Flight for the Cup in the West

East has been picked, and now it's time to look at the crystal ball for the West. Again, I'll be brief, since I have some suspicion that I have to return for some corrections later. Enjoy!

First round in the West. Canucks will take down the Kings, but it will take six games. They have too much firepower for LA and the goalies match evenly. Blues will carry on with their respectable regular season and shut down the Sharks in five. San Jose's inconsistency and exhaustion from the fight for the last playoff spots pave the way. Blackhawks will overpower the Coyotes in five games. These teams are quite similar, but Chicago is a bit better pretty much everywhere. Mike Smith is the best goaltender in this match up but it will not carry the team. Nashville Predators have the perfect opportunity to avenge all the losses in the hands of Detroit Red Wings. And that they will do, beating the banged up and tired Wings in straight four. Pekka Rinne will shut the door and let the four lines grind away the victories.

Second round in the West. Canucks will see their second Presidents' Trophy season end in vain too, this time in the hands of St. Louis Blues. The tight defensive system of the Blues combined with some below the expectations play by the Canucks will result in a Blues victory in six games. Predators will outlast the Blackhawks in seven games. Preds win the defensive games, Hawks will take a few guns blazing. In the end it all comes down to massive difference in goal and Rinne will carry the team to West finals.

Third round in the West. Nashville Predators has ended up with a dream team for their style of play this season. They will fight against somewhat similar style of the Blues and will emerge victorious in six games. They go for the ultimate finals in search for the Stanley Cup but also with a lot on line in regards of keeping their lineup together for the following seasons.

Way to the finals in the East

Finally, the playoffs are here and it's game time! It's also a time to throw in a bold prediction on how the whole show will unwrap. These have reached some legendary levels of missing the mark, so why wouldn't I give a go?

Let's not waste any more time here. In depth analysis can be left for explaining the unexpected. But now, the Eastern Conference.

First round in the East. Rangers will beat Senators in five. Regardless of regular season struggles they just have way more in the tank. Bruins will crush the Capitals in straight four. Despite the return of Niklas Bäckström, the Caps can't get their act together this season. Panthers will be wiped out in clean fashion by Devils, in five games. Way more playoff experience in New Jersey and Panthers are just happy to reach the postseason. Penguins will have rough time with Flyers, but now that they have the full lineup, they'll take the victory in six. Banged and bruised.

Second round in the East. Rangers will handle the neighbors from New Jersey in six. These two know each other really well, but Rangers have a slight edge after a confidence boosting regular season. Bruins will upset the Cup favorite Penguins. They had all the time to recover and prepare after first round and Penguins arrive exhausted and hurt. Maybe even without a key player or two. With an easier route, the Penguins could have taken it, but battling the two toughest teams in the league in a row just wasn't fair.

Third round in the East. Bruins have the mental edge over Rangers after last season's Cup victory. They don't have to squeeze the stick and the media hasn't put as much pressure on them for a repeat. In the end it's the black and gold, standing tall and waiting for a date from the West.

Playoff race - Apr 8 - Final shuffle

Okay, it's over. The regular season 2011-2012 and this series of daily updates. The last night of play was action packed. Some teams played at ease, just for fun, when they either were locked for a certain spot in the playoffs or heading for summer vacations.

A lot of moves within the playoff setup still happened last night. Ottawa Senators had another loss to end the regular season in a rough fashion. That took them down all the way to the eighth spot and booked a date in the first round with conference best New York Rangers. While Washington Capitals ended their regular season with a high note, beating the same Rangers, they earned a seventh spot and first round match up with defending cup champions Boston Bruins. I wouldn't be so sure that they actually gained here. Rangers seem to have lost some momentum and Bruins have gotten bigger and tougher in the light of playoffs. Either or, the pressure is on the top seeds anyway. Caps must be just thrilled to end up in the playoffs after a horrible season and loads of critique.

Rangers' loss combined with Vancouver Canucks' win over Edmonton returned the Presidents' Trophy to Vancouver for second year in a row. The last stretch by last seasons runner ups paints the picture for another lengthy run in the playoffs.

In the Western conference race there was Pacific division that provided the most excitement. In the end it was workmanlike Phoenix Coyotes that took the ultimate prize of division crown and third seed with home ice. Seeds seven and eight were divided between San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in the last game between the two. It had to be done all the way in the overtime, the Sharks taking the win and a higher seed.

Playoff race - Apr 7 - Sneaky Coyotes and unknown presidents

Okay, one round to go in regular season and then the playoff more truly switches on. Friday's round had only one game, where Phoenix Coyotes took advantage of St. Louis Blues' lack of urgency and slipped over LA and San Jose to take over the Pacific division lead and third seed in the West. They have one more game, against Minnesota Wild team playing only for their pride, to wrap the season with a fantastic result and home ice advantage. Kings and Sharks can only hope for an upset by Wild and then duel for the main prize between them. Sure looks like Coyotes are going to take it in the end though.

There's more on the line for the last round. The league's best team is not yet clear, and the Presidents' Trophy is up for grabs for Rangers and Canucks. With victories for both, the trophy ends up in New York. Important message and a piece of history to be made.

There's also still room for some shuffling of the playoff first round matchups, so teams are not yet clear who they'll meet. Not much room for tactics, when almost any game's result may change the order slightly. One thing is for sure, the sighs of relief have been exhaled already, since the playoff bound teams got settled on Thursday evening. No matter who's the foe in the first round, it's always a thrill to be playing there.

Playoff race - Apr 6 - Suddenly, it's all over

Second to last round of regulation for most teams. Lots of hopefuls entering the games. And in the end, no more playoff spots to reach. It's all over in regards of making the playoffs or not. The games played the way that separated the sighs of relief from sighs of disappointment. What is left for the last round of play, are some positions within the playoff bound.

Thursday night's games ended with Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars all out of playoffs this season. At the same time it helped even more teams clinch the playoff spot. Kings, Sharks, Coyotes, Panthers and Capitals, to be exact.

The biggest remaining battles are for home ice. Washington could overtake Florida with a win and regulation loss respectively for Southeast crown and third seed in the East. San Jose and Los Angeles duel out the last game and winner takes a hold of the Pacific crown and third seed in the West. Phoenix Coyotes could take over both of them with four points in the remaining two games. There's St. Louis Blues in their way tonight, which makes it a tough task. Third race for home ice is between Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings. If both win their last games, it's Nashville, if they end up even in points, it's Red Wings. Despite the outcome, these two will face each others in the first round for an epic battle.

Playoff race - Apr 5 - Calm before the storm

Wednesday night in NHL was quiet in NHL. Only two games and out of them, only one had teams that will continue to the postseason. Detroit Red Wings took the two points in a shootout win over division leading St. Louis Blues. This takes the Wings back to home ice. The battle for Western fourth place continues until the end with the Nashville Predators.

While Wednesday was calm, the storm will break loose on Thursday. This is a straightforward day for many teams. Winning is the only option for survival. Playoff chances are on the line for Dallas and Colorado, who are already beyond having the control to themselves. A win today may postpone the inevitable, and keep the slight hopes for miracles alive.

There's big clashes on both conferences. Washington will meet Florida in the Southeast division battle. One point for the Panthers will give them the crown and a long sought after playoff berth. A loss here keeps them wondering. Both teams need to peek at the scoreboards for happenings in Philadelphia, where Buffalo Sabres continue their desperate push to overtake either of the teams.

At the same time in the West, San Jose and Los Angeles will duel the first part of home and home to finish off the season. Winner there will take over the Pacific lead and third seed in the West.

The rest of the teams who are already destined for playoffs have interesting matchups, setting the tone and sending the final messages for the potential playoff foes. A good round of hockey!

Playoff race - Apr 4 - Taking control of your destiny

At this time of the regular season, it's nice to be already locked for the playoffs. However, there's still a bunch of teams fighting for their lives in the postseason. Some teams control their own destiny, and will reach the playoffs if they win the remaining games. Others look for the momentary lapse of those and try to sneak in in the final stretch.

The Florida Panthers managed to salvage yet another point in an overtime loss to already fallen Winnipeg Jets. This brings them to the edge of clinching the division crown and a sure playoff spot. There's still a chance that they'll fall out of the playoffs but that would require them losing the remaining two in regulation and both Capitals and Sabres taking four points in their final two. All the signs point to Florida making it's first playoff appearance in a long time. The more interesting question is that can the Capitals fight off the final push of Buffalo Sabres or will they bend under pressure and fall out? The prize for the winner is a series against league best NY Rangers. An obvious underdog chance for a major upset.

In the West it was San Jose Sharks who took matters to their own hands (fins?) by beating Pacific rivals Dallas Stars. They can now hold on to the playoff spot by winning last two games. To make matters interesting, these games will be against Pacific leaders, Los Angeles Kings, who sit one point ahead of the Sharks. This battle may well decide the home ice of the division champion. Of course there's Phoenix Coyotes, who have two detached games of their own and can overtake both of the Californian teams with a proper spread of points.

Dallas may just have lost their season on this game against the Sharks. They now need to take all four remaining points and hope Sharks or Coyotes don't pick up any. One point for Sharks would also hand the last playoff spot to Stars on a tiebreaker if they win the last two.

Playoff race - Apr 3 - Kings roll, Caps fall

Monday night had only two games, but both showcased a team in tough spot. Los Angeles Kings took another low scoring victory behind their amazing goalie Jonathan Quick. 2-0 against the young Edmonton Oilers positions the Kings steadier to the pedestal in Pacific division. Now it's the rest of the division that needs to push further to challenge the Kings. Falling out of playoffs seems now next to impossible for LA.

