NHL Eastern Conference playoff race a mad scramble among five teams for two spots

Five teams have a realistic chance of capturing the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Those five teams are separated by five points.

Here's a look at each team.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

New York is third in the Metropolitan Division, which would automatically grant a playoff spot as one of the top three teams in a division after winning four straight, the latest a 2-0 home victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday. But with 85 points, the Islanders are just one point ahead of the Red Wings, who hold the final wild-card spot after play on Sunday. 

New York is the third Metropolitan team to occupy third place in the division in the last 10 days. The Flyers were there for much of the season and the Capitals briefly moved into that spot. If the Isles fall out of third place, one of the the concerns is that their 26 regulation wins are the fewest among the five teams. Number of regulation wins is the first tiebreaker. New York has five games remaining.

DETROIT RED WINGS

Detroit is currently in the playoffs with 84 points despite stumbling for over the month. The Red Wings — for the moment, at least — righted themselves with a 3-1 home victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday as Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane and Dylan Larkin scored in the first eight minutes and goalie Alex Lyon made those tallies stand up with 37 saves. 

Unlike the other four teams, who could also make the playoffs by finishing third in the Metropolitan, the Red Wings — of the Atlantic Division — can only make the playoffs via the second wild-card spot. 

The Wings' 27 regulation wins are the second least of the group. Detroit now prepares for possibly its biggest game of the season, hosting the Capitals on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena. Detroit has five games remaining.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

After it appeared that Pittsburgh was out of the playoff picture, the Penguins have gone 6-0-2 to barge back into the race. Pittsburgh defeated the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 at home on Saturday as Michael Bunting broke a 4-4 tie with 5:28 left. 

The biggest reasons for the Penguins' resurgence has been 36-year-old captain Sidney Crosby and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Pittsburgh has 83 points and is tied with Washington, one point behind the Red Wings, but have 31 regulation wins to the Capitals' 28. Pittsburgh has five games left.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Aside from the regulation wins, Washington has the exact same 36-30-11 record as Pittsburgh. The Capitals squandered the chance for an important point and stretched their winless streak to six (0-4-2) in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators at home on Sunday. 

Washington's Ridley Craig tied the contest 2-2 with 7:11 remaining in regulation, but Ottawa 's Jake Sanderson got the winner just 41 seconds into the 3-on-3 extra session. The Capitals have five games remaining.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

After a surprising amount of success in what was expected to be a rebuilding season, Philadelphia has struggled the longest of the five teams. The Flyers have lost 17 of their last 24 (7-12-5) and seven in a row after losing 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and 6-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Flyers also have 83 points, but only have four games left.