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 - 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.