The Toronto Maple Leafs' lead for third place in the Atlantic Division is shrinking while their deficit for the second spot is growing, thanks to their current slump. They look to better both situations and salvage the finale of their three-game road trip when they face the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history with almost three weeks left in the regular season, but it won’t be hard for them to keep focus as eight of the final nine games are against teams in the playoff hunt. The Lightning look to knock off the reigning Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals for the second time in five days when they open a three-game road trip on Wednesday.

The Vancouver Canucks remain a long shot to reach the postseason as they kick off a season-high seven-game homestand Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators. Vancouver is six points behind Arizona for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference after back-to-back victories at playoff hopefuls Dallas and Chicago with the Canucks' Bo Horvat telling reporters: "Getting these wins have been really good for our team."

Final-period struggles have hindered the Winnipeg Jets most of the season, but they have found the successful late-game recipe at just the right time entering Wednesday’s road contest against the Anaheim Ducks. Winnipeg earned its third-consecutive one-goal victory Monday, opening a three-game road swing with a 3-2 triumph at Los Angeles as defenseman Tyler Myers netted the game-winning tally in the second period and the Jets made it stick to remain atop the Central Division.