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 - 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 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 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 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 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.