Eklund's Breakdown Of Tonights Lineup

Eklund has a great breakdown of the games tonight and each one has its own implications. I think this is a great snapshot of what tonight means for so many teams! You can read his post here on Eklunds Hockeybuzz.com ... or, for your convenience, I have posted it below.

Thanks to Eklund for this list -



There have been several huge nights of hockey so far, tonight is enormous on so many levels … Here are all the scenarios.

EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Pittsburgh Penguins (idle) can clinch the Atlantic Division tonight: If New Jersey gets one or no points against NY Islanders.
#2 Montreal Canadiens can clinch the Northeast Division tonight: If they get at least one point against Ottawa.
#3 Carolina Hurricanes can clinch the Southeast Division tonight: If they get a regulation victory against Washington.
#4 New Jersey Devils can clinch an Eastern Conference playoff berth tonight: If they beat NY Islanders or if Washington gets one or no points against Carolina.
#5 New York Rangers (idle) can clinch an Eastern Conference playoff berth tonight: If Washington gets no points against Carolina.
#6 Ottawa Senators can clinch an Eastern Conference playoff berth tonight: If they beat Montreal and Washington gets one or no points against Carolina or if they get one point against Montreal and Washington gets no points against Carolina.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Detroit Red Wings (idle) can clinch the Presidents' Trophy tonight: If San Jose gets one or no points against Los Angeles.
#3 Minnesota Wild (idle) can clinch the Northwest Division tonight: If Colorado gets one or no points against Vancouver and Calgary gets one or no points against Edmonton.
#6 Colorado Avalanche can clinch a Western Conference playoff berth tonight: If they beat Vancouver or if they get one point against Vancouver and Nashville gets one or no points against St. Louis or Nashville gets no points against St. Louis.
#7 Calgary Flames can clinch a Western Conference playoff berth tonight: if they beat Edmonton and Nashville gets no points against St. Louis.

Western Conference Showdown - Nashville, Vancouver and Edmonton

If you have not checked in the past 2 minutes you will see that currently (3/30 @ 2am ... yes, I am up blogging at this time ... SO!) there is a 3 way tie for the coveted 8th slot in the Western Conference playoffs. Both Nashville and Vancouver hold 2 games in hand to Edmonton. Nashville's last 4 games are against Detroit, St Louis and Chicago, while Vancouver gets to play with the Flames, Avalanche and Oilers. 3 out of 4 games for Nashville are on the road while Vancouver hosts their last 4 opponents. Here is a snapshot of how the the Western Conference looks right now:


(Source: NHL.com)

Nashville has not really dominated any of the teams they are going up against this season. It will be interesting to watch if Nashville can pull out a playoff berth in the end - especially with the new owners, now wouldn't that be nice! Here is where the Predators stand against its remaining adversaries!
Detroit @ 3-3-1
St Louis @ 3-2-1 (Nashville plays them 2 times in their last 4 games)
Chicago @ 3-3-1

Vancouver has seen their ups and downs this year, special thanks must go out to Roberto Luongo who has helped them as best as he could this year. He is sitting with a 34-26-9 record with 6 shut outs. He has a 2.33 GAA and a .919 SV% ... according to the Fantasy Hockey universe Roberto is #2 right behind Henrik Lundqvist. According to the NHL stats in Wins he is tied for 6th with 34, His GAA has him in 10th and his SV% has him tied for 4th ... Not to shabby when he has to sit and watch the team in front of him fall apart and play inconsistent hockey. With that said, lets look at Vancouvers series tallies against their final matchups.
Calgary @ 4-2-0 (Calgary plays Vancouver 2 more times in the next 4 games)
Colorado @ 2-4-1
Edmonton @ 4-0-3

Seeing how Vancouver has been able to take Edmonton past regulation I am sure they will be hoping for at least one point in the column when that game is played. Colorado has figured out how to play Vancouver hockey, and with the Avalanche being one game in the hole to Vancouver and only 4 points in front of them - I am certain they are reviewing the play book for this game.

This has to be one of the most exciting ends to regular season Hockey in a long time. The emotion and physical energy exerted each night - I swear some of these teams are already in playoff mode.

