Canadian NHL teams eye playoff spots

The embarrassment of an empty Canadian spring in the NHL has been wiped away.

Canadian teams have made huge strides from last season, when all seven squads missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 1970.

In fact, five of the seven biggest leaps in points from last season to this season are projected to come from Canadian clubs, with the second-biggest coming out of Edmonton.

Edmonton: Connor McDavid has been the MVP candidate we expected, running primarily with emerging star Leon Draisaitl and surprise 25-goal-man Patrick Maroon. Add in Cam Talbot’s stable netminding and the Oilers are headed for their first post-season in more than a decade.

Toronto: The Leafs owe their big leap primarily to a rookie class fronted by Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Improvement in goal from Frederik Andersen has helped, too.

Montreal: A jump from last season’s swoon was to be expected with the return of Carey Price from injury.

Calgary: Brian Elliott has delivered in goal. Sprinkle in better second half performances from Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, improvement on the back-end and a hearty year-long performance from a Matthew Tkachuk-led trio and the Flames are headed back to the playoffs.

Ottawa: Guy Boucher has transformed the Senators into a considerably more effective defensive entity from last season, an evolution that’s been led by captain Erik Karlsson.

Winnipeg and Vancouver: The Jets have been a disappointment, with instability in goal the biggest issue, and the Canucks are only starting to show signs of a rebuild.