just get back to what they were doing, they should come away with their first division title since 2011.

Leafs, Bruins going back to the dance

Cory Wilkins: Get ready to welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins back to the postseason, who last made the dance in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and will do so this year ahead of Carolina, Tampa Bay, and the New York Islanders.

After finishing 30th a year ago, Toronto has been a more consistent club this season, losing three straight games in regulation just once. Led by a host of rookie talent, the Maple Leafs are on pace for a 95-point finish, their best mark since 2004.

Following a Feb. 7 coaching change, Boston has reeled off 12 wins in 18 games under Bruce Cassidy, who has tapped into the team's key players to reset the Bruins' season.

A similar occurrence happened in Brooklyn under coach Doug Weight. But after posting a 13-5-2 record in their first 20 under the new bench boss, New York has stumbled through the wrong stretch of the season, going 5-for-11 in March.

The Lightning looked to be making a late surge, but key injuries and crucial losses in winnable games hampered the team's effort. The same can be said in Carolina, where the Hurricanes have had an impressive showing in March, but it won't be enough to make up for inconsistent play early on.

Presidents' Trophy staying in D.C.

Justin Cuthbert: The three teams racing for the Metropolitan crown and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs don't need to be reminded what's at stake over the final two weeks and change. In this imperfect seeding system, the paper-thin margin that will separate first and second in the league's top division will be the difference between drawing a title contender and a hanger-on in Round 1.

But while all three teams recognize the importance of a first-place finish, the significance to each may vary. Perhaps it's water off the back of the defending champion Penguins, and the pressure to win a championship can't yet be inordinate for the upstart Blue Jackets. But for the Capitals, who have come up agonizingly short so many times over the last decade, and who will unquestionably bleed away talent this summer, squandering this chance would be devastating.

With that in mind, and in addition to perhaps a slightly more favorable schedule, the Capitals secure a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy, avoiding a rotten opening-round draw.

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