San Jose Sharks Relish In Their Pacific Divsion Champion Title

And how do they celebrate - how about ordering up some Roast Duck with Mango Salsa! San Jose has not lost in regulation since Feb 20 … taking their record to 16-0-2. Brian Boucher helped the Sharks win last night by making 23 saves, and at the same time helped snap the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks' 10-game, home-winning streak. Brian Boucher is going to grow with the Sharks and we have been given a glimpse into how this kid owns the crease since being signed by the Sharks on Feb 26th. Since then he has played 4 games for a total of 198 minutes - he is 3-0-1 with a GAA of .90 and a .966 SV% ... he has allowed 3 goals on 88 shots. It definitley will be interesting to watch him grow – as we did when Toskala was Nabby’s back up. Boucher helped San Jose add another notch when it won for the 10th time in 11 road games to improve its NHL-best mark to 27-8-4 away from home.

San Jose clinched this with 4 games remaining in the season, they have home games against Phoenix and Los Angeles and away games with Los Angeles and Dallas. All Pacific Division rivalries, all passionate about the sport but looking at the standings - the Kings are positioned for a great spot in the draft and Phoenix is looking at a 6 point spread between them and the 8th spot in the playoffs. However, as we all know – it’s not over till they skate around the ice with the Cup.

For the Sharks season series with the final 3 teams they play are:
Phoenix @ 4-1-2
Los Angeles @ 3-2-1
Dallas @ 4-3-0

As I am sure you all know, tow of these teams might not be in the playoffs but our record against them shows they know how to slow down the Sharks play and convert opportunities into Wins! Dallas has been a strong force against us and with their position in the Western standings it looks like they will need to polish their game play if they want to make it into the 2nd round. For the Sharks, these last 4 games give them the opportunity to break San Jose’s season record of 107 points – currently they are 3 points away from that mark.

Good Luck San Jose!

Huge Game in Buffalo (and One Incredible Period of Hockey)

The Buffalo Sabres are only 3 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand over the Philadelphia Flyers who currently occupy that coveted 8th position. The Sabres have scored 13 goals in their last two games, consequently winning both easily, but failed to register a win in the four previous. The team has talent, admiteddly less of it after losing Brian Campbell at the trade deadline, and they've shown flashes of heart but have yet to find any kind of consistent momentum. Now's the time with only 9 games left. Buffalo is the kind of team that would be scary to face in the first round, but they've got to get their first. In many ways they control their own destiny with that game in hand, but that game in hand is gone after tonight and they absolutely can not afford to lose against the cellar dwelling Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tampa, on the other hand, is trying to play the role of a spoiler while holding tryouts for next season. During this last handful of games both the newly acquired Mike Smith and the young prospect Karri Rammo will get starts in net as they compete for the starting position. Tampa has desperately been searching for a guy who could step up and provide some consistency in that regard and, as the Dallas Stars realized after his disastrous debut for the club where he was yanked in the 1st intermission after allowing 3 goals on 12 shots, Johan Holmqvist was just not the guy.

Jeff Halpern, also acquired from the Dallas Stars in the trade that sent Brad Richards to the lonestar state and gave the Lightning Mike Smith, scored only a few minutes into the game off a turnover on a shortside slapshot. Tough way to start the night.

The Sabres earned a powerplay and nearly scored, but the scrum afterwards produced an unjust powerplay for the Lightning. Jeff Halpern smashes Maxim Afinogenov from behind at the side of the net after the puck was frozen, then delivered a cross check to Maxim's back before the fiesty winger jumped up and put him in a serious headlock. Buffalo ultimately received the extra penalty and it allowed Martin St Louis to deflect a point shot passed Ryan Miller and put the Lightning up 2-0. Jason Pominville responded 3 minutes later burying his 25th of the season on a slapshot from a bad angle. Buffalo seems to have life going into the first intermission.

