Okay. We have four games on the schedule tonight that directly impact the Eastern Conference playoff race. A couple of them have huge implications for the Thrashers, so let's take a look.

Tampa Bay (7th, 86 pts) at Carolina (11th, 84 pts)

• Tampa Bay is still on the bubble and is frantically trying to move up. They can still catch the Thrashers for the Southeast Division title but they have to outplay the Thrashers by five points. their coach guaranteed they'd make the postseason, so they have that going for them, right?
• Carolina is also on the bubble and needs a win in a bad way. They're also still in the race for the Southeast title, but their odds are bad. Barry Melrose hair bad.
• Desired Outcome: This all depends on what you want the Thrashers to do this weekend. Do you want to clinch a regular playoff spot or clinch a division title? If Carolina wins tonight and TB loses tomorrow, and the Thrashers win tomorrow, and Carolina loses on Sunday, the Thrashers are the Southeast Division champions. If Carolina loses tonight and gives the Lightning a win the earliest Atlanta can possible clinch the division is on Tuesday night, but Atlanta will get a playoff spot f Carolina, Toronto and the Islanders all lose tonight, Atlanta wins tomorrow, and the Islanders lose again tomorrow. Personally, I'm pulling for Carolina tonight.

Montreal (8th, 86 pts) at Ottawa (5th, 98 pts)

• Montreal might be in eighth but their position is extremely precarious. A win can move them as high as sixth for the time being and put pressure on the rest of the pack.
• Ottawa is red-hot and can climb as high as fourth tonight. Mathematically they can still catch Buffalo but it's not going to happen.
• Desired Outcome:  I've said all along that the Canadiens scare me as a playoff team just because they've pulled so many upsets. Longtime readers will remember that I was a Bruins fan years ago. I know what the Habs can do in the post-season. I'd rather see them lose and miss out. Of all of the potential first-round opponents (Carolina, Islanders, Toronto. Montreal, Tampa Bay and the Rangers) Montreal worries me the most. go Ottawa.

Philadelphia (15th, 53 pts) at New Jersey (4th, 98 pts)

• Philly is done, plain and simple. No news there.
• New Jersey got passed by Pittsburgh and can move back into first in the Atlantic with a win, bumping the Penguins back down to fourth.
• Desired Outcome: The battle between fourth and fifth is probably going to be the toughest in the opening round of the playoffs. Who you want to win this game depends on who you'd like to see play Ottawa. I'm all in favor of a Penguins/Senators matchup, so go Flyers.

New York Islanders (10th, 84 pts) at Buffalo (1st, 105 pts)

• The Islanders are one of the teams still on the bubble, but they're limping along without Rick Dipietro. They need a win to keep pace with the pack.
• Buffalo needs three points to clinch first place in the East.
• Desired Outcome: Go Sabres. I wouldn't mind the Islanders making it just because they could be an easy first-round opponent, but the sooner they lose the sooner the Thrashers make the playoffs.

Enjoy your weekend folks. I'll be offline for a good chunk of it (it's moving weekend) but feel free to fill up the comment section.

Obviously last night's 3-2 OT win over the Maple Leafs was huge, but where exactly do the Thrashers stand in the playoff race and in the quest for a Southeast Division title?

Well, Sports Club Stats has crunched a whole lot of numbers and they say we now have a 98.2% chance of making the playoffs and an 84% chance of winning the division. Aren't five-point leads nice?

As for when we could actually clinch a playoff berth, I'm working off of George's handy Magic Number graphic over at Talking Thrash. Based on my calculations this is where we stand:

As Craig Custance pointed out in the AJC Beat Blog, the Thrashers can clinch a playoff spot tomorrow if:

"ATL wins tomorrow (BOS)
and
The NY Islanders lose tonight (vs. BUF) and Saturday night (vs. OTT)
and
If Carolina loses tonight to TB
and
Toronto loses Saturday night (PIT)"

So we just need five games to go our way. Not a stretch at all.

So that's to clinch a playoff spot. How about the division title?