Meanwhile in the East, Washington Capitals suffered a devastating defeat in the hands of Tampa Bay Lightning and league's number one sniper, Steven Stamkos. Now the Caps need to follow closely the efforts by Buffalo Sabres tonight against lowly Toronto Maple Leafs. A likely victory for Buffalo brings them even with Capitals, but leaves Washington in with the tiebreaker. It's obvious that neither team can afford another loss in the last few games without the other stumbling similarly. The one with better precision will enter the playoffs. Monetary gains are obvious, even though facing the juggernaut Rangers on the first round might not look too promising.

Playoff race - Apr 2 - Mental upper hand

Sunday night NHL hockey had very little to do with the race of making the playoffs. It was hockey between teams that are already in and the ones that won't make it this season. It doesn't mean the round didn't have all the intensity, at least in some games.

There were some meaningless, spiritless teams out there, but there was also a chance to take the mental upper hand over the rivals that will stand between you and the cup.

One epic matchup was between Flyers and Penguins, leaving Philly with two points and loads of bad blood for the next game. These two are bound to meet in the first round of playoffs and will still fight for the home ice for the rest of the regular season. One of the toughest bouts in the first round for sure.

Also Boston Bruins landed a statement, beating league leading New York Rangers on a game that may represent the East finals this year. Tight game, but a win is a win.

Near the bubble line, Florida Panthers padded their division lead with another one point performance. They've racked up 17 overtime losses, which is by far the most by any team heading for the postseason. Is it Panthers' resiliency that salvages points in almost lost games or their lack of spirit to go for the victories in overtime, who knows. One thing is for sure and that is the fact that in the postseason, you don't get anything for overtime losses. Now good for a team with Florida's record.

Playoff race - Apr 1 - From home ice to no playoffs in one night

The West is a mess. Another round of play and everything is shuffled. And not much is settled, yet. The teams fighting for the final playoff spots seem to struggle evenly, switching places almost every night. No one seems to have the upper hand to be able to take all the games and even the teams outside of the playoff race seem sometimes too difficult to handle under this extreme pressure.

Last night it was Dallas Stars who started the night as Pacific division leaders and third seed in the West. One loss to division rivals San Jose Sharks and their home ice was swapped for the ninth spot and looming early summer vacation. This was the sum of Phoenix and LA gathering the necessary points to climb over the Stars. The next round of this epic battle will be on Tuesday when most of the teams in the mix have another go at it.

Meanwhile in the East, Washington Capitals were able to pull the needed two points from disappointing Montreal Canadiens. At the same time Buffalo Sabres were surprised by Toronto Maple Leafs and fell two points behind the last playoff spot. The Caps now have a significant edge over Sabres, having a two point lead and also owning the tiebreaker. In the remaining three games, the Sabres need to get three more points than Caps to make it. Washington goes to the playoffs unless they completely collapse in the end.

Playoff race - Mar 31 - Kings of the Pacific

The shuffle continues in the Western conference's final playoff positions. The odd curiosity here is that one of the final spots ends up being Pacific division winner and thus is rewarded the number three seed and home ice advantage for playoffs. There's likely teams ten points ahead in the final standings that have to start with a lower seed. Tough luck, but that's how the rulebook says.

Last night's big winners were Los Angeles Kings, who now hold the Pacific crown and are the team, who has all the keys in their hands for keeping it too. They've played well, but at this point any loss may drop them again to the lower seeds and the brink of elimination. Dallas Stars had to give up the lead in Pacific when they couldn't stay in the pace with ever more dangerous Vancoucer Canucks. At this state, these two would be meeting in the first round, so not the most flattering rehearsal for the Stars.

Colorado Avalanche did what they had to and beat Calgary Flames for what basically ended Flames' pursuit for the playoff spot. The Avs are not much better despite the win, since they've played two more games than the competition and sit outside of the playoff bracket, watching the others rack up possibly even more points to increase the distance. At this point it seems that only the San Jose Sharks have realistic chances for breaking into the playoff position in the West and pushing some other team out. A game tonight against Dallas Stars will set the tone for Sharks' final four games.

Playoff race - Mar 30 - Capitals holding on, Sharks out of water

Another night of play in the NHL and the smiles have moved to new teams' faces. Washington Capitals can breathe again, they delivered a mandatory victory after a tight game against Bostob Bruins. Now the ball is in Buffalo, where Sabres need to take points from recently struggling Pittsburgh Penguins to stay in the playoff bracket. Sabres' recent roll may put them as favorites, even though Penguins are widely considered a way better team.

In the West, Phoenix Coyotes, and their goalie Mike Smith, closed the door for the San Jose Sharks. Now Coyotes are again in the playoff mix, while Shars need to wait and see how far the playoff line slips before they play again. It's cruel, and losses like these can be extremely costly in the Pacific.

The road to finish the regular season is very different for these two teams. While Coyotes play four teams that either are already in or out of the playoffs, the Sharks play twice against two Pacific division playoff hopefuls - Stars and Kings - for the final four. And the Kings have another pair of games against lowly Edmonton Oilers while Stars need to wrestle against powerhouses from Nashville and St. Louis. All this adds up to a finale that no hockey fan should miss. The final setup of this year's postseason may well be settled on the last day of regular season.

Playoff race - Mar 29 - Lose one and you're out

Western conference and especially Pacific division has been thrilling to watch and follow for the last weeks. It's still very even, but some teams are now finally on the edge, or possibly already fallen over it.

While San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars have swapped division lead between themselves almost daily. Last night it was Dallas, who took a fine victory against Edmonton. Sharks instead were beaten by Anaheim Ducks, who are already heading for early summer vacation. Always nice to bother local rivals, huh?

Los Angeles Kings jumped to the playoff bracked and may have dealt Calgary Flames the final blow. At the same time Colorado Avalanche took a stingy defeat from Western powerhouse Vancouver Canucks. These losses now put Calgary and Colorado to a spot where they have to win all of the remaining games and still need some help in a form of losses to the other contenders. The real heartbreaker here is that they face off against each others on Friday evening. Both cannot be winners there and the loser can give up all hopes for the postseason.

Another tough game will be tonight when San Jose and Phoenix wrestle for the final playoff spot. Winner is in for now, loser is out. For Phoenix, a loss may end their season right here. Nerves, guts and heart, all called out.

Playoff race - Mar 28 - Two in, one out in the East

The race for the final Eastern conference playoff spots is between three teams, Panthers, Capitals and Sabres. Florida Panthers went for another overtime, and this time came out as the shootout winners. Valuable two points to pad their division lead and steady hold of the high seeded playoff spot and home ice advantage.

The real deal happened in Washington, where visiting Buffalo Sabres stomped over the hosting Capitals with a 5-1 victory. A big part of the result was difference in goaltending, but one can not overlook the troubles in the Caps team. Somehow they haven't been able to really turn the machine on the whole year and this is the last moment to turn things around. They're running out of games to catch the Panthers, unless there's a complete collapse in Florida in the end. Capitals' only possibility is to regain the eighth spot from the Sabres. And comparing these two teams' last weeks of play we can all see it isn't going to be easy. Both teams will have games against some teams that are out already and others against the conference leaders. The grind of remaining five games will decide who's taking the last East spot.

A special mention needs to be given to St. Louis Blues' netminders. Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott have combined for a record tying 15 shutouts this season. And as a Cherry on top, Elliott now has three in a row for the franchise record. This team is definitely a tough nut to crack in the playoff series to come. Surprise cup to St. Louis, who knows?

Playoff race - Mar 27 - No more extra points

Monday night's results were special; none of the playoff bubble teams made it to the overtime. Hence, no extra points were given and there was a clear distinction between winners and losers. It doesn't change the fact that West is still packed.

Big time winners last night were San Jose Sharks. After extended struggles, they managed to pull off a solid effort against desperate Colorado Avalanche. With a win in that game, they were rewarded with a number three seed in the West and have the position at the end of the regular season in their own hands. The sudden switch came in expense of Dallas Stars, who didn't manage to finish off Calgary Flames in their back-to-back contest. Flames still hang on thin hopes of late rush to the playoffs. Dallas has a decent position to stay in the last seeds or push back for the division lead.

Biggest losers of the round were Winnipeg Jets, who were basically eliminated for good by Ottawa Senators. Not far behind sit the Colorado Avalanche, who now have to wait and see where the competition gets with two extra games in hand. In the worst case the Avs will find themselves three to four points below playoff line when games are even. Also the Los Angeles Kings had to settle for a tough loss, again after a solid defensive effort. 1-0 soccer score victory for Vancover sends the Kings out of the top eight for now.

Playoff race - Mar 26 - Capitals in, Sabres out, Coyotes in doubt

Sunday evening saw Washington Capitals retake the eighth position in the Eastern conference with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Minnesota Wild. Led by captain Alex Ovechkin's continued goal scoring streak, they jumped over idle Buffalo Sabres. This race is now looking to be between these two teams. Florida Panthers seem to have locked the Southeast crown by collecting enough points by reaching at least overtime. They now have a game in hand and three point lead. Meanwhile, the final push of newcomers Winnipeg Jets, doesn't seem to carry quite the distance. They sit six points behind the playoff spot and are simply running out of games.

The race may be decided on Tuesday evening when Capitals host the Sabres in Washington. A regulation win for either team may be the final blow. Expecting playoff hockey already.

In the West, the tension builds up for Phoenix Coyotes and their suspended captain Shane Doan. A reckless elbow, followed by couple of losses now put Coyotes in the scoreboard watching mode for a three day break they're facing. They're still seventh in the West, but have played two more games than Pacific rivals Dallas, LA and San Jose who are tied or one point behind in the standings. After games are even, Phoenix is likely out of the playoff bracket and needs extremely strong finish to climb back in. The pivotal point will be a match up against San Jose Sharks on Thursday, when the Sharks have played the two games they're due and head for the third game in four nights. The Coyotes need to be able to take advantage of fresher legs to have a chance.