Buffalo came out a bit flat to start the second, got caught running around in their own zone and ultimately the puck found its way to a wide open Vincent Lecavalier in front of the net to regain the 2 goal lead for Tampa. Thus far, the shots are 15 to 10 Buffalo, but aside from the first Halpern goal on the short side Ryan Miller can't be faulted. Thus far, the Lightning are just getting higher quality chances and Rammo has made a few big saves to maintain momentum for his team. Still a lot of hockey left to be play and thus far it's been relatively even minus Buffalo's blunders in their own zone. Lecavalier closed out the second period with another goal to put Tampa up 4-1.

Buffalo only managed 2 shots on goal in the second and it seemed that the Sabres might be done. That was, of course, until they proved why they have more goals on the season than any other team in the league. It started with Jason Pominville's 26th of the season and second of the game followed by Jochen Hecht only 16 seconds later. A little over 3 minutes later Thomas Vanek scored the tying goal from Derek Roy and Drew Stafford. Buffalo managed 3 goals in three minutes and 22 seconds to get it all knotted up at 4. Vanek and the Sabres weren't done as Vanek scored two more goals back to back, with Roy and Stafford assisting on both, to complete the natural hat trick and put the Sabres up 2. This capped off a run of 6 goals in 11 minutes and 4 seconds. Hecht added an empty netter as the surging Sabres finished an incredible period of hockey to capture a critical 7-4 win and make their playoff hopes that much brighter. Pominville had 2 goals and 2 assists, including 3 points in the third, while the line of Vanek, Roy and Stafford combined for 9 points in the final stanza. Ryan Miller did, however, allow 4 goals on only 19 shots but it didn't matter as the offense was just flat out too much handle in a third period where they scored 6 goals on 16 shots. An incredible night for the Sabres and an improbable, yet remarkable win that should give them plenty of momentum moving forward. Hopefully they'll capture it as I think they can do damage in the playoffs, especially if Miller gets his game together.

Standings and Predictions

I figured I'd post my predictions after watching a few games this weekend. Note that this is not the result for which I hope but rather what I expect.

East

1. New Jersey Devils
2. Montreal Canadiens
3. Carolina Hurricanes
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. New York Rangers
6. Ottawa Senators
7. Boston Bruins
8. Philadelphia Flyers

I considered putting Pittsburgh at the top, but I don't think they can expect Fleury or Conklin to withstand 22 shots a period for the rest of the season without losing some games they should win. Montreal will be battling for that top spot and the rookie Carey Price is the key to where they'll fall. The Caps seem to be self-destructing after making a great second half run under a new coach. Cristobal Huet, acquired at the trade deadline, is a better goaltender than Olaf Kolzig and he's put them in position to win a number of games but the Caps have failed to take advantage. With Carolina going 7-2-1 in their last 10, it's hard to imagine Alexander Ovechkin making his playoff debut this year. Ottawa continues to tumble and I expect them to continue to do so. While they suffer from a variety of injuries right now, including Heatley and Alfredsson who are playing a two-man game of musical chairs, their problems seem to run deeper. They've at least selected a goalie and Martin Gerber has played well but his team hasn't done much to help him. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the New York Rangers. After dipping deep into the free agent pool and signing both Chris Drury and Scot Gomez, the Rangers were surprisingly inconsistent throughout most of the season. Jaromir Jagr is having one his worst seasons in awhile but the team has found some passion as of late and Henrik Ludnqvist, fresh off of a 29 shot shutout, has his team currently in 6th and 8-0-3 in their last 11.

West

1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Colorado Avalanche
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Dallas Stars
6. Calgary Flames
7. Vancouver Canucks
8. Minnesota Wild

