When Tampa Bay hosts the New York Rangers in the regular-season finale on Wednesday, the Lightning know they won’t need to pack their bags postgame.

Thanks to the Canadiens’ 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, the Lightning (50-25-6, 106 points) clinched second place in the Atlantic Division, and Montreal (48-24-10, 106 points) will finish third. The Canadiens will open a first-round playoff series in Tampa this weekend.

While the Lightning, if they lose in regulation to the Rangers, would finish level on points with the Canadiens, Tampa Bay owns the regulation-wins tiebreaker (40-34).

The Rangers (33-39-9, 75 points), who will finish a dreadful campaign last in the Eastern Conference, are 1-1-0 against the Lightning.

The previous matchups have been blowouts. New York won 7-3 at Tampa on Nov. 12, while the Lightning returned the favor in a 4-1 win on the road against the Rangers on Nov. 29.

Darker times were ahead for the Rangers after Black Friday.

Coach Mike Sullivan’s crew fell out of the wild-card race after going 10-17-5 during a three-month stretch in December, January and a truncated February due to the Winter Olympics.

On Monday, the Rangers celebrated the career of retiring goaltender Jonathan Quick, who was starting his final game. However, they lost 3-2 as the Florida Panthers played a defensive-minded game and cashed in three times in their 16 shots and beat the 2011-12 Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

“I thought Quicky played well for us,” said Sullivan, whose group all wore the goalie’s No. 32 sweater in warmups. “Obviously, tonight was about a celebration for him. … He’s an inspiration to all of us, just in his example and how he carries himself. In a lot of ways, he personifies what we hope to become as a group.

“His work ethic, his attention to detail, just incredible attitude. His professionalism is second to no one’s. … We’re all better that we’ve had the opportunity to work with him.”

The Lightning recorded a 4-3 overtime victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, helping them keep pace with Montreal after they squandered a two-goal lead entering the third period.

Nikita Kucherov scored 27 seconds into overtime on his team’s first possession by finishing a give-and-go created by Brayden Point, leading to a two-on-one rush that produced the victory.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper thinks Kucherov should be awarded a second Hart Trophy after winning his first for the 2018-19 season. He leads Tampa Bay in goals (44), assists (86) and points (130).

“There are some fabulous players in this league. … He’s pretty darn important to us,” said Cooper after his team put itself in position to control its playoff destination this weekend. “Could you make a case for a bunch of guys? Yes. But I think it’s pretty evident that Kuch has made a name for himself this year, that he should be the guy.”

Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy got a toe on Alex DeBrincat’s breakaway try on the first shot in overtime, keeping the match alive and leading to Kucherov’s winner nine seconds later.

A strong Vezina Trophy candidate, Vasilevskiy leads the NHL in wins and owns a 39-15-4 record. The 2018-19 Vezina winner boasts a 2.31 goals-against average (second-best in the league) and a .912 save percentage (tied for third).

–Field Level Media

A three-game series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Baltimore Orioles already has been eventful.

One of the teams will capture the series victory when they meet for the decisive game of the set on Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore.

The Diamondbacks evened the series with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday, a night after the Orioles rallied from six runs down to win 9-7.

The series also included a scary sight and then relieving news for the Orioles. First-year manager Craig Albernaz sustained a broken jaw and some fractured cheekbones when he was struck in the face by a foul ball Monday night, but he was back on the job Tuesday.

“I kind of have to show up every day,” he said. “… We have a game. I’m physically able to be here, so let’s go.”

There will be some adjustments away from the field for Albernaz, but he said he can handle the baseball managerial duties. He will be on a special diet and for six weeks he won’t be allowed strenuous activities, so that nixes his role of throwing pitches during batting practice.

“I think it’s more of the peace of mind, knowing I don’t need surgery and stuff,” he said. “I can see the whole eating component could be really difficult, which makes sense about the baby food diet, so soft foods for a while.”

The Diamondbacks faced their own health issue on Tuesday, pulling Ketel Marte from the lineup a night after he hit two home runs. The second baseman was dealing with back tightness, so his availability for the quick turnaround for the Wednesday afternoon game might be in question.

“We were working on him during the course of the game,” manager Torey Lovullo said after the Tuesday contest. “I got word about the fifth inning he’d be unavailable. I’ve got him in the lineup (Wednesday), so hopefully he can go out there.”

The Orioles will hand the ball to right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-2, 5.27 ERA) on Wednesday. He reached the five-inning mark for the first time this year on April 8 in a road victory against the Chicago White Sox. Bradish has been dealing with control issues, as he has walked three batters in each of his three outings.

In parts of five big-league seasons, Bradish’s only encounter with Arizona resulted in a victory during a September 2023 matchup. He allowed two runs on four this across six innings, striking out six and walking three.

Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 0.50 ERA) gets the call for the Diamondbacks. The left-hander hadn’t allowed an earned run until his third outing, when the New York Mets broke through for a single tally on Thursday in a game Arizona won 7-1. He went six innings in that appearance.

Rodriguez holds a 14-5 career record with 2.74 ERA in 25 games (23 starts) against the Orioles. Baltimore is the only opponent against which he owns double-digit wins in his 11-year career.

Depending upon how long Rodriguez last on Wednesday, he could have an unfamiliar reliever taking over for him.

With veteran pitcher Merrill Kelly joining the Arizona rotation this week, Brandon Pfaadt was shifted to the bullpen. Pfaadt has appeared in relief in just one of his 87 major league outings, and that was a 2023 game in which he was the bulk reliever after an opener.

Lovullo acknowledged the move will be an adjustment for Pfaadt.

“It’s just where we’re sitting right now,” Lovullo said. “I want to believe it’s going to be great, but it’s going to take some work.”

Last April, Pfaadt threw six shutout innings against the Orioles as a starter, and Arizona won the game 9-0 in Phoenix.

–Field Level Media