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 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.