The Red Wings are starting to get healthy and it's showing as they've now won 3 in a row. Nicklas Lidstrom returned today and earned 2 assists in Detroit 4-3 win over Nashville. However, Detroit was up 4-0 and allowed Nashville to score 3 in the third on 13 shots. While a win is a win, Babcock, Detroit's coach, can't be happy. They've brought back heart and soul winger Darren McCarty and perhaps he'll re-introduce them to their heart. The Sharks, in my opinion, are probably the most dangerous team in the West. Acquiring a guy like Brian Campbell was absolutely monstrous for them. They needed a guy to run the powerplay, Campbell has 25 points with the advantage, and a guy who could move the puck quickly to the forwards and aid the transition game. They also have a workhorse in net and have only lost 2 out of their last 8. If they can continue to get second line scoring, especially from Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo who've both recently their game again, they could finally secure that first round playoff victory they've been pursuing. The Avalanche are the hottest team in the West right now behind Jose Theodore who has been on fire as of late. Peter Forsberg got on the board yesterday with 2 assists and the Aves have shown the ability to beat the best teams in the league. The Ducks are still my pick to win the cup, but they'll only do it if Getzlaf can get it going offensively and they can learn to play their trademarked physical style without taking so many penalties. They're the most penalized team in the league and it continues to cost them games. Losing Corey Perry, who'd been struggling for awhile, still hurts but it should open a spot on the top line for Teemu Selanne which could reinvigorate an offense that's been anything but stellar lately. Dallas is starting to show cracks in the foundation and Brendan Morrow, their captain, challenged them in the media over the weekend after losing to Colorado. Tonight's game against the Avalanche will tell us quite a bit about the heart of the Stars and the fate of the West. The Flames, Canucks and Wild are all stuck in a battle for the Northwest division with the Avalanche. The Wild are a bit inconsistent and still need to find some offense but the Flames have been great lately and, as always, as goes Luongo so go the Canucks. All three are great defensively and have good goaltending so I would expect all of them to make the playoffs above the teams battling for that last spot.

If this turned out to be the final regular season standings the first round matchups would be:

East

Flyers at Devils
Bruins at Canadiens
Senators at Hurricanes
Rangers at Penguins

West

Wild at Red Wings
Canucks at Sharks
Flames at Avalanche
Stars at Ducks

I'm not sure any of this could be classified as "easy" matchups and there are a number of dark horse candidates scattered throughout the league. The biggest question is which of these teams is built for the high intensity, high impact nature of the playoffs. My answer is, and will be through the rest of the season barring a major injury, the Ducks.

Michele Therrien Pulls Fleury, Penguins Fall Anyways

Marc-Andre Fleury started only his third game since returning from a high ankle sprain but only lasted one period before being pulled in favor of Ty Conklin. The Pittsburgh Penguins defense did absolutely nothing to help Fleury as they allowed a plethora of glorious scoring opportunities and ultimately finished the first period giving up 19 shots on goal. Fleury allowed 3 of those shots to go in and was relieved during the intermission, giving way to Conklin who would stop 21 of the 22 shots he would face in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Pittsburgh actually had plenty of opportunities to cut the deficit to one goal including back-to-back powerplays in the 2nd but one of the league's best teams on the man advantage just couldn't get the job done. I felt like Therrien actually did the team a disservice yanking Fleury after only one period. While Fleury wasn't dominant, he did face nearly 20 shots in a single period, made a couple of big saves and was completely let down by his defense.

Conklin allowed a big goal only 3:34 into his night that put Florida up 4-1, and despite Pittsburgh scoring shortly thereafter it never really felt like Pittsburgh actually had a shot. They were slow and indecisive in their own zone, they turned the puck over in the neutral zone and in their own corners, and Ryan Whitney had another typical mistake-filled night and ended with a minus 2 next to his name. Overall, Pittsburgh doesn't look like a team that should be competing for the top spot in the East right now and the reason for that has nothing to do with goaltending. In fact, the whole reason they are that high in the standing is because of their surprisingly sharp goaltending making up for defensive mistakes all over the ice. To me, they still seem like the soft, easily overwhelmed team that got exposed in the playoffs last year.

It's great to see Crosby back but there were multiple situations last night where you could tell he's not quite 100%. One scenario had him racing a defenseman into the corner for the puck. Normally, Crosby would lean on him, take the puck and wheel back the other way leaving the defenseman behind. Instead, Crosby eased up and let the defenseman take the puck as if he didn't quite trust his ankle enough to make those kind of hard, pivots that helped him win the scoring title last year. Of course, some credit has to go to the Florida Panther's goaltender Craig Anderson who had a very solid night in net, but if the Pittsburgh Penguins can't play better in their own zone right now, I'm not sure they have a chance of surviving beyond the first round when the speed and intensity are doubled and I still feel that Ryan Whitney may be one of the biggest reasons why the Penguins may struggle in the post-season.