If the Thrashers win tomorrow in Boston the Thrashers can clinch the Southeast  when:

Tampa Bay loses two games and Carolina loses one game. They play each other tonight, so someone has to lose, although the loser could come away with a point and make things messy. Tampa plays tonight and on Saturday. If they lose both games and we win tomorrow the Bolts are out of the division title hunt. We would have 93 points and the most they could get would be 92. Carolina plays tonight and Sunday and would be out of it with a loss on either day, as long as the Thrashers win. So the earliest we can clinch the division is Sunday evening and that requires:

1) A Carolina win over Tampa Bay tonight
2) A Thrashers win tomorrow afternoon (1pm on SportSouth)
3) A Tampa Bay loss tomorrow night (to Washington)
4) A Carolina loss on Sunday (against the Panthers)

If Tampa only loses one game on the weekend they can drop out of the Southeast race with a loss on Tuesday, as could Carolina if they run the table this weekend. So the division could be won by the Thrashers on Sunday night or Tuesday night.

Whew. Make sense?

Now, having said all of that, what would you prefer? To clinch as soon as possible and then be able to relax for a few games or to wait and clinch on home ice in front of our fans on Wednesday night against the Capital? How about clinching a s playoff spot this weekend and the division title on Wednesday?

Comment away.

Bob Hartley is always good for a quote, and he didn't disappoint yesterday when Craig Custance asked him about all of the nonsense coming out of Toronto criticizing the Southeast Division:

Bob Hartley declined to criticize the seeding system but defended the division.

"Are we weaker than the others? I don't know. If I go in the Tampa Bay locker room and the Carolina locker room, I'm sure you'll see team pictures with the Stanley Cup. ... That's a pretty good testament to those two hockey clubs, and those two hockey clubs appear to be in our division."

He added a few other comments on the topic towards the end of his press conference last night. By the way, if you don't regularly watch Hartley's post-game press conferences on our site (or via YouTube) you're really missing out.

If the Southeast division is as soft as Toronto wants to think it is they shouldn't have left so many points on the table versus Florida, Washington and Atlanta. The Leafs were 5-6-1 against that trio of teams, though they did take care of business by sweeping Tampa Bay and winning three of four versus Carolina.

And how about Slava Kozlov folks? He gets knocked for being streaky, but boy is hot at the right time now. Four goals in two games, a new career high in points, a new franchise record for game-winning goals in a season and three game-winners in March. I can't wait to see what this guy does when he gets back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.Throw in Bobby Holik and Scott Mellanby and you have some historic playoff performers who have an incredible hunger to get back to the greatest tournament in sports.

12 days until the post-season...

From Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice:

"The hockey is different in the South," Maurice said. "The style is different. It's not as physical. The teams play a more open style. It's why they give up so many goals against."

And From Leafs captain Mats Sundin, talking about the Southeast Division leader getting a top-three seed in the playoffs:

"You should be seeded by how many points you get, not being in a (soft) division," Sundin said.

Right... we're soft and not physical. Ex must have hit Sundin so hard last year that the whole Leafs organization lost it's memory.

Pittsburgh (5th, 98 pts) at Boston (13th, 76 pts)

• The Penguins got some help last night when the Sabres beat the Devils, keeping New Jersey tied with Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh can move into second for the time being if they get a point or two tonight, but keep in mind that they'll also have played one more game than Jersey.
• The Bruins are still in it mathematically, but that's just a technicality. Let the kids audition for next year.
• Desired Outcome: This one doesn't matter when it comes to the Thrashers, but it would be nice to see the Bruins show up tired on Saturday when they host Atlanta. All I'm asking for is an exhausting game.

We only had 34 entries for today's trivia contest, and of the 34 only six people had the correct answers.