Playoff race - Mar 25 - Suddenly Sabres, Western 3-pointers

The Buffalo Sabres finally hopped over idle Washington Capitals to take the lone possession of eighth and last playoff position in the East. The Caps have their say tonight, facing disappointing Minnesota Wild who are only playing for their pride at this point. Sabres' run has been phenomenal and Washington really has to pick up their game for the final stretch to keep up.

In the West, the final two or three playoff spots seem to switch owners every night. There's still six teams in the mix. However, Calgary Flames are up against the wall after a regulation loss to division leaders Dallas Stars. While the Stars are still only tied for the best in Pacific and need to carry on pushing, the Flames basically need to win the final six games to be sure to make the playoffs. Late inter division losses are a luxury that not many can afford.

To make matters worse, most of the rest of the competition in the West took points in overtime games. Only Los Angeles Kings were left with zero against Boston Bruins who hope to find their groove for a run at a repeat charge for the Stanley Cup. Calgary now sits three points behind the three teams tied for the last playoff spot. It's hard to believe that all of them could choke at the last stretch. Truthfully spoken, the Flames seem like the weakest team to produce anything even if they reach the playoffs. The rest of the pack might be able to surprise the top teams if the stars align perfectly.

Playoff race - Mar 24 - Even East

Now it's even steven at the East playoff bubble. Buffalo Sabres continued a strong run and beat the conference leading New York Rangers. And easily. Assisted a bit by countless turnovers and resulting odd man rushes. A comfortable 4-1 victory puts them tied on the eighth spot with inconsistent Washington Capitals, who only managed to salvage one point from Winnipeg Jets after leading the game already 3-0. Total collapse and loss in overtime do not promise much for the end of the stretch. A welcome surprise may come in form of Ottawa Senators who have now lost three in a row and are having real trouble keeping their playoff spot that looked sure a while ago. At this pace they will be overtaken by both the Capitals and the Sabres.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers again collected one point with a disappointing shootout loss to lowly Edmonton Oilers. They still hold a four point cushion and keep a hold on the home ice advantage of third seed.

Friday night's honorable mention goes again to Eric Cole. To make history in such a storied franchise as Montreal Canadiens is something special. And to do it in positives, even better. Cole posted the fastest hat trick in franchise history by scoring three times in a bit over five minutes in the first period. Kudos!

Playoff race - Mar 23 - Western shuffle and suddenly slim hopes for Flames

Another round of play behind and lots of points shared at the playoff bubble. In the East, Washington Capitals had to settle for one point in loss to Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps still sit on the eighth spot and control their own destiny. However, Buffalo Sabres are charging hard and one slip could throw Capitals to the role of a challenger. Friday night the Caps have a critical game agains still hopeful Winnipeg Jets. Win for Washington would give them some breathing room and basically end Jets' run. At the same time, recently rejuvenated Sabres take on the conference leading New York Rangers. A tough game to beat for Buffalo, but who knows. Their desperation levels are at the maximum and Rangers are already easily in and a likely home ice starters anyway.

To the West then, where the race is even more thrilling. Thursday night's round shuffled the playoff chasing crowd big time. Dallas Stars had to give up the division lead after a loss to mighty Vancouver Canucks. Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes wrestled victories and jumped to shared lead of the Pacific. Colorado Avalanche lost a tough one to the Coyotes and now sit on the outside. At the same time San Jose Sharks found the heroic effort to beat league leaders, St. Louis Blues to sneak one step closer to the playoffs. All of the teams in the bubble still have a chance to storm into the postseason, but it will take a high winning percentage in the remaining 6-8 games.

Calgary Flames took another dent in their hopes, losing in shootout to lowly Minnesota Wild. One point salvaged, but the Flames need to win at least five out of remaining seven to make it. Their next two will be against Dallas Stars, who sit above them. Those two games will basically decide which one of these two still has a chance. Cruel, but extrtemely entertaining.

Playoff race - Mar 22 - Raging Buffalo

There was only a few exciting games last night in regards of making the playoffs this season. Biggest impact was another solid win by Buffalo Sabres, this time over weak Montreal Canadiens. Another shutout for Ryan Miller and the team climbed to a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Washington Capitals have a game in hand, but haven't been playing with much consistency or confidence lately. Buffalo has earned points in eight of last ten and with six victories and is on a trajectory to overtake the Capitals before the end of the regular season. Winnipeg Jets seem like one loss away from falling out, and the battle for the final playoff berth looks to be between Sabres and Capitals.

In the West the battle was between sure playoff contenders Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. These two have a histrory of not liking each others and of epic playoff matchups. Last night's biggest impact may have been another nasty incident, a vicious elbow to the head of Vancouver's star winger Daniel Sedin. It was served and delivered by Chicago's star defenseman Duncan Keith. It'll be a suspension for sure, but with Keith's status, we're only talking about 2-3 games. Shane Doan from Phoenix got three games for similar, but a bit less obvious elbow on Tuesday night. For a lesser player than Keith, this could easily be judged extremely deliberate and punished to the maximum. Another reality check here for Brendan Shanahan.

The real question is how will Sedin take this, and if he's going down with a concussion, how long will it take to recover. Haven't seen much justice in the past when comparing the suspension and the time lost by the victim.

Playoff race - Mar 21 - All the action in the West

Well, some might say that Pittsburgh's thrashing of Winnipeg Jets in the East was action. Malkin collected 5 points, Crosby and Neal 4 each. Total score of 8-4 would point to action-packed game.

What I'm talking about is the action on the playoff bubble. Jets had their chance - if playing the hottest team in the league can be considered as a chance - to catch up Capitals and Sabres a bit, but fell short.

In the West then, there sure was lot up for grabs. And just as I predicted, quite a few three point totals were divided between the teams involved. Calgary and Phoenix got one each for reaching overtime and thus managed to stay somewhat close to the winners of Tuesday night. Colorado, Dallas and Los Angeles all picked up two points and now occupy all the playoff spots in the Western bubble. With seven or eight wins each in the last ten games, this sure looks like the trio that has the derermination needed to make it to the postseason. Dallas has the best of it, being a divisional leader and sitting on the third seed. For now, that is.

The only one in the mix who had nothing to take home from this was again San Jose Sharks. They have now used the quota of games in hand and sit on the tenth spot in the conference, out of the playoffs as of now. The Sharks' recent play has been terrible and if they can't come up with a gutsy finish in the likes of seven wins in the last nine, they might find themselves with an early summer vacation.

On the player front in these Western contenders there's a few names to point out. Dallas' top line of Ribeiro, Eriksson and Ryder have been absolutely on fire and contienue to carry their team towards the division crown. Kings' Anze Kopitar keeps on providing the offensive punch needed for the low scoring team, complementing season long stellar play of goalie Jonathan Quick. In the negatives, Calgary's Olli Jokinen has lost his production completely with no points in the last five games. Coincidentally, Flames' hot streak has ended with Olli's slump. Phoenix Coyotes' captain Shane Doan seems to have lost his composure. Known as a tough but fair opponent, he seems to have crossed the line to dirty. He was just recently fined for boarding and is likely looking at a suspension after reckless elbow to Dallas' Jamie Benn last night.

Playoff race - Mar 20 - Sabres and Capitals fight back, Sharks slip

Playoff race took somewhat expected course last night. Eastern teams on the brink of playoffs, Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres, both pulled off comfortable victories to keep their positions on both sides of the playoff line. Sabres are chasing the Capitals. Capitals are chasing division leader Florida Panthers. If anyone falters, they're the one out of the playoffs. Florida has some cushion in points and games in hand, so they control their own destiny. Another hopeful, Winnipeg Jets is looking for an opportunity to break through Sabres and Caps. What a race!

In the West we saw San Jose Sharks waste another opportunity for taking a stand for playoff berth. This time they suffered a disappointing loss in the hands of local nemesis, Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are out of the playoffs, but surely can find some enegry in trying to spoil the run for dear California neighbors. The Sharks still have games in hand for overtaking Phoenix and Colorado, who currently sit on seventh and eighth in the West. With their recent inconsistent play, it doesn't seem to mean a whole lot. Tonight they have one of the most important games of the season, facing Los Angeles Kings who they are tied with on the ninth spot in the conference. A solidary three point game again? Phoenix and Dallas are also facing off tonight, so we might see the whole Pacific division reogranized once the lights go out in the end. As a cherry on top of the Western race, Colorado Avalanche fights for points tonight against Calgary Flames on a bout that has epic impact for each.

And if the Eastern race is fantastic to follow, the Western one manages to push even further. Tonight we'll see it all on the ice: blood, sweat and tears.

Playoff race - Mar 19 - Eastern stalemate and a big point in the West

Sunday night's round of pre-playoff hockey saw both Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets lose their games. These two Souheast teams are fighting for East's last playoff spot and have little room for losses like this. Capitals were crushed by significantly better and tougher team, Chicago Blackhawks where Jets fell for Carolina Hurricanes who are hanging on extremely unlikely chances to make it. Their zero pint nights open another possibility for Buffalo Sabres who have a chance to tie Capitals for eighth tonight against Tampa Bay.

In the West, Phoenix Coyotes jumped over couple of teams to take their turn for a night in the playoff bound crowd. At the same time Calgary Flames lost one point on an overtime loss against league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flames are now two points out and their lousy performance against two worst teams in the league may have cost them a lot. LA Kings are surging up, Colorado Avalanche has been strong and consistent. Phoenix and San Jose have few points and/or games in hand. With only nine games left, the Flames need to snap out of this funk and finish strong to overtake three out of these four.

All in all, the fans get their money's worth every night on both conferences. The race seems to be extremely tight and entertaining all the way to the finish line.

Playoff race - Mar 18 - West in standstill, determination in Florida and rebounding Bruins

Saturday night provided only few results that could outright be categorized as playoff critical. The teams racing for the last Western conference playoff spots, Colorado, San Jose and Los Angeles, all took victories and kept the balance between them even. However, the other two, Phoenix and Calgary, who still are in the mix but were idle this round, face another must win in their next games. They face the bottom two, Edmonton and Columbus, respectively today. So that should give them likely chances to regain the positions from Friday.

