Looking North: Flames making late playoff push, Jets close in on top spot

Welcome to the 13th edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to April 9.

There's no shortage of North Division plots to follow heading into the final stretch of the season. With many fresh faces entering the race following the trade deadline, we're in for quite the finish.

The Calgary Flames kept themselves in playoff contention with three straight wins last week. Calgary is 8-10-1 since hiring Darryl Sutter, but perhaps this group is starting to find its legs under Sutter's approach. Has the club found another gear? Or will it cool off and fizzle out down the stretch?

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets tightened the gap behind the first-place Maple Leafs with a big win over Toronto on Thursday. After losing three straight games, the Leafs are just three points ahead of Winnipeg with three contests remaining between the sides.

The Ottawa Senators continue to show signs of improvement, while the Montreal Canadiens have struggled to gain momentum. Montreal picked up an impressive 4-2 victory over Toronto before laying an egg against Calgary at home two nights later.

With just one game on their schedule, the Edmonton Oilers have been idle since Saturday's loss to the Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks remain sidelined due to the club's COVID-19 outbreak.

The rundown

*The NHL postponed all of the Canucks' games since last Friday.

The stars

Forward: Nik Ehlers was dynamite once again last week for the Jets. The 6-foot winger led the club with four goals, including a pair of tallies in Winnipeg's big win against the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Defense: Like a true captain, Mark Giordano got the Flames rolling with time running out to salvage their season. The veteran rearguard tallied two goals and five points, and Calgary owned an expected goals for percentage of 57.52 at five-on-five with him patrolling the ice.

Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom has started to look more like the $36-million netminder the Flames were expecting. The Swedish puck-stopper collected all three wins for the club last week and allowed just three goals on 70 shots for a sparkling .967 save percentage. If Markstrom can catch fire down the stretch, Calgary's playoff hopes are still very much alive.

Canadian of the week

Mark Scheifele has been invaluable to the Jets' success all season, but the 28-year-old has taken his game up another level with captain Blake Wheeler sidelined with a concussion. Scheifele, who sits seventh in league scoring, added to his team-leading point total with two goals and four helpers through four outings last week. The Ontario native is also riding a six-game point streak. Winnipeg is tough to stop when Scheifele is at the top of his game.

The moments

Lucic celebrates game No. 1,000 the old-fashioned way 🥊

Milan Lucic had a milestone night to remember. The veteran set up the club's first goal before dropping the mitts with Leafs forward Scott Sabourin. Lucic picked up a trophy scar in the seemingly commemorative tilt, which seems only fitting for one of his generation's toughest competitors.

Matthews makes goal-scoring history🚨

Auston Matthews was firing on all cylinders once again this week, and his hat trick against the Senators was one for the record books. On his second tally of the night - which came just 39 seconds after his first - Matthews became the first U.S.-born player to net 30 goals in each of his first five campaigns.

Johnny Gaudreau gets best of former teammate 🏒

Former Flames netminder David Rittich knows all about Johnny Gaudreau's world-class mitts, and it took less than one minute into overtime for "Johnny Hockey" to put them on display. Gaudreau beat Rittich with a silky dangle, which the Czech netminder had likely seen plenty of times in practice, to lift the Flames over the Leafs and spoil Rittich's debut with Toronto.

The question

Will the Canucks finish their season? They've endured a difficult COVID-19 outbreak and some players have voiced the need for more recovery time. The NHL can only expand its window so long, and Vancouver is already all but out of the playoff race.

Stat of the week

Rittich became the first goalie since Steve Passmore in March 2001 to be traded and play his former team in his first game with his new club. The Czech puck-stopper was steady in his Maple Leafs debut, turning aside 25 of 28 shots in the overtime loss to Calgary.

Games to watch

The Flames can move within two points of the Canadiens when the clubs meet in Montreal on Friday. The Habs have a few games in hand, but they can't afford to get too comfortable down the stretch.

Meanwhile, the Jets continue their push for the top spot in the division with a matchup with the Oilers on Saturday before opening a critical three-game set at home against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.