Eight current Thrashers have played in the Stanley Cup Finals and they have 15 Finals appearances between them. They are:

Greg de Vries (1)- Avalanche 2001
Niclas Havelid (1)- Ducks 2003
Bobby Holik (3)-  Devils 1995, 2000, and 2001
Slava Kozlov (3)- Red Wings 1995, 1997, and 1998
Scott Mellanby (2) Flyers 1987, Panthers 1996
Steve Rucchin (1)- Ducks 2003
Jon Sim (2)- Stars 1999 and 2000
Alexei Zhitnik (2)- Kings 1993, Sabres 1999

The most frequently missed were a young Scott Mellanby's appearance way back in 1987 with the Flyers, Sim's second appearance in 2000 and Zhitnik's run with LA in 1993. A few people included Brad Larsen, but he didn't play in the finals with Colorado, and while Jason Krog did play with Anaheim in 2003, he's not on the Thrashers roster.

Regardless, feel free to correct people when they tell you the Thrashers don't have the experience to go all the way.

Congrats to Marisa H., today's winner.

Due to last night's road game there's no morning skate today, which makes it kind of hard for me to do a morning skate update. I have no idea if there are any line changes or lineup changes (remember- Bob Hartley said Steve McCarthy would play before the playoffs) but we do know that Johan Hedberg is getting the start in net (it was announced in the AJC earlier this week). Kari should be back in for Saturday's game in Boston.

In lieu of a morning skate update, let's take a look at the Maple Leafs.

First off, they're 6-3-1 in their last ten. Fairly solid, until you realize that all six wins were in Toronto and that the Leafs have only picked up one point over their last four road games (yes, I'm taking shots from within my glass house- the Thrashers haven't won on the road since February). Meanwhile the Thrashers are 7-1 over their last eight home games.

Toronto is sitting two points out of the eighth spot and they alternate home and road games for the remainder of the season. They're coming off of solid wins over Carolina (6-1) and a huge win over the Sabres (4-1) so they have momentum on their side. Their power play is slightly better than ours (17.5% vs. 16.7%) and their penalty kill is slightly worse (79% vs. 79.5%). Keep in mind though that Atlanta's PK has been solid lately, even after giving up a goal last night. On paper the two teams are very evenly matched.

In practice, your Thrashers have the edge so far this season. Toronto won the first game up in Canada but Atlanta dominated the next two, winning 5-0 at Philips and 5-2 in Toronto. Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa have had their way with the Leafs, as Hossa has potted four goals and picked up a pair of assists in the season series while Kozlov has five helpers and two goals. Meanwhile Darcy Tucker has been a thorn in the sides of Thrashers fans, scoring three of Toronto's six goals in the series.

I'm not one not publicly predict wins or losses (though I do it at the office all the time) but I feel a win coming tonight. I think the guys are sick of the speculation and the doubts and I have a feeling they're going to take care of business tonight. A quick start and the first goal are huge keys to the game. the longer Toronto is in it the more trouble the Thrashers will be in.

Looking back at the losses in Florida and Pittsburgh, the team actually played fairly well. they limited chances and didn't panic in their own end. If they can keep that up but get the offense rolling they'll be fine.

If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the NHL.com game preview.

By the way, I'm loving the way today's trivia contest is shaping up. So far there have been there have only been five correct responses and plenty of wrong ones. Make sure you double-check your answer, because this isn't an easy one.

One point is better than none and the god news is that the Thrashers can match Tampa Bay's record from here on out (or even give up two points) and they'll still win the division. All of the pressure is on the Lightning and the Hurricanes, and both teams are struggling to keep pucks out of their nets right now. On to the trivia.

You know the drill. I post the questions and you submit your answer to try to win two free tickets to tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs- everyone's favorite team to hate. At 2pm we'll draw the winner from all of the correct responses, so if you enter keep an eye on your email inbox. You only have two more chances to win after today.

Remember- submit your answers by 2 pm today. Stragglers don't win. Today's question ties in a little bit with my post yesterday about Kari Lehtonen. I mentioned that a lot of people will be anxious to point out that Kari doesn't have any NHL playoff experience heading into this postseason. Likewise they'll probably be saying that the Thrashers lack playoff experience too. They do as a team, but they don't as individuals. In fact, they have boatloads of it, including more than one hand worth of Stanley Cup rings.

