Down Goes Brown's Weekend Review: Playoff Teams Snake-Bitten by Injuries to Star Players

(Editor's note: Sean McIndoe looks back at recent play in the NHL and the league's biggest storylines in his weekend review. You can follow him on Twitter.)

With one week left in the regular season and the playoffs drawing near, hockey fans have turned their attention to the usual questions: Who's in? Who's out? Who's playing who? Who's hot, who's cold, and who's got the clearest path to the final?

This year, another question is starting to loom even larger: Who's healthy?

The quick answer, as always, is "nobody" because this is the NHL and everyone is banged up in one way or another by this point. But this year, there are some very significant names showing up on injury reports around the league in the season's final days, and many of them are big enough to change the perception of some team's playoff chances.

The latest bombshell arrived late Saturday evening, with news breaking that Lightning captain Steven Stamkos would need to undergo surgery for a blood clot in his arm. He'll miss at least a month, and could be sidelined until after the final. While the good news is that the clots apparently won't impact his long-term health outlook, the timing is devastating to a Lightning team that had been considered a favourite to come out of the Atlantic, if not the Eastern Conference. The team had already lost key defenceman Anton Stralman to a broken leg that's left him hoping for a return "at some point." Losing Stamkos too may be enough to shift Tampa Bay from Conference favourite to first-round underdog. (And now, even potential AHL saviour Jonathan Drouin is apparently hurt, too.)

The Stamkos story followed on the heels of Saturday morning's news from Pittsburgh that Marc-Andre Fleury has been shut down with his second concussion of the season. That's a major blow to a team that had emerged as a legitimate Cup threat under new coach Mike Sullivan. We don't yet know how long Fleury will be out, but an extended absence would put all the playoff pressure on 21-year-old rookie Matt Murray. (For what it's worth, Murray has looked very good in his nine career games, including a 24-save shutout against the Islanders after the Fleury news broke on Saturday.)

Fleury isn't the only playoff-bound goaltender on the sidelines with a head injury. The Ducks announced Friday that sometimes-starter Frederik Andersen is out indefinitely with a concussion. Anaheim will also be without forward David Perron, who'll miss four to six weeks with a separated shoulder.

And then there's the ongoing mystery of Blackhawks starter Corey Crawford. He hasn't played since March 14 due to what the team is calling an upper-body injury, and there's been plenty of speculation over exactly what that might mean. The team still says it still hopes to have Crawford back in time for the playoffs, but with a tough first-round matchup looming, any sort of absence—or even rust—could spell disaster. Meanwhile, the Hawks have also lost Andrew Shaw to injury and Duncan Keith to a suspension, and could now be without Marian Hossa, who left Sunday's game after a collision and did not return.

The list continues. Tyler Seguin of the Stars. Travis Hamonic and Jaroslav Halak of the Islanders. Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the Sharks. Jay Bouwmeester of the Blues. Marian Gaborik of the Kings. All big names, all sidelined as the season winds down, all hoping to return for the playoffs but none a sure thing.

Any predictions of injury-related doom and gloom at this time of year need to be taken with a grain of salt—the star player who misses time late but manages to miraculously recover just in time for the playoffs is a story we've seen before. But the flood of big names on the injury report could be enough to tilt the balance of power in at least a series or two. And we still have a week to add to the list…

The five teams with the best shot at winning the Stanley Cup.

5. Chicago Blackhawks (46-26-7, +25 true goals differential)—I should have slipped the Penguins in here and dropped Chicago off the list. Then I watched the shorthanded Hawks speedbag what should have been a desperate Bruins team for 35 minutes Sunday and I went "Oh yeah, these guys." Then I watched the last 25 minutes and went "Wait, I'm confused." I remain confused.

4. Los Angeles Kings (46-27-5, +30)—They hold their spot in our top five, but the Ducks have passed them again for top spot in the Pacific.

3. St. Louis Blues (47-23-9, +22)—The mission for the week is simple: Catch the Stars over the final three games, or face the Blackhawks in round one.