A Coach's Conviction Rewarded

The Montreal Canadiens' decision to start Carey Price paid off as he essentially stole two-points for his team by making 37 saves on 39 shots and leading them to a 4-2 victory behind Alexei Kovalev's 3 assist night. Montreal was only able to muster 20 shots on goal, but Mikael Tellqvist was not up to the task as Montreal used a three goal third period to came back from a one goal deficit about 4 minutes into the third. Had Ilya Bryzgalov been in net, it might have been a significantly different story but regardless, Montreal's victory and Pittsburgh's loss moves the Canadiens to the top seed in the East.

A Coach's Conviction

Guy Carbonneau has decided that Carey Price, despite a sub-par effort on Monday night, will start in net for the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday when they go on the road to face the Phoenix Coyotes. Price's previous start did not go so well as he allowed 6 goals on 39 shots against the San Jose Sharks. His teammates gave him a good amount of offensive support with two goals from Tomas Plekanec, Ryan O'Byrne scoring the first of his career and Maxim Lapierre making it a one goal game only 4:18 into the third period. Unfortunately, Price just couldn't hold the fort and allowed the newly acquired Brian Campbell to stretch the lead to two with a magnificent Savardian spin-o-rama move on the powerplay with just over a minute and a half left to play.

Montreal was never out of the game and was able to tie the game three seperate times, but Carey Price just couldn't make the timely stops needed to get his team over the hump. Goaltending, as I mentioned in a previous post, is primarily about making the "right" stops. The ones your team needs to preserve momentum, the ones you have to stop to keep your team alive. You often hear players mention goalies "giving them a chance to win" and that is, in many ways, what they are expected to do night in and night out. Now, 6 goals on 39 shots is not a great night but Price at least kept his team in the running but Evgeni Nabokov was just better stopping 27 out of the 31 shots his faced.

Of course, hockey fans, and sports fans in general, tend to have short memories and quickly forget a player's contributions when faced with their struggles. Price's previous game before San Jose was against the New Jersey Devils, a team Montreal is competing with for the top seed, and Price was nothing short of brilliant stopping all but 1 of the 32 shots he faced. Montreal was outshot 32 to 25 in that game, but Price out-dueled the great Martin Brodeur for the victory. With Montreal in an absolute war for the top spot in the East with New Jersey and Pittsburgh, Canadiens fans are hoping Price can replicate that success and just forget about a rather, well, forgettable performance in San Jose.

Injuries And Underdogs

I think we are beginning to see the unofficial start of Playoff Hockey folks! Some teams are kicking into their power push early this year ... with playoff slots within so many teams reach, it is going to be a free for all out on the ice ... every game! Nashville, Chicago, Washington, Florida ... all looking very sharp.

10 points separate 6th spot from 14th spot in both East and West Conference - with 20+ games left to play anyone can theoretically make it to the Post Season. Of course teams like LA, Tampa, Toronto will have to believe in miracles (thanks Al Michaels) ... however it is not out of the question. These will be the teams to watch as the trade deadline approaches. There is some strong talent on the NHL trade roster, I am excited to see who goes where.

My pics for the night before I head out to celebrate Valentine's Day with my wife ...

Sharks -
Result: Lost to the Oilers! Not to often are you handed 10 power plays, gift wrapped and tied with a bow. I am going to give this game to Garon, he was on fire! Sharks head out on a nice road trip - maybe they just need to get out of the bay area for a bit. Good Luck Sharks!

Wild -
Result: It took a shoot out ... but a win is a win! With as many lead changes in this game ... it could have been anyones. Vancouver played hard, but the Wild took what they needed. Minn sits now at 24-0-1 for the season (and 50-1-1 over the past 2 seasons) for winning when leading after 2. Impressive ... to say the least.