Please read the newly posted rules and regulations for this contest and be aware that you will have to sign and return a form or two if you are selected. You also must be 18 years of age to win Submit your answers (thrashers.mailbag@atlantaspirit.com), and check back at 2:00 p.m. for the answer and to see if you've won! 

Thanks for the help Florida and Toronto. How weird is it that the two teams that gave us a hand last night are the teams we play tonight and tomorrow night? Now it's time for the Thrashers to take care of business and build up a nice little lead over the Lightning. Aside from the obvious thrashers game, here's what's up tonight in the Eastern conference playoff race.

New Jersey (2nd, 98 pts) at Buffalo (1st, 103 pts)

• New Jersey still has an outside shot at first and is trying to stay ahead of Pittsburgh. This games uses up Jersey's game in hand and a win would put them in striking position of the Sabres.
• The Sabres have been playing .500 hockey lately and should be concerned about the Devils and Senators. A win here has them sitting pretty with six games left.
• Desired Outcome: The Thrashers aren't going to catch Buffalo but could still catch the Devils. all they have to do is pick up 11 or 12 of a possible 12 points and hope the Devils and Penguins tank, giving Atlanta the second seed. It could happen, right? Realistically this game doesn't have any implications for the thrashers until at least the second round of the playoffs.

Carolina (9th, 84 pts) at Philadelphia (15th, 51 pts)

• The Carolina Hurricanes are sitting in ninth but are only two back of Montreal and Tampa Bay. They desperately need a win to stay in the hunt and Philly might be the team to give one to them.
• The Flyers are throwing ice time at next year's lineup to see how things shake out. They're also test driving their new goalie and hoping Biron turns out to be worth $3.5 million per year.
• Desired Outcome: Go Flyers. I have faith in the Thrashers, but the less teams there are breathing down our necks the better. Carolina worries me more than the Lightning do, just because Ward is back and Eric Staal is picking up the pace. I'd rather have the Hurricanes out of the race when Atlanta heads to Raleigh next Friday.

Now let's go Thrashers. we're on SportSouth and 680 The Fan tonight, so you have no excuses for not taking in the game.

There are lots of bits and bites from around the NHL today. Here are some things that jumped out at me:

Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella has guaranteed that the Lightning will make the playoffs:

John Romano from the St. Petersburg Times isn't so sure:

Thanks to Kukla's Korner for the pointer on that second article. Tortorella's musical goalies routine has got to be driving fans nuts, and I can't imagine the way he treats his goalies is going to help attract any free agent keeps this summer if the Lightning decide to jettison Marc Denis. good luck with that. Holmqvist is a free agent come July and if you were him would you want to stick around?

If you're looking for highlights from all of last night's games (most of which went the Thrashers' way) you could do a whole lot worse than checking out NHL On The Fly. Bookmark the page like I did and you can see complete highlights every game every night, complete with studio commentary.

The Hockey News surveyed NHL players on just about everything, from fighting to shootouts to the best and worst ice in the NHL. Atlanta did better than I would have guessed in some categories and worse than I expected in others.

ESPN the Magazine has published their annual Fan Satisfaction Rankings. The Thrashers finished 16th overall among NHL teams. that's an improvement from 2003 and 2004, but not from 2006 because ESPN didn't think it was worth talking to NHL fans last season. I'm not sure why there's such a large discrepancy between the rating and the Hawks when you look at the Atlanta numbers. I'm sure performance shapes perception, but it's the same arena, same concessions, same general prices, same ownership and same overall game experience. Just one more reason for me to be cynical about ESPN I guess.

From the NHL's daily email loaded with news and notes from around the league:

Finally, you may recall that Marcy Rylan and Lawrence St. Victor from The Guiding Light stopped by for the February 24 game against the Hurricanes. Well, they filmed some video while they were here and it's up on the show's web site. Just go here and then click on "Experience the Light".

