Race to the Playoffs

In the NHL's Eastern Conference, the top eight teams are all but written in stone, with the biggest uncertainty being which place each will finish in. After Friday night's games, Atlanta and Toronto are 6 and 7 points back of 8th-place Tampa Bay, respectively; both have six games to play. All hope is not lost for these two teams, however. Although the Lightning play bottom-feeders Washington and Pittsburgh one more time each, these are teams with nothing to lose, and could prove to be a challenge. Besides that, Tampa faces off against division leader Carolina twice more. Atlanta can look forward to playing the Lightning one more time next Tuesday, in a four-point matchup that they absolutely must win.

The Leafs, meanwhile, must play three challenging teams in Philadelphia, Ottawa, and Buffalo; they will not face any of the teams they are chasing again, and can only control their own fates to a certain degree. Even to win all their remaining games would give them only 92 points on the year, a mark that Tampa should not have trouble passing. That being said, stranger things have happened.

With a 5-1 loss against the Penguins tonight, Florida was eliminated from the race; they will look to get Roberto Luongo under contract now, and with captain Olli Jokinen having signed at the trade deadline, have a decent core to build around. And they should do it fast, because their fans must be losing patience.

Though the playoff race in the Eastern Conference seems to be winding down, in the West, things are still up in the air. Anaheim (92 pts), Edmonton (91), Colorado (90), and San Jose (89) sit in spots five through eight, and the Canucks (87) and Kings (85) are still within striking distance. Of these six teams, the Ducks, Avalanche and Sharks are in the best shape, with 6 games remaining for each. Los Angeles has only four left with which to scrape into contention, with two of those coming against Anaheim and San Jose. Vancouver is in a slightly better position, and will play San Jose twice, along with Anaheim and Colorado once each, in four of their final five matches. The Canucks' playoff drive would be helped greatly by the return of stud defenceman Ed Jovanovski, who is rumoured to be looking at a return to the lineup on Saturday night.

When the fifth seed could still be knocked out of the playoffs, you know the competition is fierce. Anaheim should have their sights set on taking fourth place (and home ice) from Nashville, which sits four points ahead, but the Ducks should be wary of all the teams trying to catch them; they do not have any easy games left, and will be hard-pressed to fend off those which sit below them in the standings.

Should be an interesting last couple of weeks.