NHL Update

Been a while since we've talked any hockey, but since we're down to around 10 games left in the season, figure now's as good a time as any to update where everyone's at in the playoff races:

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia 42-19-7 91 Pts
2. Washington 39-20-10 88 Pts
3. Boston 38-21-9 85 Pts
4. Pittsburgh 39-22-8 86 Pts
5. Tampa Bay 38-22-9 85 Pts
6. Montreal 38-24-7 83 Pts
7. Buffalo 33-27-8 74 Pts
8. NY Rangers 35-30-4 74 Pts

There's still 4 teams in the East within striking distance of those final two spots. The Carolina Hurricanes sit at 72 points, the Leafs and Thrashers have 70 points and the Devils have 68 points. But of those teams at the bottom, only Buffalo and New Jersey have 12 games left. The Rangers, Canes, Leafs and Thrashers only have 11. As far as the division races go, the Northeast race is the tightest with just two points separating Boston and Montreal. Washington has a three point lead over Tampa Bay and Philly has a five point lead over the Penguins.

Western Conference

1. Vancouver 44-16-9 97 Pts
2. Detroit 40-20-8 88 Pts
3. San Jose 39-22-7 85 Pts
4. Dallas 37-23-8 82 Pts
5. Chicago 37-24-7 81 Pts
6. Los Angeles 38-25-5 81 Pts
7. Phoenix 35-23-11 81 Pts
8. Calgary 36-25-9 81 Pts

As you can see, things are really jumbled up at the bottom of the standings. In addition to the 4 teams stuck on 81, Nashville's got 80, Anaheim 79 and Minnesota 77. So the only two teams that can rest easy right now are the Canucks and the Wings. I'll try to do a better job keeping tabs on the races now that we're really in the home stretch.

League Leaders

Points - Daniel Sedin, Vancouver - 86
Goals - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay - 42
Goals Against Average - Tim Thomas, Boston - 2.03