Stars -
Result: Phoenix had one thing on their mind ... dont let Dallas win - and they made their wish come true. If you have Vrbata on your Fantasy Team (like I do), PLAY HIM!!! If Phoenix is going to make a playoff run this year it will be because of this Winger.

Penguins -
Result: Carolina has been showing some grit as of late - with the loss of their leading scorer to a torn ligament, it will be even harder for them. But with Whitney getting a goal and 2 assists ... along with Cole and Staal snaping their pointless streak the Canes might just have what it takes.

Islanders -
Result: Here was an underdog that was going up against a deflated Toronto team. NYI was sitting on a 7 game losing streak and Toronto bringing up the rear of the Eastern Conference was relying on a hope and prayer last night. NYI snapped that losing streak and are now 4 points out of 8th place in the Conference.

Lets see how I do ... I have taken a short break from my picks just because, well I suck! ha ha

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

One Thing I Am Not Giving Up For Lent

What do we have on tap for tonight … there are some evenly matched line ups. Seems like the Ducks/Ranger game does not have a favored team so I am going to stay away from that one (however, I will be secretly hoping the Rangers take the W away from Anaheim – probably wont happen … but a boy needs dreams right?) OK … so tonight I am going big – picking a bunch to try to catch up with Clint for the time being. I am sure he will have his massive list up here soon.

Tonight does have a couple games that stand out we’ll start with Detroit and Los Angeles … Here is the best team in the NHL playing the worst, the only way to get your money’s worth (and entertainment value) is to take Detroit and the over (5 1/2) … yes, I know I said I never take the over/under, however, Detroit at -320 is ridiculous and IF they play the way they have been playing ALL YEAR it will be a high scoring game. Now, I will go on the record to say that since I have said it here, LA will hold Detroit to ONE goal!!! We shall see.

Result: Babcock said it the best after this game "Every once in a while you need to be reminded" - Goliath just got his ass kicked by David last night in Detroit!!! I got the over right ... just wrong team. 4 goals in the 4th for LA ... congrats.

Stars / Wild … Both teams are on an upswing and the odds are in the Wilds camp for 2 reasons. 1. Home Ice and 2. Turco sitting this game out. Gaborik was pointless Tuesday night so he may be looking to prove something, especially after scoring 3 goals in 2 games previously. I am going to go with Dallas as the underdog, lets see what they can dish out.

Result: Mike Smith has something to be proud of today - he and the Stars shut out the Wild. It was an underdog night last night and the Stars came out to shine! (wow - was that cheesy?)

Calgary is playing Chicago and Columbus is in Phoenix … down and dirty … Flames and Coyotes!!!

Result: NO and NO ... huh ... both wrong? Did anyone tell Columbus and Phoenix that they were the favored teams??? Thank god I have a day job!

Tampa in Nashville … Nashville is hot, Tampa is pulling it together. This game is going to come down to puck control. I am taking Nashville only because they are on fire at home right now.

Result: I guess home ice doesnt mean much these days - Tampa was able to hold off the Predators and keep them tied going into OT. Prospal scored 58 seconds later to help the NHL's worst road team look like the best!

Florida in Ottawa – now here is a team on the way up playing a team on the way down. Ottawa is struggling and has given up a lot of ground lately losing 8 of 11 games. Florida is on an upswing and has 4 points to go if they want a spot in the playoffs. They know it, Ottawa knows it and well, now you know it! Ha – this will be a fun game to watch … Going with Florida!

Result: They fought the good fight - Florida is looking better and better ... having Heatly back was Ottawa's saving grace. Looks like I get to notch another in the L column!

Pittsburgh / Islanders – Penguins without Crosby, NYI trying not to lose the 6th straight. With Pittsburgh giving up and allowing New Jersey to walk away with a win, I think Mr Therrien has taken them to task by letting them know “It’s unacceptable to lose a hockey game like this.” We’ll see what the Penguins bring to the ice tonight. I am going with Pittsburgh.

Result: NY's coach summed it up the best - "It was a game of mistakes and we made one to many" ... on the other bench, Mike Therrien, who 3 days ago blamed the Pens loss on Ryan Whitney's weak showing on the ice, said that Ryan upgraded his game not only offensively, but defensively he was sharp. Its always good to hear your coach saying those things when your playing well. Good job Pittsburgh!

