There is guaranteed heartbreak for at least two teams in the NHL’s seven-team Central Division.
Possibly three.
That’s because there’s only room in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the top three teams in each division, plus two wild cards.
In the last two seasons, both Western Conference wild-card teams have come from the Central, which is far and away the deepest of the league’s four divisions.
In the previous two seasons, all members of the Central have been to the playoffs. No other division can boast that — not even close.
The Central’s tightness last season showed only a 19-point gap between first and last place.