NHL News and Power Rankings 3/30

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NHL News and Power Rankings 3/30

rootman54

3/31/08

The last week of the season has come. The playoff races are becoming even tighter. Although only a few teams have a shot to still get into the playoffs, teams are becoming more crowded as fewer and fewer points separate them.

In the West, Vancouver is out of a playoff spot at the moment. Though Nashville has slipped into the 8^th seed, the two are tied in points; Nashville has one more win. Edmonton (who only has two games remaining) is now tied with Vancouver and Nashville and Chicago is four points back.

Over in the East, Washington continues to make it interesting. They trail Boston by only two points. But more importantly, they trail division leader, Carolina by two points once again. The two teams will meet one more time this season, the winner likely to decide the division.

The Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Anaheim Ducks have now clinched playoff berths. San Jose has officially clinched the Pacific Division with a 3-1 win over the Ducks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders have eliminated themselves from playoff contention. Toronto ties a franchise record with a playoff drought of three years in a row.

Darren McCarty returned to the ice with the Red Wings for the first time since 2004. He started the game with teammates Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, recreating the ‘Grind Line.’

Tim Taylor will not play a game for the remainder of the season, thus ending his career. He has been recovering from shoulder surgery for a better part of the year and will retire at the end of the season.

Injuries:

Boston: Chuck Kobasew (fractured left Tibia)

Boston: Patrice Bergeron is out for the remainder of the season (concussion in Dec)

Carolina: Patrick Eaves (shoulder surgery)

Detroit: Mikael Samuelsson (groin)

Ottawa: Cory Stillman (lower body)

Pittsburgh: Marian Hossa (upper body)

Vancouver: Brendan Morrison (torn ACL)

Now for the rankings…

30. Tampa Bay Lightning 31-39-8: Last week: 2-1; The Lightning a have a major battle next week with Atlanta, it’s for last in the division and conference.

29. Atlanta Thrashers 32-39-8: Last week: 1-1; Same as the Lightning, only they actually play Tampa Bay, not themselves.

28. St. Louis Blues 31-35-12: Last week: The only win last week was against Detroit, so why don’t they play everyone else like that?

27. Los Angeles Kings 31-41-7: Last week: 1-1-1; We want #1!(In the lottery) We want #1!(In the lottery)

26. New York Islanders 34-37-8: Last week: 1-2-1; They are tied for the worst record over the past few weeks…that’s the best I got.

25. Columbus Blue Jackets 34-33-11: Last week: 1-2; Amazingly, the Jackets were involved in 3 shutouts last week. 3-0 loss, 4-0 win, and a 2-0 loss

24. Toronto Maple Leafs 36-33-10: Last week: 1-2; The Maple Leafs have been eliminated from the playoffs, that doesn’t stop them from playing spoiler.

23. Phoenix Coyotes 37-35-6: Last week: 1-1; Another loss to the leagues worst team has all but eliminated them from the playoffs.

22. Buffalo Sabres 36-30-12: Last week: 1-1-1; Unless a miracle happens, the Sabres season will end in a week.

21. Florida Panthers(-2) 36-34-9: Last week: 0-3; Florida’s run has come to an end. The four straight losses have eliminated them from the playoffs.

20. Chicago Blackhawks(+2) 37-33-8: Last week: 2-1; Only 4 points out of the playoffs, but they need more than winning out and a prayer.

19. Edmonton Oilers 40-34-6: Last week: 2-1-1; Wow! Who told the Oilers they are out of the playoffs!? Tied for 8^th, the Oilers only have two games remaining.

18. Washington Capitals 40-31-8: Last week: 3-0; Washington is on a four game win streak. 2 Points out of a division lead, and 2 points out of 8^th place.

17. Nashville Predators 39-31-8: Last week: 2-0; Now with a 3 game win streak, the Preds claim the 8^th spot in the West.

16. Vancouver Canucks(-4) 38-30-10: Last week: 0-3; The Canucks have lost four in a row and have fallen out of playoff contention. They need to win out and finish ahead of NSH.

15. Philadelphia Flyers(+1) 40-28-11: Last week: 3-0-1; Good thing the Flyers are playing good hockey, because everyone else around them in the standings is too.

14. Boston Bruins(+1) 40-28-10: Last week: 3-0; It took a fall to 8^th place to light a fire under their butts to play good.

13. Carolina Hurricanes(-2) 42-31-6: Last week: 1-1-1; If the Canes cannot beat Washington next week, their playoff hopes are on the line.

12. Ottawa Senators 42-29-8: Last week: 1-2-1; The leading scoring team in the league has also turned into the 6^th worst defensive team.

11. New York Rangers(+3) 40-26-11: Last week: 1-0-1; With only 77 games played, the 6^th seeded Rangers could sneak up to the 4^th seed, and have home ice.

10. Colorado Avalanche 42-31-6: Last week: 3-0; It’s crunch time, and they responded. A 5^th seed is possible, though not likely. Forsberg recorded 7 assists last week.

9. Calgary Flames(-1) 40-28-10: Last week: 1-2; The Flames dropped two critical games last week, but the division title hope is still alive.

8. Minnesota Wild(+1) 42-28-9: Last week: 2-1; The battle for home ice is whether they win the division or not. Leading by 3 points, Calgary has two games on them.

7. Dallas Stars 43-29-6: Last week: 1-0-1; The Stars finally snapped a 5 game losing streak with a big win over LA.

6. New Jersey Devils 43-28-7: Last week: 1-2; The Devils snapped a 5 game losing streak by beating Philly. Up next week: a chance to beat NYR for the first time this year.

5. Anaheim Ducks 44-27-8: Last week: 1-1; Clinching a playoff spot with a win over LA, the Ducks need a few more wins to clinch home ice in the first round.

4. Montreal Canadiens 44-25-10: Last week: 2-1; The East leading Canadiens dropped a game in Toronto, but can still clinch the division by beating Ottawa next Tuesday.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins 45-26-7: Last week: 2-1; With Fleury playing great goaltending, then Penguins are just waiting for Crosby to get healthy and make a cup run.

2. San Jose Sharks 47-21-10: Last week: 2-0-1; Still no losses in regulation in almost two months. Joe Thornton continues to be the MVP, leading in goals, assists, and points.

1. Detroit Red Wings 51-20-7: Last week: 1-0-1; The only left for Detroit is to watch Zetterberg and Datsyuk keep setting career highs in points.

This is the last Power Rankings Blog of the year. Games conclude next Sunday, April 6^th. After that I will have a preview of the matchups of the Stanley Cup playoffs, most likely coming out on the 7^th or 8^th. Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on this all year.

FANIQ NHL Power Rankings 3/30

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