Come On Ride This Train

So - back to reality! Just spent a well deserved 3 days in Southern California enjoying the freezing weather and the Superbowl. Funny thing - I hit 11 out of 13 wagers ... it was, as Clint says, "REDICULOUS!" - and I would whole heartedly agree!!! Of course I chose the Giants with the generous 11 1/2 points that came with them ... along with the coin toss, who won the coin toss, who made the first penalty, if the first score would be a TD or a field goal ... silly prop bets like that ... and I hit 11 out of 13!!! AMAZING ... or Rediculous ... You be the judge!

So - plenty of choices on tap for tonight. I have 4 teams I am focused on ...

I am going out on an underdog limb tonight with the exception of Philly @ -130 ... Philly is 11-0-1 since December 2003 when playing the Thrashers. They are putting Antero Nittymaki in the net tonight to A. Give Biron a rest and B. To see if he can improve his 7-0-0 record against Atlanta (and thats at a 1.58 GAA)

Philly -130 Result: WIN ... very nice!

Heading North to Vancouver I am going to take Florida @ +125 ... Florida is looking for their 3rd in a row and get this ... they are 4th in the Southeast ... but 3 points away from 1st in the division and 3rd in the CONFERENCE!!! Florida's coach knows this and knows to get a berth in the playoffs ... they gotta win games. Vokun has shown some of his worth lately also ... should be interesting to see what Vancouver brings tonight (seeing how I have Luongo on my Fantasy Hockey team)!

Florida +125 Result: To call this a win is an understatement ... good job Florida!

The call of the week will be the Wild @ +120 ... its not a large underdog ... and with the way the Wild are playing and tonight they host Detroit. At a +120 its a pretty good risk ... even if I lose, I am positive this will be a powerful and physical game.

Wild +120 Result: This was painful to watch ... so close ... 1:45 left in the game ... wrister from the right and an overtime loss. The Wild gave them a good run!

To finish up my 4 some I am looking toward Ottawa @ +110 ... 1st place against 2nd place, 4 point swing in the balance. It will take a calm and cool Senator team to win this. Montreal is the top team in power plays, I think it will come down to Ottawa not taking penalties.

Ottawa +110 Result: Loss ... giving up 6 penalties allowed Motreal to convert 3 goals! Thats what did it.

Been a ridiculously long time coming....

After looking at the recent standings it seems as though the NHL may just have achieved a greater level of parity than any other sport in recent memory.

In the East:

Philly is in second with 59 points and Toronto is in 14^th with 48. That’s a massive separation for only 11 points. It’s also interesting to note that if the Caps gain one point on Carolina they will jump from 10^th to 3^rd in the conference.

In the West:

San Jose is in second with 61 points and Chicago is in 14^th with 50 points. Again, 11 points separates pretty much the entire conference. Detroit may be the only team in the league that you can consider dominant in relation to everyone else. Of course, we've all seen what happens to them in the playoffs.

Ultimately, we are going to have a ridiculous number of competitive teams that won’t even get to play in the playoffs. Boston, Islanders, Rangers, Washington, Atlanta, Florida, Buffalo and Toronto will all be battling for the last couple of spots in the east. Now if it weren't for Buffalo's recent slide they would never be on the outside looking in, but that's a different post altogether. As is the importance of Ovechkin (MVP) and the arrival of Backstrom in Washington.

In the West, Calgary, Vancouver, Colorado, Columbus, Nashville (what!??!), Phoenix, St Louis, Edmonton and Chicago will all be fighting for the last 3 spots. It's hard to imagine Calgary and Vancouver missing the playoffs but that last spot is for the taking. Colorado has suffered through massive injuries and, on the back of a rejuvenated Theodore, are actually hanging on to the last playoff spot. Leclaire and Hitchcock have the BlueJackets looking for their first playoff appearance and Bryzgalov's arrival in Phoenix has transformed that team into a playoff worthy group.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to who will make the playoffs and who won’t? I'll make my guesses in a later post.