5 storylines to watch down the regular-season stretch

The NHL's regular season is less than four weeks from its conclusion, but before you shift into playoff mode, there are plenty of reasons to monitor the remainder of the schedule.

Here are five of the most intriguing storylines to keep an eye on as the 2018-19 campaign wraps up.

1. Lightning chasing history

For nearly the entire season, 30 teams have stared up the standings at the Tampa Bay Lightning and their potentially record-setting pace. The Bolts have already matched the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings as the fastest teams in history to reach 50 victories in a season (66 games) and need to win nine of their final 12 contests to tie those same Red Wings for the wins record at 62. It's a tall task, but if Tampa falls short, it's nothing to fret about - only three teams have eclipsed 120 points in a season in the last 23 years, a feat the Lightning will achieve with five more victories.

It's also worth monitoring the closing stretch for Lightning dynamo and MVP favorite Nikita Kucherov, who's on pace for the NHL's first 130-point campaign since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

2. Pressure's on for Blue Jackets

Since general manager Jarmo Kekalainen pushed his chips to the middle of the table and added both Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel at the trade deadline, the Columbus Blue Jackets are just 3-5-0. Those troubling results have left the team with a tenuous hold on the East's second wild-card position, an unsettling situation for the organization.

Kekalainen was under the gun even before the season began due to the uncertain futures of pending unrestricted free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. He's since added two more UFAs, leaving his franchise only two 2019 draft picks in the process. If the Blue Jackets miss the cut after such a major gamble, it can only be viewed as a catastrophic failure.

3. Battle for seeding

The NHL's oft-criticized playoff format has created unenviable scenarios for a handful of the league's elite teams. In the Atlantic, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are essentially locked into a first-round meeting for the second straight year, despite being two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. Though the matchup is predetermined, home-ice advantage is still on the line, with the Leafs sitting four points back of the Bruins with 13 games to go.

In the West, the battle for the Pacific Division crown is of massive importance. The Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks are separated by just one point in the standings, and whoever finishes in front likely gets a date with the second wild-card team (currently the Minnesota Wild). The runner-up, meanwhile, will face a first-round bout with the Vegas Golden Knights, who've lost just one game since acquiring Mark Stone.

The Flames and Sharks play their final regular-season clash March 31 in San Jose in what could be one of the biggest games of the year.

4. Droughts over?

Further down the standings, two of the league's three longest active postseason droughts could be snapped this spring. The Carolina Hurricanes are engaged in a battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metro and are in good shape to claim a wild-card spot if they fall short. Since Jan. 1, the Hurricanes have surged up the standings, sporting a 22-7-2 record and a plus-32 goal differential. If Carolina hangs on to make the dance, it'll be its first playoff appearance since 2009.

In the Western Conference, the surprisingly hot Arizona Coyotes are making a charge at a wild-card berth, sitting one point back of the Wild with a game in hand entering Tuesday. The Coyotes are gaining ground on the strength of a stingy defensive scheme and the play of goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who owns a .924 save percentage in 17 starts since the beginning of February. If Arizona squeaks in, it will be for the first time since 2012.

5. Awards race

Though Kucherov has a viselike grip on the Hart, multiple major awards still lack clear-cut winners at this point of the season.

Who ends up with the Norris? Will it be Brent Burns and his 89-point pace, or will 35-year-old Mark Giordano finally get the nod for his best season yet? What about Morgan Rielly, who leads all blue-liners with 18 goals and 39 even-strength points? All three play for teams entrenched in playoff spots, so their individual performances down the stretch will likely decide the end-of-year voting.

The fate of the Jack Adams Award is also up in the air. Barry Trotz has transformed the New York Islanders into a potential division winner in his first year with the team, but is his case stronger than Jon Cooper's? The latter has the more talented roster, but he and the Bolts have kept the rest of the league in check without a peep this season. The Lightning also own the league's top power play and penalty kill, leaving plenty to consider before the hardware is handed out.