2. Dallas Stars (48-23-9, +34)—After Sunday's loss to the Ducks, they're still two points up but the Blues have a game in hand. If needed, the Stars will own the tie-breaker.

1. Washington Capitals (55-17-6, +57)—Given all those injuries above, it's hard not to notice that the league's best regular season team is heading into the playoffs relatively healthy. (Nicklas Backstrom missed the weekend games but is expected back shortly.) So if you're Barry Trotz and you've got the top seed locked up, how many guys do you rest this week to keep it that way?

With a week to go in the season and plenty still left to be decided, it's time to take a look at the key games on the remaining schedule. Here are the ten most important matchups left for the league's contenders.

April 4: Lightning at Islanders—The injury-racked Lightning are in a weird spot—still gunning for first in the Atlantic, yet not quite locked into a playoff spot. They finish their season with a four-game road trip, one that starts with a trip to New York to play the Islanders and Rangers on back-to-back nights. Those games will provide some clarity on both Tampa Bay's fate and the Metro's seeding picture.

April 6: Flyers at Red Wings—With the two teams tied at 91 points, one up on the ninth-place Bruins, this one stands as quite possibly the biggest game left on the schedule. The two teams have a combined five games left after this one, so it's unlikely to be a mathematical elimination game. But it could be close, and Bruins fans are praying for a regulation result.

April 7: Red Wings at Bruins—With their playoff streak on the line heading into the final week, the Red Wings can say that they control their own destiny. Getting the rested Bruins in the second half of a road back-to-back is tough, though.

April 7: Penguins at Capitals—Up until a week or two ago, this one felt like a surefire first-round matchup. The Pens' late-season push has all but ruined that idea. Now it feels like a surefire second-round matchup. Hey, why did all the old-school Caps fans just start crying? Oh.

April 7: Islanders at Rangers—Speaking of surefire first-round matchups ruined by the Penguins… (Shakes head.) (Hums a few bars of Tiffany's "Could've Been.") (Cries a little.) Still, this one could determine whether the Islanders' recent woes could actually drop them all the way out of the playoff picture.

April 7: Blues and Blackhawks—Now here's a first-round matchup that really does look like it might happen. This could be the Blues' chance to send a message to the suddenly shaky Hawks… or to avoid them altogether by making one last push at the Central title.

April 7: Ducks at Kings—This looks an awful lot like the game that will decide the Pacific Division crown. It also features two teams that everyone has already penciled in for a second-round matchup. Also, they're both very good and they hate each other. Yes, please.

April 9: Predators at Stars—Saturday sees all 30 teams in action, and features plenty of games that could decide the remaining playoff spots and seeding. This one could be the game that determines the top spot in the Central. It could also be a Western Conference final preview, because the NHL's crossover playoff system is weird.

April 9: Capitals at Blues—A season finale matchup between two of the league's best teams, one that could even serve as a Stanley Cup final preview? Maybe. More likely, a Caps team that's resting its stars against a Blues team that needs the easy win. Still, we can hope.

April 10: Flyers at Islanders—As one of two games on the schedule's final day, this one could be meaningless. It could also determine who gets the East's final wild-card spot—and it's not out of the question that the Islanders could be the odd team out. And even if both teams are locked into wild cards, this could decide who stays in the Metro and who has to cross over to the Atlantic.

The five teams with the best chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

5. Winnipeg Jets (32-39-8, -26)—They played spoilers with Sunday's 5-1 win over the Wild. Specifically, spoiling their own lottery odds.

4. Vancouver Canucks (29-36-13, -46)—A pair of wins over the Sharks and Ducks. Huh. Did not see that coming.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-39-8, -41)—Brandon Saad had his first career hat trick on Saturday, and look Columbus, you take the good news where you can get it.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs (28-39-11, -40)—The Penguins have clinched a playoff spot, meaning the Leafs officially own their first-round pick in this year's draft. Thank you, Kessel.

1. Edmonton Oilers (30-43-7, -47)—Pretty epic post-game rant by Todd McLellan on Saturday. Might want to pace yourself, coach. Save some of that for next year. (And the year after. And the year after that.)