When the Thrashers make the playoffs you're going to hear and read a lot about how goaltending is the key to a solid playoff run. Then you'll have all the experts pointing out that Kari Lehtonen is a 23 year-old playoff rookie. A few of them might point out that Cam ward had zero NHL playoff experience prior to winning the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Award last year, but most of them will write off the Thrashers due to Lehtonen's inexperience, and the lack of playoff experience for the team in general. The second point is a complete myth, given how many players the Thrashers have that have won the Cup or gone deep in the post-season, but that's for another day.

The critique of Lehtonen, while accurate, is misleading.

It's true that Lehtonen has never stepped onto the ice in an NHL playoff game, but it's not as if Lehtonen hasn't been put in pressure situations. Before he ever even came across the pond to North America he had a Finnish Elite League Championship to his name, and he won that a an 18 year-old. Ever humble Lehtonen tried to downplay his role in Jokerit's championship run in 2001-02 when I asked him about it yesterday.

"It was a nice experience. The first year I played with [Jokerit] I was able to help the team win the cup. That was a great experience for an 18-year old, to be able to play in a league like that and to play well under big pressure."

To say he was playing under pressure is putting it mildly. The Finnish Elite League is one of the most respected leagues in Europe and Lehtonen was competing as a rookie. Not only that, but he stole the starting role and won eight of 11 games, posting a .940 save percentage and picking up three shutouts along the way. Not bad for the youngest goalie in the league. It was good enough to earn Lehtonen his first of back-to-back Urpo-Ylonen Trophies as the leagues top netminder. And that was all before he was drafted the following June.

The next season Kari went 23-14-6 with Jokerit and had a 1.98 GAA and .928 save percentage to go along with five shutouts in the regular season. The team fell in the semi-finals of the playoffs but it was no fault of Lehtonen's as he went 6-4 with a 1.63 GAA and .941 save percentage. Thus the second goaltender of the year award.

Lehtonen points to those years as being formative in his young career.

"I think that made me a lot better goalie. That made it easier for me to come over here and go to Chicago and play in a couple of playoffs there."

In Lehtonen's second season with the Chicago Wolves he was up against plenty of top-level talent as young NHL players flooded the AHL during the 2004-05 lockout season. Kari posted a 38-17-2 record to go with a 2.27 GAA and .929 save percentage and five shutouts with a team that included current Thrashers JP Vigier, Brad Larsen and Derek MacKenzie. Lehtonen's solid play in the post-season carried the Wolves to the Calder Cup Finals where they ran into fellow Finn Antero Nittymaki and current Thrasher Jon Sim who helped the Philadelphia Phantoms down Lehtonen and the Wolves. Although the Wolves were swept in four straight games the consensus when you ask the people involved in the series is that almost every game could have gone either way thanks to the goaltending displays of the young Finnish netminders.

Asked how the pressure to make the playoffs with the Thrashers compares to his playoff runs with Jokerit and Chicago Lehtonen was thoughtful.

"I think there is always a certain amount of pressure. This is just a different kind. This situation for us now is as much life and death as the playoffs. We need to win games now to get there, and that's all I'm thinking about right now," said the young goalie. "I really enjoy playing under the big pressure though. That's when I do the best job I think."

Time will tell if the Thrashers career leader in wins and shutouts can rise to the occasion again, but tonight should be a pretty good indication as Lehtonen suits up against the Panthers in what could be the biggest game of the season to date for the Thrashers.

And if all goes according to plan don't let anyone tell you that Lehtonen doesn't have the pedigree to make it in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, because we know better.

We've received a couple of entries for the Unleash Your Fury video contest. Here's the first one:

Not too shabby. Keep them coming folks. If you're on the fence about entering keep in mind that there's a VIP playoff experience on the line, complete with a pair of playoff tickets. Playoff tickets.

Welcome to today's edition of Playoff Watch. There were no Eastern Conference games last night so the NHL is making u for it tonight with six games involving teams still in the Eastern Conference hunt. Here's how they break down.