In the Eastern conference, the biggest impact on the standings was Boston Bruins snapping their losing streak on an overtime victory over perennial rivals, Philadelphia Flyers. They regained conference's second seed when Ottawa Senators somehow ended up losing their game against dear old enemy, no longer playoff hopeful, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers took important two points against conference rivals, Buffalo Sabres. While Sabres also took home one point for reaching overtime, they are slowly running out of time in catching Washington Capitals, who are holding the eighth and final playoff spot. Panthers now have 5 point cushion and seem determined in taking the Southeast crown on a year where top two favorites Washington and Tampa Bay have struggled.

Playoff race - Mar 17 - Kings rising and new lead in Northeast

At this time of the year, there is lots at stake on a game or two. Friday night the tension was at its highest everywhere. Five games and all had playoff impacts. In the West, Calgary Flames dozed off for a defeat in the hands of league's bottom dwellers, Edmonton Oilers. Losing this "sure win" game may well cost them the playoffs this year. At the same time, Los Angeles Kings took their two points from deflated Anaheim Ducks to hit 80 points for a three way tie on the ninth spot and one behind Coyotes and Avalanche, who are holding the final playoff spots. LA has a game in hand to all but San Jose Sharks and thus control their own destiny now.

In the East the biggest impact was Ottawa Senators overtaking Boston Bruins for the Northeast crown and second seed in the conference. The fight for that home ice advantage may have a huge impact in the end. Despite the recent struggles, I believe there's no team in the Eastern top seeds that looks forward to meeting the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the first round. It feels more like a punishment than a reward for a high seed. Of course the Bruins still have two games in hand and may well turn things around in the final stretch, but still there is this possibility in the air.

Another high profile game in East was played on the bubble between Southeast division rivals Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets. The Jets managed to take a regulation victory with one goal difference and cut the difference of these teams to two points. Washington's recent surge really hasn't secured anything for them yet. This opens up another window of opportunity for Florida Panthers to stretch their lead in the division and grab a tighter hold of the home ice advantage of second or third seed in the East.

Playoff race - Mar 16 - Lights out for Lightning, West in deadlock

Thursday night's action was as intense as it gets at this time of the season. While most of the hockey world was concentrated on following Sidney Crosby's return, the life or death games were played elsewhere. Tampa Bay Lightning took a beating from Toronto Maple Leafs, who are already out of the playoff competition. After this the Lightning are practically out as well. Other teams in the Eastern playoff bubble are playing strong and running away. Only a miracle run of 12 straight victories to end the season could boost them up to the playoffs, but that's not going to happen.

Meanwhile in the Western conference, no one is willing to let go off their hopes on the playoffs and the heads up games between the hopefuls reach epic propotions. Last night Calgary Flames continued their strong run in the expence of falling Phoenix Coyotes. Colorado Avalanche lost one point in a shootout loss to New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks showed more signs of life in shootout victory over tough-as-nails Nashville Predators. Now there's four teams wihin one point and two playoff spots to share between them. Idle Los Angeles Kings can join the crowd with a victory tonight over summer vacation bound Anaheim Ducks.

And under the spotlight then? Crosby's return was successful and having him and Kris Letang back in the lineup seemed to push the red hot Penguins even higher, both in confidence and skill levels. A comfortable victory over East leading New York Rangers to rack up tenth win in a row puts Pittsburgh on top of the list of Stanley Cup favorites.

Playoff race - Mar 15 - Avs roll and Stars stutter

I was right yesterday, predicting a tight overtime game for Colorado Avalanche's visit to Buffalo. Sabres were grabbing the two points until the last second of the regulation. Then, all of a sudden they found themselves tied and eventually beaten in the shootout. The Avs took two important points to reclaim the eighth spot where the Sabres only gained one point to narrow the gap between them and Washington Capitals, who currently stand eighth in the East. Tha Avalanche has played a game or two more than their opposition on the Western bubble, but at the same time they seem more and more confident in their chances. The pressure is definitely on the rest of this bunch.

Dallas Stars managed to pull some gap between themselves and the rest of the Pacific division teams in the past weeks. Coyotes and Sharks seemed on their way down and all looked pretty promising in Dallas. Now, after just a few rounds the pack has tightened again. Dallas lost to desperate Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix managed to steal two points from Vancouver Canucks behind stellar goaltending from Mike Smith. Now the Coyotes lurk one victory behind the Stars and there's absolutely no room for losing more points. San Jose got the victory to snap their losing streak and still have two games in hand. Two more wins there and they're sandwitched between these two. Pacific crown is still up for grabs for four teams, since LA is also within strikings distance.

Honorable mention from last night goes to Eric Cole's epic high five with the referee. The lost art of on ice comedy!

Playoff race - Mar 14 - Western lineup

Whoa, last night's round of NHL playoff bubble hockey couldn't have been more Hollywood if written as a script. Calgary Flames beat San Jose Sharks, but only in overtime. At the same time, Los Angeles Kings pulled off a encouraging victory over injury ridden Detroit Red Wings. And, just like in the movies, the three playoff hopefuls (Detroit is in already) are even on 78 points. Joining Colorado Avalanche who had a day off. So, four way tie before the last dozen games. We can rightfully call this a race!

In the East, Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida all pulled off victories last night to keep the balance between them and put the pressure on the Buffalo and Winnipeg who didn't play this round. On a side note, Lightning's superstar Steven Stamkos casually hit 50 goals with two last night. On a struggling team, he's been phenomenal and should be considered in the Hart Trophy race no matter what's the result for Tampa in the end.

On Wednesday evening, there's a clash between East and West when the Avalanche visit Sabres in Buffalo. Both teams are in desperate need for points and one could easily predict another mutually beneficial three point game there. Another team to watch is Phoenix Coyotes, trying to stay ahead of the surging four in the West while visiting Vancouver Canucks, who have been in some trouble lately.

Playoff race - Mar 13 - Roasted Ducks in the Wild West

Anaheim Ducks' lone bright spot last night was to see Teemu Selänne climb another notch in the career scoring list, passing fellow Finn and childhood idol, Jari Kurri. The final score in the end of the game pretty much finalized their season. Colorado took the two points and making it to overtime provided one for the Ducks. They could reach 93 points by winning all of the remaining games and miraculously slip into playoffs with that. However, their recent play doesn't give much hope for miracles. Time to polish those golf clubs.

The winner of that contest, Colorado Avalanche, is instead on a roll. They find themselves again in the top eight, but the joy may be brief considering that there's three teams behind them within two points margin and all of them have at least two games in hand. Nevertheless, Avs have played way better recently than any of the teams they're fighting against, so we might witness them taking a firmer grip on the playoff spot in the coming rounds.

San Jose Sharks managed to wrestle one victory against the young and already eliminated Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks play rejuvenated Clagary Flames today in a four-point game. Victory there would catapult them all the way to seventh spot, a loss would see Calgary overtake them. Playoff atmosphere, guaranteed. Meanwhile, Phoenix Coyotes took another loss and are actually becoming targets for the desperate bunch under the playoff line in the West.

Playoff race - Mar 12 - No one giving up today

Many teams had a lot at stake on Sunday's round and the ones that had most, held their ground this time. The action showed Washington Capitals earn a desperately needed victory both in pursuit of Florida Panthers for the Southeast division crown and to keep the other East hopefuls behind them for the last chance of ending up as the eighth seed. The Capitals' 2-0 victory came at the cost of Toronto Maple Leafs, whose playoff hopes are faltering fast. Florida raced ahead, finishing with same numbers, 2-0, against Carolina Hurricanes who basically are already out of competition. Spirited victories for teams who've struggled of late and loads of bad news for Winnipeg, Buffalo and Tampa, trying to catch them.

In the Western race, Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings picked up two points each to continue the pressure on the playoff bubble. Now it's a three way tie for the eighth seed for Flames, Kings and Avalanche, Colorado having played one more game. San Jose Sharks' misery was underlined on a day off. They now sit 11th in the West in the standings, but still have a few games in hand.

Last night's round also witnessed league leading St. Louis Blues hit 97 points with another win. That's enough points to make it to the playoffs already with 12 games to play. No question about the coach of the year award going to Ken Hitchcock.

Playoff race - Mar 11 - Sharks in free fall, Avs in eighth

Saturday night just put an exclamation mark in the end of San Jose Sharks' terrible run of late. Now they sit outside of the playoff bound crowd and keep on shaking their heads in disbelief. Solid performance by Phoenix Coyotes had them at 3-0. With this lineup, it's hard to believe they cannot score. And now they really need to figure out how to improve their game, or they're actually out of the playoffs for the first time 02-03 season.

While the Sharks keep on struggling, Colorado Avalanche has been able to pick up their game enough to overtake San Jose for eighth position is the West. Overtime victory over Edmonton Oilers was valuable indeed. However, the Avs need to keep in mind that their one point lead over Sharks is partly due the fact that they've played three more games. And if the Sharks find their game for even one victory in those three, they're back in the playoff mix.

The West race is tight, and there's LA and Calgary following right behind these two. Neither of them hasn't however been able to string together enough wins to run over .500 in the recent past. While everyone struggles, Sharks' free fall may not be as costly as it could.

On playoff bound teams' player notes it's worth mentioning Dallas having captain Brenden Morrow back to score the game winner after 18 games out with injuries. Also on the radar in Nashville, the Kostitsyn brothers seem to be on a brilliant roll after getting reunited at the trade deadline. Andrei 3+3 and Sergei 2+4 in the last five games. Now the Predators seem to have found some scoring threats to compliment their stellar defense, led by Pekka Rinne in goal. Look out everyone!

