The Final Stretch

With the calendars turning over to April, the NHL has officially reached the home stretch of the regular season.  With just games left to go before playoff time, teams still in the race for a playoff spot are desperately in need of points.  The final days of the regular season plan to be a great prelude to this years quest for Lord Stanley's Cup.

In the East, the top 2 spots have easily been clinched by the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The powerhouse Bruins have been running away with the top spot in the conference since their remarkable winning streak back before the Olympics.  The Bruins clinched their playoff spot and the Atlantic Division weeks ago, and are the team everyone in the East wants to avoid.  The Penguins, despite a slide within the past few weeks continue to dominate the Metropolitan Division.  They also clinched their spot weeks ago. Despite their success this season, some might not feel that the Penguins are as dangerous as the Bruins.  Any team in the East could slide by the Penguins in a grueling six or seven game series.  What is your opinion on the Penguins?  Could they be defeated, despite their strength?  History has shown us that the Penguins can easily be gunned down come Playoff time.

Staying in the East, the fight for the final two spots in the Metropolitan Division continue to be battled for by the Flyers, Rangers and Blue Jackets.  Just a couple of points separates the teams.  The Flyers and Rangers have already punched their ticket, but where they end up is still to be seen.  Columbus still battles for the Wild Card spot, but with a few points here and there could move into a seeding.  Unfortunately for Columbus, their first round opponent could be the Bruins, depending on how the Red Wings manage their final few games of the season.

Despite their success this season, and their captain Alex Ovechkin reaching the 50 goal mark (despite being a minus-36 overall) Washington will most likely miss the Playoffs this season.  So the debate becomes...what do you want more?  A leader that can score 50 goals?  Or a team that makes the Playoffs?  Ovechkin's future certainly will be a hot topic this Summer if the Caps end up on a golf course early this Spring.



Out West, Anaheim and St Louis also continue to run away with the top spots in the conference.  Colorado, San Jose, Chicago, Minnesota and LA have punched their ticket to the Playoffs, but their exact seeding is still to be seen.

What's amazing yet, and this seems to always be the case, the West clearly is the big dog this year once again.  The 8th seed in the West continues to have almost the same amount of points as the 5th seed in the East.  Needless to say, do not be surprised to Lord Stanley end up in a Western Conference city once again this year.