Music: {allcanada} Playoff Countdown: Big night for Panthers, Senators

Angelina Jolie / Grey's Anatomy / NHL Hockey / IndyCar

Tuesday is an important night in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Bruins (38-25-13), who currently occupy that spot, along with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, their two closest pursuers, are all in action. The Senators (37-26-12) trail the Bruins by three points and the Panthers (35-26-15) are four back.

The Panthers' season could hinge on the result of their game against the Bruins at TD Garden. A regulation win would pull them within two points; a regulation loss would drop them six behind. Each team will have five regular-season games remaining after Tuesday.

The Senators visit the Detroit Red Wings (40-23-12) looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Ottawa had overtaken Boston in the standings on the strength of goalie Andrew Hammond's 14-0-1 run to begin his NHL career, but Hammond lost his first game in regulation to the New York Rangers last Thursday and the Senators were defeated by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers over the weekend with Craig Anderson in net.

The Senators hold a game in hand on the Bruins and Panthers.

The Washington Capitals (41-25-10), who lead the Bruins by three points for the first wild card, will try to draw closer to home-ice advantage in the first round against the Carolina Hurricanes (28-36-11). Alex Ovechkin is one shy of his NHL-leading 50th goal for the Capitals, who are three points behind the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins and third-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.

The Tampa Bay Lightning (47-23-7), who clinched a playoff berth Monday, can take over first place in the Atlantic with a win at the Maple Leafs (28-42-6). The Lightning are one point behind the Montreal Canadiens, who they defeated 5-3 to complete a sweep of the season series.

Only two games Tuesday feature Western Conference teams, but each has an impact on the playoff race.

The Vancouver Canucks (44-27-5) aim for their second win in as many nights when they visit the Nashville Predators (47-22-8), who would take a five-point lead atop the Central if they're victorious. The Canucks are second in the Pacific, two points ahead of the third-place Calgary Flames (42-28-7) and five up on the Los Angeles Kings (37-25-14).

The idle Anaheim Ducks would clinch the Pacific title if the Canucks lose in any fashion.

The Winnipeg Jets (39-25-12) face a test on home ice against one of the best teams in the East in the New York Rangers (47-21-7). The Jets are two points ahead of the Kings for the second wild card in the West. Each team has six games remaining and Los Angeles holds the regulation/overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker (Kings 35, Jets 32).

Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is expected to make his second start after returning from a vascular injury for New York, which lost consecutive games over the weekend to the Bruins and Capitals.

Here's a closer look at the action Tuesday:

Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, FS-F, NESN)

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; FS-CR, CSN-DC)

New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, FS-O)

Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; TVA, SUN, TSN4)

Ottawa Senators at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, FS-D)

Vancouver Canucks at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-TN)

New York Rangers at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN3)

The top three teams in each division will make up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots are filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It is possible for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends just three.

Seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the fewest points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second-fewest points.

The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. There is no reseeding as the tournament moves to the second round and winners of that series advance to the conference championship series and the right to play in the Stanley Cup Final.

NHL / Ordinary World / Pamela Anderson / Reese Witherspoon