Pittsburgh (5th, 96 pts) at Washington (14th, 65 pts)

• Washington's goose is cooked but they have plenty of players that are playing for contracts who are happy to play the role of spoiler.
• Pittsburgh is tied with the Devils but New Jersey has a game in hand in more wins. A Penguins win and a Devils loss tonight moves Crosby and company into the second seed.
• Desired Outcome: With and eight point gap to make up and only 12 points left on the table the Thrashers don't have much of a shot at moving any higher than third. Odds are the loser in the race for the Atlantic title is going to finish fifth, and the Thrashers are eyeing the third sixth or seventh spot, so this one really doesn't matter much. A Washington upset would keep things interesting though.

Florida (12th, 76 pts) at Tampa Bay (7th, 84 pts)

• Florida is still hanging around but realistically, they're done. They aren't going to close an eight-point gap with seven games left and pass four teams in the process.
• Tampa Bay refuses to go away and is only two back of Atlanta. They can put pressure on the Thrashers with a win tonight, but they're actually worse at home than they are on the road. Tampa is still in danger of slipping out of playoff contention so they're desperate for these points. Tampa is 4-2-1 against the Panthers this season.
• Desired Outcome: Go Panthers. The more of a cushion there is between the Lightning and the Thrashers by the end of next week the better. As exciting as it would be, I'd rather not have the division title on the line when we host Tampa Bay in the season finale.

Carolina (8th, 84 pts) at Toronto (11th, 82 pts)

• Carolina is hanging onto the eighth spot and is still eying the Southeast Division title, even though they haven't been in first in the division all season. They could tie Tampa Bay and move into seventh with a win and a Lightning loss.
• The Maple Leafs refuse to quit and are just two points out of the last playoff spot. they're not strong at home and a large part of that is Andrew Raycroft who for some reason plays with more confidence between the pipes when he's on the road. It couldn't have anything to do with the constant criticism form Leafs fans, could it?
• Desired Outcome: A Toronto regulation time win. A hot Carolina team should scare everyone, and I'd rather see the race for the last couple of spots go down to the wire. The more the 6-11 teams beat up on each other the better, especially if the Thrashers can win a few games and get some distance between themselves and the rest of the pack.

NY Rangers (6th, 87 pts) at Montreal (10th, 84 pts)

• The Rangers aren't going to catch anyone but they sure would like a cushion so they can sleep at night. They might be the most consistent team in the East right now, and it has a lot to do with their goaltending.
• Montreal is still in the fight and can move into a tie for seventh with some help tonight. They've been showing some signs of life lately, and as I mentioned previously, they're always a threat to steal a round once they get into the postseason.
• Desired Outcome: It's a tough call, but I'd probably prefer a Rangers win. I like how Atlanta matches up with New York and wouldn't mind seeing the two teams faceoff in the opening round, which is what would happen if the season ended with the standings as they are today.

Boston (13th, 74 pts) at Ottawa (4th, 98 pts)

• It might not be official yet, but Boston is out. They're playing for pride, individual stats and 2007-08 roster spots. Based on their performance in Pittsburgh on Sunday none of those mean a whole lot to them.
• Ottawa has already clinched a playoff spot and the way they're playing (no regulation losses in their last ten games) they could close the five-point gap between them and Buffalo and take the top seed in the conference.
• Desired Outcome: It doesn't really matter, so let's pull for the upset. Even though Buffalo scares me a bit I'd rather see them hang on to the top spot.

New Jersey (2nd, 96 pts) at NY Islanders (9th, 84 pts)

• New Jersey is battling Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division crown and can keep their lead with a win tonight.
• The Islanders might be tied for the last spot but they're done. Rick Dipietro is out with post-concussion syndrome and New York's chances rest with Mike Dunham. I think I know that story ends.
• Desired Outcome: A New York win would keep things interesting at the bottom of the heap, and I like interesting. Odds are New Jersey is going to roll over them though.

Keep an eye on NHL.com's Countdown to the Quest page. Each day they're putting together some Stanley Cup related videos and articles from players around the league, and they've done a great job highlighting the spirit of the Cup and the playoffs in general. Next up is a feature that will include interviews with various Thrashers talking about Stanley Cup and playoff traditions. People that don't know better might think of this team as being inexperienced when it comes to the playoffs, but keep in mind that the individual players have six Stanley Cup rings between them.