Playoff race - Mar 10 - Plot thickens

Last night's action had all the expectations for evenly matched games. An even they were. Three of four were decided by one goal, one in shootout and the other two by goals in last two minutes. However, the game with most on the line was between Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets. Both outside of the playoff crowd, but within striking distance. The Jets could have jumped over Washington to regain the Eastern conference's eighth position and to end up within one victory of the division lead and home ice advantage. The Flames had a chance to get within one point of the eighth spot in the West. Calgary ended up victorious with strong play of their veteran core, Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen. Now both teams stand ninth in their conference and keep on firing on all possible cylinders to make it to the postseason.

At the same time Los Angeles Kings failed to outplay dramatically injured Detroit Red Wings. The Wings' play was outstanding and their remaining star forwards Zetterberg and Filppula delvered when needed. LA is now tied with Calgary on the Western ninth position and seems to have lost their recently discovered edge in the last few games.

On the top of the league NY Rangers have hit some sort of a funk, losing third straight and Pittsburgh Penguins keep on rolling behind strong performances from their leading players Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. Penguins' winning streak reached eight games.

All in all, the playoff bubble is as exiting as it can be on both conferences and almost every night sees one team lose its playoff position to another. It's going to be fun to keep following events and blogging the latest highlights.

Playoff race - Mar 9 - Bittersweet dreams

Thursday's action saw many of the playoff hopefuls fall under pressure. Teams chasing the last playoff spots like Anaheim, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Colorado, all took losses that at this point may prove to be very costly. Anaheim Ducks have the worst of these and their hopes for the playoffs hang on a thin thread. Basically they need to win all of the remaining games. And that won't happen.

Washington Capitals managed to overtake Tampa Bay with a crucial inter divisional battle for the playoff spot. The game went to overtime so also the Lightning got something out of this contest. Meanwhile, Winnipeg Jets suffered a heartbreaking one goal loss to Vancouver Canucks and had to give up the last playoff position for the Capitals for now.

San Jose's miserable run in the West continued with another shootout loss. One point salvaged and still hanging on the final playoff spot, but looking terribly shaky.

This is the time, where teams have to dig deeper than before and grind out the necessary victories to make it to the playoffs. The value of experience and cool nerves goes up in the market.

On the top of the league, some teams keep on making even stronger statements for the playoff expectations. Philadelphia Flyers' troubled 10 million dollar goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, seems to have finally found the necessary calmness to be the backbone of the team. Another shutout under his belt and convincing 5-0 victory for the Flyers over Panthers. Also the New Jersey Devils are on a great run. This time they beat lowly Islanders easily with their superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk leading the pack with a hattrick.

No matter how hard the bubble teams fight to get into the playoffs, it's very unlikely they will survive on the first round in the hands of these continuously stellar teams leading the league.

Playoff race - Mar 8 - Sabres out of nowhere and Leafs blown away

Last round of play was only two games. However, it's easy to pick the two big things considering the playoff race out of it. The Buffalo Sabres have sneaked into playoff competition and seem to be on a roll somewhat expected from the team after massive investments in the summer. They've underperformed most of the season, but may finally have found the groove they need to actually carry on after regular season. They're fighting for the last East playoff spot, currently held by Winnipwg Jets. Washington doesn't seem to be able to wake up this season, Tampa Bay's big rush has cooled down a bit. Winnipeg is playing well, but must be feeling the heat. All this may well add up as positives for the Sabres. They stormed into the playoffs similarly last season, so they should know what they're up against.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were so good, so fresh, so surprising for the first half of the season. Led by big numbers from Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, they managed to stay on top of the league standings for a long time. Then came the slump and they fell out of playoff bracket. Now they lost half of their top scoring line in Lupul and seem finally doomed. Five points out of playoffs and so many teams in between with much better momentum. Early summer vacation for the Leafs, again.

Playoff race - Mar 7 - Power shift in the West

Tuesday night's round of games tightened the West playoff race even more. The teams right on the outside of playoff bunch, Calgary, Los Angeles and Colorado, all pulled off valuable victories. Meanwhile the last ones inside, San Jose and Phoenix took one more loss in their disappointing streaks. The Sharks have a game or two in hand, but haven't been able to produce much lately. The Coyotes hang on the playoff berth by a mere one point. Dallas has taken over the Pacific division lead and is playing strong.

Meanwhile in the East, Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils reminded the top teams Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers, by beating them respectively, that the margins between the playoff bound teams are very narrow. Sloppy approach for even part of a game will turn the tables. By no means are these teams pushovers come playoff time. Last night displayed also the playoff hopefuls, Tampa Bay and Washington, lose yet another chance to narrow the gap to the playoff bracket. They should watch some videos on the Western counterparts and pick up a pointer or two on motivation.

On a side note, it seems that Sidney Crosby has been cleared for contact, again. It remains to be seen if he stays healthy long enough to make it to actual NHL game action. But if he does, and manages to stay in the lineup through the season, I'd put the Penguins right on top of the Cup candidates' list. The impact on ice, mental push for the whole team and the extra spark in the fan section will definitely push this highly capable team even further.

Playoff race - Mar 6 - Jets roll and Ducks cling

Only three games last night, but some meaningful results. Winnipeg Jets are making a statement in the Southeast division with another win. They seem determined to either take the home ice by winning the division or at least make it to the playoffs as the last seed. They've played a few more games than the other hopefuls, but have also been on a remarkable groove lately. It takes a complete shift in directions to change the dynamics in the bottom of Eastern conference.

Anaheim Ducks' win keeps them clinging to the last straw for their postseason dream. They still have a remote chance to make it, but need to collect about 16 of available 20 points. That leaves room for two losses this season. Considering that they still play St. Louis twice, Detroit and Vancouver once, just to mention a few tought ones, it is definitely a long shot. Hats off to Teemu Selänne, he'll be the all time number one scoring Finn with the next point. Hopefully it's a game winner that keeps the team's dream alive for another night.

Playoff race - Mar 5 - Postseason previews and Western bubble

Last night there were a couple of early previews of potential big matchups in the postseason. League's top team, New York Rangers, took a tasty victory against last season's Cup champions and always dangerous Boston Bruins. This tight game could have gone either way, but Rangers seem to have the upper hand while heading to the playoffs.

Perennial Western powerhouse Detroit took a stingy defeat at home against 2010 champions Chicago Blackhawks. Another one goal game, but at the same time a strong message saying that the Hawks may have put their struggles behind them and are again a force to be reckoned with. When they get healthy Jonathan Toews back to the lineup, even more so. How will the Wings' aging core survive the last stretch of regular season and playoffs, remains to be seen

Western conference playoff bubble seems to come down to San Jose's recent slump. If they can't snap out of it, there's a few teams willing to take the last spot. Los Angeles Kings seem like the strongest candidate for now, having discovered some scoring touch lately. Also Colorado Avalanche is playing well with their young corps leading the way. Calgary took another costly defeat last night in the hands of Dallas stars, but managed to salvage one point for overtime. Their recent play is not on the level to overtake the others in this race. Anaheim was super strong during February, but their chances are extremely slim after couple of losses in the last weeks. Only a miraculous win streak could postpone the Ducks' offseason golf plans.

Playoff race - Mar 4 - Penguins' depth and Kings' comeback

Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins showed everyone that they are one of the teams that really has a chance this year to take the Cup. Still playing without their captain Sidney Crosby and now also without leading defenseman Kris Letang, they easily beat Colorado Avalanche, a team desperately clinging for their chance to make it to the playoffs. And this all on a night where some of the other big teams (Vancouver, Boston, San Jose) stumbled with losses. What made Penguin's feat even more impressing was that the guys scoring the goals came throughout the lineup. NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin contributed one goal, which was expected. Other four came from rare scorers; Arron Asham (3rd), Deryk Engelland (4th), Richard Park (6th) and Steve Sulliven (13th). This team really has the winning spirit and will be hard to contain.

On the West, Los Angeles is showing signs of finally waking up with their impressive lineup. The whole season they're been solid defensively, but haven't been able to score. Now, after the acquisition of troubled star forward Jeff Carter from lowly Blue Jackets, they seem to have found some confidence. With San Jose Sharks in free fall and other bubble teams struggling to find another gear, the city of angels might well find themselves in the top eight when the regular season ends.

Playoff race - Mar 3 - Carlyle, Parise and the Lightning

March 3rd provided the anticipated move in Toronto. Coach Ron Wilson got sacked and was immediately replaced by Randy Carlyle, who was dumped by Ducks earlier this season. Funny how it works again that the coach who couldn't get a brilliant Anaheim roster to work at all, is all of a sudden again trusted with another franchise. These guys truly are untouchable. This just makes it harder for anyone to break into the head coaching in NHL, no matter how you're doing in other leagues. Spots open mostly through retirement. I wrote about this earlier on a separate post on coaching in NHL. Toronto is way too late for anything spectacular this season. They were one of the biggest surprises for a long period, but have pretty much fallen out of the competition in the latest slide. Miracles happen, but not likely for the Leafs.

The New Jersey Devils pulled off another solid performance, thrashing the disappointing Washington Capitals 5-0. They're on pace for the playoffs again and will be a tough opponent for anyone. Team captain and superstar Zach Parise was crushed on a check by two Capitals' players and had to leave the game. If he misses any time, it's a big blow to the spirits and game chemistry for the Devils. Parise was in good spirits after the game, but it wouldn't be the first time when players misinterpret the effects of a big hit.

Led by scoring machine Steven Stamkos, the Tampa Bay Lightning took another step in their late push for the playoffs. They're way behind in the points charts, but luckily have the door open through the lowly Southeast division. Tampa Bay still has the chance to sneak into the postseason by outplaying Florida, Winnipeg and Washington in the final month of the regular season. The big difference is that the Bolts seem to be enjoying their game right now and are scoring like they should with that lineup. At the same time all the others fighting for that lone spot in the postseason seem to struggle in various degrees. There's still a lot of four point games to play against the division foes, so this might get interesting in the coming weeks.

