Bolts By The Bay Mailbag: Who Are The Biggest Threats To The Tampa Bay Lightning In The Eastern Conference

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Mar 1, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop (30) makes a save as Florida Panthers center Jonathan Huberdeau (11) looks for a rebound in the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

With six spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs now filled, the remaining teams will battle it out for the last two Wild Card spots.

Last season, the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins both made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after they claimed the two wildcard spots that were up for grabs. This year, a new crop of teams will end up having to battle for these wild card positions due to the strength of their respective divisions.

The way I see it, the Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, and Philadelphia Flyers will be the six teams looking to slide into these last two playoff spots. These spots are usually decided towards the end of the regular season with the final game sometimes being the deciding factor as to whether a team will be playing in the postseason or booking their tee times at the local golf course.

The way these remaining spots will be decided will once again come down to the regular season finally for four of the six teams. The Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins will be competitive, but will fall out of the race as the regular season continues to wind down. That leaves Florida, Columbus, Ottawa, and New York (Islanders) as the teams that will battle it out for the remaining two spots.

The Panthers end the year with games against the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes. If the Cats can win both of those games then they will find themselves in one of those two spots. The Columbus Blue Jackets end their regular season with three games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and Chicago Blackhawks.

If all goes as predicted, Columbus should go against two of the weaker Atlantic Division opponents and a Hawks team looking to rest its players up for the postseason. The stretch that will make the biggest difference in their playoff future is a brutal four game homes stand between March 8th-17th against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings twice. If the team can do well during that tough stretch then they can find themselves in it at the end.

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The Ottawa Senators have a tough back end of their schedule, but it will really get tough between March 19th to the final game of the regular season where the team will face all opponents that will have above a .500 record. Some of these teams will be leaders in their divisions while others will be fighting for their playoff lives. A disadvantage for Ottawa? Many of these teams are from the Western Conference so even defeating these teams will not allow them to gain any ground if their competitors win.

Same is true for the New York Islanders who have a tough back end of the schedule, but they will face all Eastern Conference teams. That includes many teams that will be in the wildcard race as well. If the Isles can take care of business then they are in.

Final Projected Eastern Conference Wild Card Standings

1. X- Florida Panthers (100 points)

2. X- New York Islanders (99 points)

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (96 points)

4.Ottawa Senators (95 points)

5. Philadelphia Flyers (89 point)

6. Boston Bruins (86 points)

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