The Most Important Games for a conference are those games in the upcoming week whose outcome most changes the final playoff picture. The Importance Factor provides a relative importance between games. Use this table to identify the most interesting Eastern conference games in the upcoming week of play. Click a team name to proceed to the team playoff picture page.
| Game | Importance Factor (0‑∼100) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Home | Visitor | |
| Bruins (12‑8‑0) |
Hurricanes (12‑5‑1) |
8 |
| Rangers (10‑7‑2) |
Red Wings (10‑7‑1) |
7 |
| Blue Jackets (9‑7‑2) |
Canadiens (10‑6‑2) |
7 |
| Avalanche (12‑1‑5) |
Islanders (10‑6‑2) |
7 |
| Capitals (8‑8‑2) |
Kings (10‑5‑4) |
6 |
| Sabres (6‑8‑4) |
Oilers (9‑7‑4) |
5 |
| Lightning (9‑6‑2) |
Canucks (8‑9‑2) |
5 |
| Penguins (9‑5‑4) |
Predators (6‑9‑4) |
5 |