Metropolitan race, Bruins, McDavid among questions before playoffs begin

There is one month to go in the NHL regular season, with the final games scheduled for April 14. Despite the shrinking calendar, there are still plenty of questions to be answered before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

Here are the 10 biggest questions from around the League to be answered during the season's final month.
1. Who will finish first in the Metropolitan Division?
The Carolina Hurricanes (44-14-8) and the New Jersey Devils (44-17-6) were tied atop the Metropolitan Division after New Jersey's 3-0 victory against Carolina on Sunday in the final regular season game between the teams. Carolina has 16 games left, including seven against teams currently in playoff spots. New Jersey has 15 games remaining, eight against teams in playoff spots.
The division winner will have home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs and likely will face the first wild card into the postseason from the Eastern Conference. The second-place finisher will likely face the third-place New York Rangers, who trail the Devils by eight points, in the first round.
The Hurricanes led the Devils by eight points on Feb. 1, but New Jersey, perhaps the most surprising team in the NHL this season, has battled back to make it a two-horse race over the final four weeks.
2. Can Jonathan Quick help the Vegas Golden Knights claim the top seed in the West?
After 16 seasons and two Stanley Cup championships with the Los Angeles Kings (2012 and 2014), Quick will try to help the Golden Knights hold off the Kings, among other teams, in a tight race for first in the Western Conference. Vegas (42-20-6) leads the Dallas Stars (37-17-13) and Los Angeles (39-20-9) by three points, and the Minnesota Wild (39-21-8) by four.
Quick is suddenly the Golden Knights' No. 1 goalie after being acquired in a March 2 trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who acquired him from the Kings the previous day. Vegas will rely on the 37-year-old and Jiri Patera, a 24-year-old rookie, for a while because of lower-body injuries to Logan Thompson, Laurent Brossoit and Adin Hill.
In four games since joining Vegas, Quick is 4-0-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout. Patera made 30 saves in his NHL debut, a 5-3 win at the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

3. Will the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals extend their playoff streaks?
The Penguins (34-23-10) are in a much stronger position, tied with the New York Islanders (35-27-8) for the two wild cards in the East, and five ahead of the Florida Panthers (33-27-7), but have work left in their final 15 regular-season games to qualify for the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season.
Washington (33-29-7) faces a steeper climb to qualify for the ninth straight season after trading away five players on expiring contracts before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. The Capitals trail the Penguins and Islanders by five points with 13 games remaining and must also leapfrog the Panthers.
4. Will the Boston Bruins break the NHL wins and points records?
The Bruins (50-11-5) are chasing history, with the NHL records of 62 wins shared by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning and 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings, and 132 points held by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, within their reach. Through 66 games, Boston is on pace for 63 wins and 132 points.
The wins and points records could provide late-season motivation after the Bruins, who have already clinched a playoff berth, will inevitably clinch home-ice advantage throughout the postseason. But will older veterans such as Patrice Bergeron, 37, David Krejci, 36, and Brad Marchand, 34, be rested down the stretch to keep them fresh?

5. How many goals and points will Connor McDavid finish with?
The Edmonton Oilers center leads the NHL and has already set NHL career-highs with 56 goals and 129 points in 68 games, putting him on pace to finish with 67 goals and 155 points.
McDavid would be the first player to score 65 goals in a season since Alex Ovechkin scored 65 for the Capitals in 2007-08 and has a chance to become the first 70-goal scorer in the NHL since Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres and Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets each scored 76 in 1992-93.
Edmonton's captain would also be the first player to reach 150 points since Mario Lemieux had 161 (69 goals, 92 assists) for the Penguins in 1995-96. That was also the last time a player had 160 points.
Wayne Gretzky (nine times) and Lemieux (four times) are the only players in NHL history to score more than 155 points in a season. Steve Yzerman had 155 with Detroit in 1988-89.

6. Will Erik Karlsson reach 100 points?
Karlsson leads NHL defensemen with 85 points (20 goals, 65 assists) in 68 games for the San Jose Sharks this season, putting him on pace to finish with 102. The 32-year-old would be the first at the position to have 100 points in the NHL since Brian Leetch finished with 102 for the Rangers in 1991-92.
Bobby Orr (five times) and Paul Coffey (five times) and Al MacInnis (once) are the only NHL defensemen to get more than 102 points in a season.
7. Can the Panthers figure it out in time to make the playoffs?
The Panthers trail the Penguins and Islanders by five points for the two wild cards in the East with 15 games remaining. After winning the Presidents' Trophy by leading the NHL with 122 points last season, Florida hasn't been as consistent this season, never winning more than three in in a row, but is 3-0-1 in its past four games.
The good news is goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has found his rhythm. Bobrovsky was 11-4-1 with a 2.38 GAA and .924 save percentage in 17 games before allowing five goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, when he played on consecutive days for the first time this season.
8. Can the Nashville Predators or Calgary Flames crash the West playoff party?
The eight playoff teams in the Western Conference appear set, with seeding to be determined, unless the Predators or Flames put together a late push. Nashville (34-24-7) trails the Winnipeg Jets (38-27-3) by four points for the second wild card; Calgary (30-24-14) is five points back.
Despite trading forwards Nino Niederreiter (Jets), Mikael Granlund (Penguins), Tanner Jeannot (Lightning) and defenseman Mattias Ekholm (Oilers) before the deadline, the Predators are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games. The Flames are 3-1-1 in their past five following a 0-3-2 slide.
Nashville has 17 games left, but 13 are against teams in playoff spots. Calgary plays six of its 14 remaining games against teams in playoff spots.

9. When will Gabriel Landeskog play?
The Avalanche forward hasn't played this season after having knee surgery in October for the second time in eight months. Landeskog, who is Colorado's captain, resumed skating in mid-February, but there is no timetable for his return.
The 30-year-old was a key part of the Avalanche's Stanley Cup-winning team last season, getting 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 20 playoff games, and could provide a boost to their repeat bid if he's able to return and find his timing quickly.
10. How much do the Lightning have left?
The Lightning (40-22-6) are solidly in third in the Atlantic Division, 13 points ahead of the fourth-place Panthers. But a 3-5-2 slide raises concern about whether they are running out of gas after three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final, including championships in 2020 and 2021.
Tampa Bay has scored 2.80 goals per game and allowed 3.80 goals over the 10-game stretch after scoring 3.57 goals per game and allowing 2.88 goals per game in their 58 previous games.
The Lightning play eight of their 14 remaining games against teams in playoff spots. Maybe that will force them to find their winning playoff formula before their likely first-round matchup with the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs.