Three Canadian teams have already punched their tickets to the postseason, and with some puck luck, two more could follow suit.
Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators can clinch playoff berths on Thursday, joining the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames.
Here is what needs to happen for each club to earn a postseason place:
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs currently hold the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with 93 points, five up on both the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Toronto can clinch a spot if it defeats Tampa Bay in regulation or overtime. Alternately, if Toronto loses to the Lightning in a shootout and the Islanders also lose to the Carolina Hurricanes in any fashion, the Maple Leafs will earn a playoff berth.
Ottawa Senators
The Senators sit one point above the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division, but find themselves in second place behind Montreal. They're tied with the Bruins in points, but have a game in hand over Boston.
In order to earn a spot, the Senators need just a point against the Bruins on Thursday. However, they can also clinch with a regulation loss, as long as both the Lightning and Islanders lose.
It's safe to say there will be a lot of scoreboard watching on Thursday night from Ontario hockey fans.
Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.