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.
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