Last night the Rangers did the Thrashers and beat Pittsburgh, keeping the
Pens within striking distance for the Thrashers. Atlanta is sitting third in the
East but could move up to second with some help.
There are four games scheduled for tonight that have Eastern conference
playoff implications. Here's what they are:
Boston (12th, 73 pts) at Montreal (11th, 78 pts)
- This is the first game of a home-and-home series. With two clean wins
and no extra points the Bruins can move to within a point of Montreal and
keep their playoff dream alive.
- With a win tonight Montreal can move into a tie for eighth with
Carolina.
- Both teams have struggled lately. Boston got thumped 7-0 by the Rangers
on the weekend, prompting their coach to say he was embarrassed for anyone
that went to a Bruins game this year.
- Preferred outcome: Atlanta is 1-3 against Montreal this season,
but the losses came before the trade deadline makeover and before Huet got
injured. Personally I'd rather not see Montreal make it, and if they can
move up to eighth they could move up another spot or two and become a
candidate for Atlanta's first-round opponent. When The Canadiens play well
they give Atlanta fits, so I'll be going for Boston in this one.
New Jersey (2nd, 94 pts) at Toronto (10th, 78 pts)
- Toronto is another team trying to catch Carolina tonight and they could
do it with a win.
- New Jersey is fighting to stay ahead of Pittsburgh.
- The good news for the Devils is that they're 3-0-0 in their last three
road games. the bad news is that Toronto, despite being on a two-game skid,
is 2-0-0 in their last two games at home.
- Toronto
won't have Tomas Kaberle back tonight as they'd hoped. You may remember
that he was injured by Devils forward Cam Janssen on March 2. Will there be
any payback tonight?
- Preferred outcome: A Toronto win helps Atlanta stay closer to the
second spot, and if Toronto can squeak into the playoffs and be a seventh or
sixth seed they could face the Thrashers (especially if Atlanta catches NJ
and Pitt.). I'd pay top dollar to see that series. Go Leafs.
New York Islanders (9th, 78 pts) at Tampa Bay (6th, 82 pts)
- Tampa Bay is six points behind Atlanta and is on a three-game losing
streak during which they've gotten no help from their goaltenders, prompting
management to
call up their third-stringer (Karri Ramo) from Springfield.
- The Islanders haven't been doing any better between the pipes. They've
given up 16 goals in three games since Rick Dipietro got hurt, but he could
be back tonight. New York is desperate for a win, which would move them into
a tie for Carolina for eighth. Sound familiar?
- Preferred outcome: Go Islanders. There's no upside to the
Lightning inching closer to the Thrashers, and nobody in this city should
want the April 7 finale between the Thrashers and Lightning to mean
anything. Pray for a regulation win and more goalie problems for Tampa as it
can only rattle the confidence of the Lightning. It's looked for a while
like the Thrashers and Lightning might be destined for a first-round matchup.
the worse shape Tampa is in when they get there, the better.
Ottawa (4th, 92 pts) at St. Louis
- This isn't a particularly meaningful game as long as Atlanta can keep
its grasp on the Southeast Division title. Ottawa isn't going to catch
Buffalo so the highest they'll finish is fourth. St. Louis hasn't been in
the race in the West for ages, but they have plenty of people playing for
jobs next season. Don't expect them to hand the Sens a win out of the
goodness of their hearts.
- Preferred outcome: An Ottawa loss would be nice just because no
Thrashers fan should want Ottawa on a hot streak heading into the
post-season. Plenty of people are picking the Senators as a dark horse
Stanley Cup Finalist. If they can figure out how to hang on to third period
leads they could be extremely dangerous (thank goodness the Thrashers got
over that recurring problem, huh?).