Speaking of video features, make sure you check out the new Unleash Your Fury contest. Do you think you're the biggest Thrashers fan in Blueland? Show us how you Unleash Your Fury by filming yourself and uploading it to YouTube. We'll post the entries here on our site and the best of the best will get VIP treatment at the Thrashers first playoff game.

I was going to write something about not panicking and keeping things in perspective but The Falconer beat me to the punch. Good stuff. those posts always look better coming from a fan than they do coming from a guy that works for the team.

I really thought the guys played a fairly solid (albeit conservative) game on Saturday. They were strong in their won end, held an explosive offense to less than 30 shots. Despite going 0-3 on the power play the Thrashers did a better job once they were set up than they've been doing lately. There was more movement, more shots, and more action around the crease. They just didn't get into the zone often enough when they had the advantage.

In their own end the guys were solid. clearing attempts could have been stronger but they severely limited Pittsburgh's scoring chances and Lehtonen got the support he's been missing recently. Like Scott Mellanby said in the AJC, it was one of the team's strongest games of the last few weeks, despite the loss. If the offense had have been clicking it would have been a different story. 

A key to making that happen on Wednesday in Florida will be to have Eric Belanger back. Belanger missed the second half of the game on Saturday with a minor leg injury, but he practiced today and there's no reason to think he won't be ready for Wednesday night. So that's good news, right?

Nothing to report on Jon Sim's condition yet. All indications are that the surgery went well. Now it's a matter of seeing how quickly he recovers.

I'll be up in Duluth tomorrow morning for practice so I'll see what I can find out. If anyone has questions they'd like answered by players feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

On a side note it was nice to see Keith Tkachuk, Kari Lehtonen and Brad Larsen enjoying the Hawks game yesterday. The Hawks fell to the Dallas Mavericks but they kept it close, losing 104-97. Here are the guys with Dominique Wilkins, one of the most approachable guys you'll ever meet.

There's one and only one game involving Eastern Conference teams tonight and it happens to be a good ol' border battle between the Leafs and the Sabres.

Toronto (11th, 80 pts) at Buffalo (1st, 101 pts)

• This is the first game of a home-and-home series. Buffalo has the best home record in the Eastern Conference and they're coming off of 5-2 drubbing of the Capitals.
• The Sabres are in no danger of being caught by anyone in the conference, but they are battling Nashville for first place in the league. It's always nice to have a President's Trophy on the mantle, and home ice in the Finals is huge if you can get there.
• The Maple Leafs are two points behind the pack that's tied for eighth and they don't have a particularly easy schedule ahead of them. Losing both games this weekend would kill their playoff hops.
• Preferred Outcome: Go Sabres. Soften them up before they come to Philips next Thursday, okay? A Buffalo win doesn't hurt Atlanta at all, and Toronto missing the playoffs would bring plenty of joy to Blueland.

And now you know why Bob Hartley called Joe Thornton the best passer in the NHL yesterday morning after the morning skate.

Wow, was that ugly or what? It should have been an up-tempo match with heavy-weight contenders matching each other blow for blow. Instead the Thrashers landed one good punch at the beginning of the opening round and then wound up punch drunk by the time the first bell sounded.

It's entirely possible that nobody can stop Joe Thornton's line the way they're playing right now, but you at least have to answer with some counter-punches. Last night that didn't happen and the Thrashers just took a good old fashioned whooping. There's no way to sugar coat it and there's no excuse to it. San Jose was the better team for fifty minutes and nobody on our bench responded. As good as the Sharks' offense was, ours was equally futile. How many genuine scoring chances did Tkachuk, Kovalchuk, Hossa and Kozlov have? You could probably count them all on one hand. Toskala had an easy night in his end while Lehtonen was hung out to dry in his. Don't try to pin this loss on the refs or the missed offside call. If the players had been doin