The Carolina Hurricanes have reached the win-or-else point in the season.
Unless the Canes win their road game Friday against the Washington Capitals, they will be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. A loss, whether in regulation, overtime or a shootout will knock them out for the ninth consecutive season.
Even with a victory over the Caps, the Canes would need to win their final four games and have a complete collapse by both the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers to slip into the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That's unlikely.
After Thursday’s NHL games, the Canes (34-32-11) were 10 points behind the Devils (40-28-9), who hold the wild-card spot, and seven points behind the Panthers (39-29-8), who have one game-in-hand on both teams.