Playoff race - Mar 2 - Giants and Southeast

Last night showed that the giants in this season's NHL are firmly on track for playoffs. Boston, Philly, Vancouver and New York Rangers all pulled off another tick in the win column. The surprising St. Louis Blues had to bend under pressure from league leading Canucks and San Jose took another nosedive to further jeopardize their playoff berth. Otherwise the big teams took their share of the points. Polarization of the standings table increased another notch.

Winnipeg was clearly the team of the night, sending a big warning message to Panthers and Capitals. The fight for the lone guaranteed playoff spot for the weak Southeast division is not over yet. The division leading Panthers took a 7-0 beating in the hands of surprisigly well connecting Jets' team. While the Capitals keep on stumbling on their internal identity issues, it seems that Jets are on pace to seriously challenge the two season long candidates for the division crown. They're three games ahead in the schedule, so it's a bit early to look at the points totals, but last night's game is a definite statement. The Jets still face Capitals twice and Panthers once. Looking forward for a couple of previews of playoff hockey.

Playoff race - Mar 1 - Ducks and Letang

Two big things on the first of March. If Pittsburgh Penguins lose Kris Letang for another concussion after Eric Nyström's high hit, it will put a big dent in the team's cup dreams. Letang had a serious concussion that sidelined him for a lengthy period earlier this season and if this is remotely as bad, he might be out for the season. Penguins have showed remarkable ability to carry on strong without their best players Crosby and Letang, but the impact will be massive for the small margins in playoffs. Let's hope it's just a scare and Letang is back in business for the next game.

Anaheim Ducks had a spirited run going on for the final push to make it to the playoffs. Now they lost to lowly Buffalo Sabres and the climb seems just a little bit tougher. They have 18 games remaining and need to hit something like 94 points to make it to the playoffs. Colorado, Dallas and LA are all going with a velocity to take them to 90+ points and only one of these four currently has a spot for the playoffs. Only Chicago and San Jose have shown signs of weakness, but I don't believe either of those talent packed teams is going to fall out of the playoffs. So, the Ducks need to rack up 28-30 points in 18 games. That's roughly playing .800 for the rest of the regular season. And that still fails if any of the other bubble teams comes up with a .600 finish. Tough seems like an understatement here. Calgary, LA and Edmonton in the next three, one loss there would be the end of the push.

NHL 2012 Playoff race - the project

Let's try something new. Instead of the lengthy posts every now and then I'll commit to posting briefly every day under the topic "NHL 2012 playoff race", highlighting the key moments of last round of play. This will continue until the end of the regular season.

I'll try to extract the key wins or defeats for the NHL teams in the mix and also pinpoint some player activities that may have a big impact for the upcoming playoffs.

The project begins now!

Deadline pancake and a bunch of false prophets

So, the long waited NHL trade deadline came and went. Lots of articles were written and anticipation was attracted to highest levels. Then the actual day went on and pretty much nothing happened. I followed on the path of the big boys and played with the thoughts of big names moving to new teams and changing the franchises' directions. Well, should have known better. I now believe this was one big hoax conjured by the viewer hungry sports media and not really based on any proper background work.

Rick Nash stayed put. No one really even tried to get him. Or at least the seller and buyers were totally on different pages. Well, he's not entering free agency so it should have been easier to predict that all the fuzz about him was bit unnecessary.

Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Alex Semin and other big names with big contracts that fill be free agents? No moves, nothing.

The kids with remarkably upbeat seasons, e.g. P.A. Parenteau and Michael Del Zotto? Nothing? New York teams must know something we don't to not make a move with these guys. Re-sign, that is.

Biggest of the actual trades took place before the deadline day. LA Kings putting their hope on fallen star Jeff Carter and New Jersey Devils coughing up a lot to take a chance with slick blueliner Marek Zidlicky were probably the biggest. Then there was some third line reshaping and grit adding moves by potential cup contenders. Added experience may well be worth a lot duning the long playoff run. Just as well it may be irrelevant.

It seems that the trend today is to trust in the team chemistry built in the first two thirds of the season instead of trying to pull a magical move in the last minute to get an edge. The mystifying part is that all the teams on the bubble or having already lost the season are also pretty content with what they have. One could think that the bubble teams would be willing to take the biggest risks at this time and the bottom dwellers would start dramatic reshaping by unloading the failed core of the team.

As a summary, I was disappointed with the deadline action and fooled by the buzz like everyone else. Mental note is to aim to be one step ahead of this media hype instead of following on the beaten path. We'll see..

Capital mistake

Something's rotten in Washington! It's been discussed quite a while, but let's go on this topic too. The Washington Capitals have obviously failed big time to respond to the expectations this season. The media has quickly thrown Alex Ovechkin under the bus for not pulling the team to the level it belongs to. That's the easy way for laying the blame and to me it just seems a bit too light for a proper analysis. I'll throw in some thoughts of my own and hope to shed some more light on the matter.

The Capitals have been phenomenal the last few seasons. Taking home the Presidents' Trophy and three consecutive SE Division crowns. Ovechkin has been on top of the league in scoring, backed up by amazing numbers racked up by Mike Green on defence. However, the team has disappeared in the postseason every time and been criticized heavily on that.

Then, this season where everything seems to go wrong. Great start, but then just failures upon failures. Everyone is pointing fingers, but no one really takes the responsibility of changing the course. Horrible decisions have followed.

Bruce Boudreau got fired and replaced by Dale Hunter. That's replacing a coach with NHL-best record over last 3 seasons with a former NHL grinder with practically no experience on NHL level coaching. Just for a bad stretch in play. Well, now everyone can see that Hunter doesn't bring anything on the table for the Capitals and should not carry over for next season, no matter how this ends.

The Capitals' offense is based on three key players, Ovechkin, Semin and Bäckström. All of these guys are extremely skilled, but at the same time very much confidence-driven. On a bad streak, it seems, none of these guys will be the one to step up and carry the team. In general, these guys don't really have the flexibility to "go back to basics and grind it out". They're flashy, entertaining and lethally effective when the whole line plays on that level. If the line resorts to plain old basics, these guys will end up shaking their heads on the offensive blue line and waving their arms in frustration. Bench the millionaires and see who do you have to throw out there to play the 0-0 games.

Take another look and try to find out the guys who can score behind the big three. Laich, Chimera, Johansson, Brouwer? These are not exactly top of the league when compared to some other teams' secondary scoring. That's the biggest reason this team struggles mightily when the big guns are not blazing. It's easy to forget, but if one looks a bit back in history, the Capitals won a lot of 7-4, 6-5 games with the ultimate firepower. That doesn't promise much for the moment your gunpowder gets wet. And wet it has been this season. Especially after Rene Bourque cowardly clipped Niklas Bäckström out of the games.

So, the expectations for this team may be a bit too high and not based on their material, but rather on their regular season success of late. Washington is surprisingly fragile team. They lost one key piece in Mike Green early this season and haven't been able to recover for a balanced, entertaining style they require to be successful.

Washington's defense and goaltending have been mediocre at best through the great seasons but now they really show their vulnerability after losing the dominating puck possession up front. Tomas Vokoun has been on top of NHL for a long time, but seems to have lost the race against time. The young goalies in the lineup are as shaky as they come.

So, no wonder they're struggling to make it to the playoffs. And even if they do, it's easy to predict a first round exit against a top seed of Rangers, Boston or Pittsburgh for example. Simply no chance.

Let's turn our sights for the future and try to figure out what to do to change things around. Here's a short to-do list.

1) Fire Hunter and get a real coach, who understands that you need to adjust the team style according to the players and not vice versa. You can actually have different game plans for different lines, based on the strengths of the players on ice.

2) Trade Alexander Semin. He's a number one player-slash-diva for a team and will not rise to full potential in Ovechkin's shadow. Ovie is signed for life, so easy call here. In return the team will get almost the whole second line or top defensive pair.

3) Keep the faith on the superstars. Don't publicly scold the franchise player(s). Ovechkin is a natural force when mad, but quite the opposite when mad at the coach or ownership. There's a fine line to balance on but you just don't want to restrain this guy in any way. Just get over the envy for the alpha male and let Ovie run free and others will follow. Good things come, rock star style will prevail. And for ownership, don't sign the top players for 100M+ USD contracts if you don't plan to build and brand the team around them.

Start with that and see the light. Go Caps!

Top dogs

Let's walk away from the trade speculation for a short while and review the biggest point producers of late. The top of overall scoring list has very few surprises, both in and out. But lately there's been a few guys that have shown a reignited passion to break through to the scoring race.

Leading the pack is maybe the number one candidate for Art Ross trophy, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin. He has a steady team to back him up and seems to love the spotlight while Sidney Crosby is out. Malkin is a monster in every aspect on the ice. Big, strong, shoots a lot and makes plays like the best of them. With confidence up, this guy is practically unstoppable. He seems also to possess somewhat unique ability to explode for 5 points every now and then (three times this season!). A feat not many have pulled out ever despite having tremendously successfull careers. Malkin is on a continuous hot streak with 6+8 in last ten games. A minus one rating is maybe a small dent in February.

Chasing Malkin is Tampa Bay's and the whole league's number one sniper, Steven Stamkos. This boy is on fire and is really aiming for the scoring title to go with his somewhat sure Rocket Richard trophy for most goals. Stamkos' shot is just phenomenal and it's going to be fun to watch this kid score for years to come. He might end up with a number in career goals column that only few can dream of. Last ten games he's gone through the roof with 9+7 and positive plus minus rating on a team that's going to fail to make it to the playoffs. Tough to beat.

The third kid on the top three is Philly's Claude Giroux. He's also only 24 and starts to fill all expectations set for him and more. He's been really consistent while the team has gone up and down throughout the season. January saw Giroux fall from the scoring lead but now he's back, making a statement that it won't be easy to walk over him on this one. Giroux has sort of sneaked into superstardom this season and it's really interesting to see if he really is this good. Malkin and Stamkos already have some silverware for memories. Giroux is 5+10 in the last ten games, but also falling to -3 to raise some questions.

