The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't play on Tuesday, but there was a lot of movement in the NHL affecting their position in the standings and the playoff races.
While the Penguins (36-30-12, 84 points) kept their third place for the second — and final — wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the two teams directly ahead of them and behind them switched positions for second place.
The Washington Capitals (37-30-11, 85 points) secured that spot with a 2-1 road win against the Detroit Red Wings (38-32-8, 84 points) at Little Caesars Arena. This pushed the Red Wings behind the Penguins into fourth place. The Penguins have the second tiebreaker over the Red Wings with 31 regulation wins compared to the Red Wings' 27.
The Penguins will host the Red Wings on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
In the Metropolitan Division, the New York Islanders (36-27-15, 87 points) strengthened their hold on third place with a 4-2 home victory against the New York Rangers at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
Further down the standings, the Philadelphia Flyers (36-32-11, 83 points) were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens, 9-3, at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils (37-37-5, 79 points) suffered a 5-2 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The Buffalo Sabres (37-36-5, 79 points) played against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center in a road game that started at 8:08 p.m.