Well, we did it for the good teams, so I guess fairness dictates we should extend the same courtesy to the dregs of the league. With odds in the April 30 draft lottery still at stake, here are five key games remaining in the NHL's race to the bottom. Will one of them end up being the game that changes history by determining the lottery results? Here's hoping so, because otherwise they're going to be painful to watch.

April 6: Canucks at Oilers—The first of two remaining games between these two (they also meet on Saturday in Vancouver, as part of one of those modern-day NHL home-and-homes where there's a few days off and an extra game wedged in between for some reason). Those California wins have nudged the Canucks out of the running for last place overall, but two losses to the Oilers could nudge them right back in, or within range.

April 6: Blue Jackets at Maple Leafs—Neither team has had anything to play for since December, and both come into this week clinging to an outside shot at last place overall. We should really come up with some sort of trophy for any last-place battle between these two habitually awful teams, but unfortunately the CWHL is already using the obvious name.

April 7: Canucks at Flames—A meeting between two teams who are in danger of climbing the standings with a late-season win or two. Speaking of which: check out the remaining schedules for the Jets and Coyotes. Seven road games, seven Cup contenders… I mean, a combined 0-7 is absolutely on the table here, right?

April 8: Blue Jackets at Sabres—This one stands out as the best game on Friday's schedule. It's also the only game on Friday's schedule. The Sabres have been pulling out of bottom-five contention, but a well-timed loss here could give their odds a nice boost.

April 10: Oilers at Canucks—Considering Oiler fans apparently still aren't over this ill-timed win from the 2007 season finale against the Flames, I can only imagine how they'd handle earning two crucial points here to knock themselves out of last place on the season's penultimate day. Let's find out!

Of course, this being the NHL, fans of all of the teams above will be rooting for losses. There's a better way, one that would transform these games from into actual must-see, maybe even winner-take-all contests. On that note, let's welcome Coyotes captain Shane Doan as the latest wise man to hop on the Gold Plan bandwagon. Here are you updated standings, based on an alternate NHL universe in which the draft order is determined by points accrued after elimination.

* The date that the team began accruing points, i.e. the day after they were mathematically eliminated (as calculated by Sports Club Stats).

• There may be no bigger story in the league right now than the Bruins, who've lost seven of nine and fallen out of a playoff spot as we enter the final week. They still control their own destiny, and the remaining schedule isn't intimidating. But given how GM Don Sweeney played the trade deadline, you'd have to think that major changes will follow if the Bruins do miss the postseason. Claude Julien has been on the hot seat for years; hard to imagine him surviving this potential collapse.

• It's all but over in the West, where the Wild are up by five over an Avalanche team that's down to three games to play. One Wild win, or one Avs loss, and it's over. In related news, Patrick Roy is ripping his stars.

• Wednesday night's matchup between the Oilers and Canucks will be the last regular season game at Rexall Place.

• Some potential big news out of Detroit, as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports that Pavel Datsyuk could be headed back to Russia after this season. GM Ken Holland issues a statement that didn't exactly sound like a denial. If Datsyuk leaves, his $7.5 million cap hit for next year would stay on the Red Wings' books.

• An interesting late-season subplot to follow in Chicago: Rookie Artemi Panarin's quest to finish among the top ten scoring forwards, which would earn him a $1.725 million bonus (and potentially throw a wrench into the Hawks' cap situation next year).

• As if things weren't looking grim enough in Brooklyn, word is that Islanders' players are getting fed up with the ice conditions at Barclays Center.

• The Panthers have made the playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history, thanks to a big comeback win over the Canadiens on Saturday. The bandwagon is filling up quickly, so please reserve your spot now.

• Hey, everyone, just a quick reminder that it's 2016. Please stop doing this.

• And finally, everyone's favourite feel-good story is coming back to the NHL. John Scott has been recalled and will join the Canadiens this week. We now have a fitting ending to the terrible movie we're all going to feel obligated to pretend is good in five years.