Chasing these three kids we can see some slightly more experienced guys with rising productivity. Ottawa's Jason Spezza is really on fire with 8+9 in last ten and has brought the surprising Senators to almost sure playoff spot with his heroics. Some praise must be thrown to amazing young blueliner Erik Karlsson for coming up with massive offensive numbers to complement Spezza's feats.

Another late season blast comes from New Jersey in form of always so thrilling Ilya Kovalchuk. He's got the most points in the last ten in the league if you don't count Edmonton's Sam Gagner and his 8 point night. 6+12 and counting for Ilya, and he's stepped it up on even strength too to rack up +5 during the stretch. Spending 100M on this guy may feel just a little bit less painful for the ownership when Kovalchuk is on this mode. The dude is one of the fastest out there and sized like a bull. Throw in his shot that pales to no one and this is what you should expect. Hopefully Devils can keep Parise and Elias to set Kovy up also in the future.

Some of the all season top ten guys seem to have run out of steam a bit.. well if you can call point per game that. There's Toronto's wonder pair Kessel-Lupul and Vancouver's identically scoring Sedin twins. Steadily following also Mr. Selke, Pavel Datsuyk and Buffalo's brightest star, Jason Pominville. All of these are still within a striking distance, should the big guns relax a little.

It'll be extremely tight this year and the big prize seems to fall for one of the young bucks. Hurray for modern NHL and skill hockey.

Dare to gamble?

Okay, continuing to milk the trade deadline cow. Now I'm going through some thoughts on the potential free agents that might really spark up a team they land in. In addition I'll cover some of the ageless veterans that seem to just keep on firing on all cylinders no matter how old they get. These guys are mostly loyal to their long term teams, but there might be a chance to lure one or two out of their retirement houses by dangling the Stanley Cup in front of them. Finally I'll cover some of the ultimate risks, already proven to fail easily, but still having some hidden potential underneath.

Let's start with the impact players with somewhat inconsistent history. Number one is Washington's Alexander Semin. No matter how much the North American media hates this kid, I still believe he's up there with the best of them as far as hockey skills come. Semin is clearly unhappy as the number two primadonna in the team. OVechkin steals the spotlight and as both of these guys live for recognition as the artists they are, Semin is not going to hit his peak behind the bigger Alex. Semin has a shot like Steven Stamkos, hands like Patric Kane and skating skills to match. You just need to have the desperation level as a team to take the leap to unknown an build your offense around this young Russian. As the teams in the bottom of the standings, what can you lose? Montreal, Minnesota or something.

Another Capital is closing in on the free agency. Former league-leading defenceman, Mike Green, has the potential to be the ultimate game changer, especially on the powerplay. Just look at his stats from years 08-09 and 09-10. Green has been injured much of the past two seasons and his attitude has also been questioned. But you just don't rack up 70+ points per season as a blueliner in NHL unless you have exceptional talent day in and day out. On a team with highly skilled forward group on power play, Green could be the catalyst to just blow the PP goal column through the roof. Devils, Lightning and Ducks, just to name a few.

There's also a sneaky Swede, Kristian Huselius, who has dropped totally from the radar after injuries and other woes. This guy was producing almost a point per game in Calgary and Columbus while these teams were deep down in the bottom of the league. He managed even to crack it to the positive side of plus minus charts through 06-09. If he regains his health, this 33 year old playmaker is still very potential second line forward for any team needing secondary scoring.

Three more guys with high potential and solid careers enter the free agency unless new contracts come up soon. Brad Boyes, a lethal sniper and shootout specialist is having a horrible downswing in productivity after his high scoring years in St. Louis Blues. Install him in a proper line with a good setup man and he might well regain his level of 30+ goals per season. Olli Jokinen is playing on his best level in Calgary era. He seems to have found the groove with some true veteran leadership. Calgary is likely negotiating an extension with the Great Pumpkin Head, but Olli might be tempted to make one final attempt to be a big player in a big team. So far he has only been able to rise to high level of play while playing in mediocre teams. Edmonton's Ales Hemsky still has the speed to cause envy across the league and can pack a magnificent set of hands on top of that. The young Oilers will not make it to the playoffs yet this season. Hemsky might want to try a change of scenery for the extra notch to make it to the elite of forwards before hitting his thirties. Anyone with a gap in skill and speed should be interested. Dallas, Ottawa or even Detroit come to mind.

There are so many Hall of Fame -bound veterans still playing this season on a high level that it sometimes is hard to believe. Sweden's ironman Nicklas Lidström will likely postpone retirement and carry on for yet another season in Detroit. Even if the graying Wings run out of steam come playoff time. Martin Brodeur carries on and will want to increase his incredible numbers in a Devil uniform until retirement. I can't see Teemu Selänne migrating from warm and sunny Anaheim anywhere soon. Not even for a loan to dear neighbors San Jose or LA. He'll give the Ducks another chance and another solid year even if they miss the playoffs this season. You just cannot quit as the top scorer among this lineup while you're still skating like a 20 year old and love the game as much as Teemu.

Three more big names in the veteran corps might have a temptation play the remaining years in different teams. Jaromir Jagr might swap to another uniform for another year if he stays healthy and the Flyers mess it up early in the playoffs. Ray Whitney is absolutely killing it in Phoenix and he should be on the radar of any playoff bound team that believes that veteran leadership is critical in the postseason. Milan Hejduk is also headed for free agency and might be tempted to jump out of the Colorado train for a bit more mature team to finish off his career. Any of these guys can improve any team they land in. For some teams that rely heavily on young superstars, an elderly distinguished gentleman might be a perfect mentor. You just cannot be cocky while facing Jaromir Jagr and his merits. Take a note on this, Chicago Blackhawks.

Finally, the dark horses. Evgeni Nabokov went awol last season but humbly returned for a decent campaign in lowly NY Islanders. He might be of interest for any team with secure playoff spot but problems in the net. Chicago, Philly again. Then there are the ultimate gambles in Dustin Penner and Sean Avery. Both have proven to be valuable players to cause problems to the opponents and even score some points along with the rest of the hussle. Penner was solid big bruiser in Edmonton era, always in the face of opposing goalies. Avery was driving the opposition crazy while still amusing the home team and supporters in Rangers for a long period. Falling out of favor with the coaches has totally killed these guys' careers. For a team desperate enough and willing to gamble with the team chemistry on the line, these guys will join you on a bargain tab. Help them find their groove and give them the niche they fit in and you'll end up a winner. Penner to Washington to fill up Mike Knuble's big boots. Avery to any team that has an audience that appreciates some theatrics with their daily portion of hockey. Could the city of Chicago be ready for the Avery-show? And the young fun loving corps led by Patrick Kane might have a laugh with Sean. Captain Serious excluded of course.

Top of the trade buzz

We're getting close to the trade deadline of February 27th and the buzz around the potential trades is increasing. I'll rank the obvious big names here and throw in a list of guys who are rocketing towards big contracts after tremendous seasons.

Let's begin with the names that come up the most when talking about major moves. On offense, there's two names above others, Zach Parise and Rick Nash. Undeniably, both are superstars and still in their prime years. Nash is not a free agent yet, but since Columbus seems to be pulling the plug, they may go all the way and trade their franchise player. Good for Nash, though. Wherever he'll land (obviously the target is in a playoff bound team), he'll have a chance of proving everyone how good he really is. I've seen him play in international level with some high caliber Canadian linemates and he's on par with anyone out there. One of the best finishers in the game and a huge physical force. Get in line if you have cap room. I wouldn't be too surprised if Detroit would be the one to decide to build their future around Rick Nash.

Parise is another guy already up there in the talent ladder. He can be the first line winger in any team in the NHL. However, the team that goes after him should have that gap in the first line for a perfect fit. Since this season has been a major improvement for New Jersey Devils, Parise might actually be tempted to sign for a few more years setting up Kovalchuk's blasts or tapping in Elias' passes. They've been on a roll lately.

In defense, who hasn't heard the talks on the Nashville pair of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Both are free agents to be and will require a boatload of cash to sign. It's unlikely that Nashville will come up with 15 million to tie to these two. They'll flip a coin and try to sign one and just need to get the maximum value out of trading the other. My guess is that Weber stays and Suter goes. Takers are numerous. All the potential Cup contenders will need depth in the defense when playoff time comes and count of bruises increases. And if the guy boosts the solid defensive play with excellent offensive weapons, well, who wouldn't love that.

There's a couple of hometown legends entering free agency after this season in Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth. It's very likely that they'll sign a couple of more years in Phoenix and Edmonton, since they seem to be very much loyal to the teams. Doan's case might be a bit more difficult in the Coyotes are broke as always and can't match his salary requirements. Either of these two would be very valuable in the playoff run with the heart and experience they bring in. Maybe even as purely rental players for the Cup run. Shaky, but potential teams like Flyers and Blackhawks could definitely use some calm leadership. Even Washington might try for a final push to make the playoffs and possibly ignite the potential to go further.

Then there's Finland's favourite, Tuomo Ruutu. He's been healthy (until this week) and playing on top of his game the past two seasons. Ruutu is an absolute force on the ice, cheking, digging for the puck and driving to the net. Anyone who has seen him play can agree that this guy really gives it all out on the rink. The style he plays has demanded a lot on his body. Now it would be the moment for Ruutu to end up in a much better hockey club and really become a fan favorite and a clutch player for the playoff run. He would fit in well in hard working Rangers or Blues. Equally well he could bring in the much needed grit to some softer talent-driven teams like Red Wings or Sharks. I hope to see him land on another team for another gear in his career.

In the bracket of underpaid, highly successful players looking for big contracts we have a few interesting names. James Neal and Matt Duchene are already in the secondary level in their current contracts, but have proven to be worth even more.

The two guys that can expect the most upgrade in the league are both from New York. Islanders' PA Parenteau has been playing a point per game for one of the poorest teams in the league for one million. He seems to have potential up through the roof and all teams should have him on their radars. Rangers' Michael Del Zotto has become a dominant force in the defense and has been on the top of plus-minus charts all season. He's also playing for a million and a chance this year and can expect much more for a long term.

On the goalies department there are three distinct guys that have stellar numbers but will not have the ice time while sitting behind established franchise goaltenders. Boston's Tuukka Rask may want to wait out in Boston for Tim Thomas to retire. Vancouver's Cory Schneider will not wait for Roberto Luongo's retirement and the Canucks cannot keep such a good goalkeeper as a backup for peanuts. He'll be traded to try out for a number one goalie spot in a team like Tampa Bay or Chicago. Another potential starter is Minnesota's Josh Harding. He has challenged Niklas Bäckström this season, but might want to take the starting position for granted somewhere else. Also for Minnesota it might be better to rely on Bäckström and start raising a next generation keeper behind him.

I'll soon post another story on the potential but dangerous investments in the trade deadline. Going to go through fragile superstars, ageless veterans and absolute gambles. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the trade trackers.

Adventures of the masked men

It's time to write something about the goalies. The odd stinky guys with big clumsy gear. The ones mumbling behind the mask. The ones that in the past were the last boys picked from the pond game lineup and forced to play goalie. The ones that now are often referred as half of the team or the most important player on ice. Talk about a recipe for mental issues.

Recently there's been a lot of goalie related news in Boston. Tim Thomas surprised everyone by somehow convincing himself that hockey players are supposed to issue political or generally meaningful statements. And the sports media somehow got confused and thought that hockey players' views are a great source for highly speculative journalism. Tim Thomas should have visited the White House just as the other boys. They probably served really good food and Obama shared some autographs for the willing. A perfectly good field trip for the kids of all ages. Making a big fuss about it was just stupid. Now the media seems to have more fuel on the fire and speculate the effect of Thomas' absence to the late underachievements of the Bruins. Not to mention trade rumors.

Apparently the sports reporters in Boston area were so wired to the goalie theme that they managed to find out some Finnish magazine article based on an interview of Tuukka Rask. They ran it through Google Translator or similar and ended up connecting the dots to create another scandal article. Tuukka wants to play, doesn't like sitting on the bench. Must be unhappy, poisons the team, must be traded. And so on. Now Rask has explained his chatter behind the original story and needs to convince everyone - well, the media at least - that he's happy in the team and gives hin 100% every time he is needed. And that the team goes first and it doesn't matter who's between the pipes as long as the team succeeds. And all the rest of the cliches that you need to provide when your attitude is questioned. Hello, Scott Gomez?

Behind the tabloid journalism there's some sports related bright spots amongst the goalmouth heros. NY Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist has finally found his consistent groove and seems like the one to beat in the Vezina race. Martin Brodeur isn't the same superhuman force anymore, but keeps on piling wins in his seemingly unbreakable record. Finnish workhorses Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff keep on astonishing with their solid professionalism and St. Louis' dynamic duo of Halak and Elliott seem to fit perfectly in this unbelievably improved Blues' hockey team.

On the sad stories department I need to bring up Philadelphia with their curse that brings down seemingly any goaltender they throw on the ice. Bryzgalov played huge amounts of very solid games in his time in Phoenix, but now struggles big time behind a way better team. Go figure. Honorable mention goes, as always when picking on goalies, to NY Islanders' Rick di Pietro and his monster contract and injury woes. An odd quirk in the statistics in Chicago's Cristobal Huet. He's being paid over five million dollars this year and yet he suites up for a team in Germany. I wonder how the financials have been arranged. In this equation Mr. Huet is the clear winner, losers come in many forms.

As always, it'll be really cool to follow also the keepers along the stretch run to the playoffs. Who has the stamina to pull through the final decisive rounds and continuous mental pressure? Who will need to step down from the number one spot when a younger challenger steps up his game? And ultimately, of course, who will be intimidated or shaken by the media come playoff time? It's time for experience, thick skin and cool nerves. Well suitable for silent maskesd guys from the Nordics.

Semi-Random All-Stars 2012

It's time for the yearly event of televised pond hockey in form of NHL All-Star game. This year it's hosted by Ottawa and luckily the Senators have amazed everyone with solid play for the first half of this season. Against all odds, the host team's boys can proudly participate in the rink instead of humbly filling the water bottles for true stars.

Talking about true stars, I need to rant some about the guys that somehow got left out of the ceremonies. The screaming error here is Anaheim's Corey Perry taking the spot that by any standard belongs to the amazing Teemu Selänne. Perry was superb in the second half of last season and got credits for that. However, this season he has been one of the young bulls watching the old man beat them in any category: points, consistency and heart. Come on, NHL, Selänne is breaking all the records in 40+ forwards' history and still hangs in the top-15 in league scoring race. Need to point out that Perry is 6 points behing and -15 lower than Selänne. What a failure.

-- Correction: At least according to ESPN:s Pierre LeBrun, Selänne was asked to join but refused. Too bad. Hats off to Teemu anyway on his point per game pace and all!

Maybe this whole selection should reflect the season heroics a bit more. Now it seems rather arbitrary. Just to point out a few more flukes..

How did you get Patrick Kane ahead of so many forwards that have him beaten in scoring? He's a thrilling player, but Chicago alrady has Hossa and Toews. Guys like Anze Kopitar, James Neal or rejuvenated Patrick Elias should have been considered before Kane. Maybe it's the thrill of seeing him pull off some moves in the shootout competition, who knows..

And how on earth did you guys come up with Logan Couture? He's having a mediocre season in San Jose and should be considered only after perennial All-Stars Marleau and Thornton have refused to come over. Ridiculous!

Ovechkin probably got his ticket from injured Bäckström. Maybe that's the case with a few others here too.

And guys.. you never leave Niklas Lidström out of the All-Stars lineup. Never!

-- Correction: Again, according to ESPN, Lidström requested to pass the festival. Maybe he's had enough of those already to know he's pretty good in the game. Leave it for the kids.

Finally, when you take a look at the goaltenders, you see that the selection board got tired of picking and just took some random guys after Thomas, Lundqvist, Quick and Howard, who all deserve the recognition. Elliott has been fantastic as a backup. But if you started taking backup goalies, you should have gone with Tuukka Rask, who has the best stats in the league after 15 games. Carey Price? Who is this guy to keep getting the love from everyone without much proof to base it on? There's a dozen goalies that have had better seasons so far! Workhorses Fleury, Kiprusoff and Rinne. Solid number ones Niemi, Smith and Luongo. Just to name a few.

Well, it's a relaxed event, but you should keep the serious professionalism until the team has been built. Otherwise you'll risk the few remaining reasons to keep this tradition. For players, young and old, it's always a moment of recognition for a job well done. Please, don't mess it up with personal bias.

Half way there

The season is half baked with most teams reaching the 40 game plateau. For some teams it's actually fully baked by now. But anyway, it's time to see where we are with some words on clubs that seem to fill up the headlines this season.

The good teams of 2011-2012 are mostly as expected. Now that Minnesota has had its honeymoon and heading back to the familiar conference basement, there's just the familiar packs like Rangers, Bruins, Flyers, Canucks, Red Wings and Sharks sitting on top of the conferences. Only the disastrous first half by Washington Capitals has produced a quirk in Florida Panthers hovering on the top three in Eastern conference. The funny fact of the day is that the whole Southeast division is below zero in goal difference. The least bad team will make it to the playoffs.

At the moment my money goes for an encore by Boston Bruins. That team is just so talented, deep and tough that it will take a massive effort to squeeze four wins from their hands in a playoff series. In East, the biggest challenger was Pittsburgh, until they ended up losing most of their top tier talent to injuries. Maybe, if the Penguins regroup early enough to make it to the playoffs, they still have a chance for an upset. Philly could match Boston in a brawl series, but don't have the depth in hockey skills to win in a fair game. Rangers have a strong tradition of failing in the end of the season and while they look good now, I don't see them as a contender.

The finals opponent from West will likely be Vancouver Canucks for another try and miss. If they get surprised in the battle for Western crown, there's Chicago Blackhawks to take on the Bruins. That, too, would be a brilliantly entertaining series for the Cup.

It's great to see some spark on the former powerhouses like Ottawa and New Jersey. Maybe this is a sign of another push for the spot in the premier teams' shortlist.

St. Louis Blues are the black horse on this race. They have surprised everyone under new coach Ken Hitchcock by having a very long stretch of hard working and very productive hockey. If they can carry this momentum all the way through the season, who knows how far they can go. Compared to previous years, a playoff spot would already be counted as a success.

The second half of the season will still show us if the disappointments in Washington and Los Angeles can be turned to a sure playoff spot and even a run for the Cup. Hopefully so, both teams are way too talented to not play at their full potential for the fans of hockey.

In the bottom of the standings you can find the teams everyone expected to end up there. Columbus, Edmonton, Calgary, NY Islanders and Carolina are just that bad currently. And out of these, only Edmonton has some justification in being there with its roster full of kids fresh up from junior leagues. They have a bright future unless they lose the core of the team, but the rest of this pack is just sad.

Deep down in the darkness we can also find two potentially great teams in Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning. Both have tremendous talent in their rosters, should have decent supporting cast for the superstars and even have proven goaltending to back it all up. Anaheim even changed their coach to Bruce Boudreau, who had a stellar record from his last position. Despite of all this, both seem to be doomed for the season unless they can limit the losses to half a dozen for the second half.

Next time to look at the standings will be near the regular season end. The last 10 games or so are always a thrill. And naturally a perfect time to show some foresight.