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Playoff Race Update
By Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

A lot can change in two weeks. The competition for the final pair of playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, once considered a three-team race, has suddenly become a six-team derby thanks to some inspired play from the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Out West, the Dallas Stars are actually making a serious run at the top seed, while just about every other team continues to swap playoff slots on a daily basis. Here's a quick update of where things stand as of Tuesday morning, April 1.

Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia Flyers (43-22-11, 97 pts): The Flyers actually seemed to get a boost from Eric Lindros going out with a bruised calf, as a result of the now infamous Rich Pilon hip check. Without their captain, the boys rallied together for impressive wins over the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils. The win over El Diablo is what's currently keeping the Fly guys in first place by two points, although the Devils do have a game in hand. Now that Lindros is back healthy, and Ron Hextall appears to have found his game again, the battle down the stretch for first place should be very interesting.

Key Remaining Games: The biggest game of the year could be the season finale on April 13. That's when the Devils come to town for what could be a winner-take-all event.

2. Buffalo Sabres (38-26-11, 87 pts): The Sabres have fallen on hard times now that Dominik Hasek is out with a rib injury, losing four in a row and five of their last six. The good news is that Hasek should be back soon. And the Sabres were pretty much locked into the second seed anyway, so the losses really don't mean a whole lot.

Key Remaining Games: Buffalo is cemented in the two hole. They could take the rest of the season off and it wouldn't matter.

3. New Jersey Devils (41-21-13, 95 pts): El Diablo is muy, muy bueno. The Devils stumbled a bit, going 1-2-1 and allowing the Flyers to move ahead in the race for first place, but have snapped out of it by winning their past two games. They still trail the orange and black by two points, but they do have that all-important game in hand.

Key Remaining Games: The most important game for the Devils is that April 13 contest in Philly. While El Diablo has to play it on the road, the Flyers will be playing their second game in as many nights, having skated the night before in Montreal. That might give the Devils a slight edge.

4. Florida Panthers (33-26-18, 84 pts): The Panthers have problems. The Cats are 1-3-2 in their last six games, bringing into question whether or not they'll be able to hold down the fourth spot and home-ice advantage in the first round. John Vanbiesbrouck is doing his best to keep the club competitive, but the losses of veterans such as Brian Skrudland, Mike Hough, Gord Murphy, and Johan Garpenlov to injury have really cramped Florida's style. Kirk Muller is still looking for his first goal as a Panther and hasn't exactly lit a spark under the team since arriving from Toronto. Meanwhile, Ed Jovanovski, one of the main cogs in the Panthers' miracle run to the Finals last year, is playing the worst hockey of his young career. Things aren't lookin' good.

Key Remaining Games: Florida has three more games on the road, in Toronto (4/2), Boston (4/5), and Washington (4/6), before returning home to close out the season with games against the Devils and Penguins. Florida's last game is on April 11, so the club will be able to watch the competition finish. And if they don't beat Pittsburgh in that last game, they may be watching the Penguins move into fourth place.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (36-33-7, 79 pts): Jaromir Jagr is back and the Penguins appear ready for a solid stretch run. With Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, and Jagr reunited on the top line, the sky's the limit for Pittsburgh. The Pens have now moved ahead of the Rangers into fifth place, thanks to owning the tie- breaker of more wins, and are only five points behind the Panthers for fourth place. They also got that whole game-in-hand thing on the Cats. The Penguins are easily the wild card in the whole playoff picture. If the Birds get hot, a return to the Finals isn't out of the question. Of course, they could also fold like a chair in the first round. Go figure?

Key Remaining Games: The Pens have two remaining games against the Bruins, so that's a good thing. The big game, tho', is the April 11 meeting with the Panthers in Florida. Fourth place should be up for grabs.

6. New York Rangers (35-32-9, 79 pts): The Blueshirts continue to disappoint. With Mark Messier being bothered by nagging injuries, the Rangers are really having trouble finding a consistent level of play night after night. Wayne Gretzky isn't enough to turn things around by himself. If the Rangers are going to move back ahead of Pittsburgh or catch the Panthers, Mike Richter will have to be the man to carry the team.

Key Remaining Games: The Rangers have a tough schedule the rest of the way. Of their six remaining games, they play both the Sabres and Flyers two times each.

7. Montreal Canadiens (28-34-14, 70 pts): The Habs currently enjoy a two-point lead over the Capitals and Whale, and a three-point advantage over the Islanders and Senators. They'll have the chance to control their own destiny, playing five of their final six games against the clubs they're battling. First up is a home-and-home series with the mighty sea mammals. That's followed by a home-and-home with the Isles and then a trip to Washington. Montreal closes out the season with a home game against the Flyers on April 12. That is not an easy schedule.

Key Remaining Games: Every game is an important one, but the home-and-home series with both the Whale and the Isles really stand out. If the Habs get swept in either one they could be in trouble. Montreal is 2-2-0 against Hartford this season and 2-0- 0 against the Islanders.

8. Washington Capitals (30-38-8, 68 pts): Why do the Caps suck? There is no reason for this club to still be fighting for a playoff spot. It's time for Peter Bondra to step up and be the man for the Caps. No one else seems willing to do it.

Key Remaining Games: The Caps have a tough road to hoe. Their six remaining games are against the Devils, Senators, Panthers, Canadiens, Islanders, and Sabres. The big ones are obviously the contests with the Sens, Habs, and Fish Sticks. The bad news for the Caps is that while they are 3-0-0 against Montreal this year, they're 0-3-0 versus Ottawa and 0-4-0 against the fishermen. To make matters worse, New York's Tommy Salo has shut out the Caps the last three times the teams have met. Washington could actually be in some serious trouble. LCS has been backing the Capitals all season, but frankly we're a little fed up with them. They don't deserve to make the playoffs.

9. Hartford Whalers (29-36-10, 68 pts): It was assumed by most that the Whale would roll over and beach itself upon hearing the news that they won't be returning to Hartford next season. Surprisingly, almost the exact opposite has happened. The Whale have won both their games since the announcement and seem to be feeding off the emotion of the sad developments. SAVE THE WHALE! YEE-HAW! PLAYOFF HOCKEY IN THE MALL! YEE-HAW!

Key Remaining Games: If the Whale get into the playoffs, they're gonna have to earn in. Four of their final seven games come on the road, where the club has been just dreadful this season. The good news is that five of the seven games are against teams in direct competition with the mighty sea mammals, including two against the Canadiens and one each against Ottawa, the Islanders, and Tampa Bay. If the Whale win those games, they're all good. Keep hope alive!

10. New York Islanders (28-36-11, 67 pts): The arrival of Robert Reichel at the trade deadline seemed to revitalize the Fish Sticks. Reichel has teamed up with Ziggy Palffy and Bryan Smolinski to give the Isles a potent top scoring line, with Reichel bagging 12 points in his first five games with New York. Over that time the club has gone 4-0-1, creating plenty of playoff excitement on Long Island.

Key Remaining Games: The Isles' have seven games left, including five against teams fighting for a playoff spot. After games on the road in Dallas and St. Louis, the fishermen finish the season with a home game against the Lightning Bolts, a home- and-home with the Canadiens, a home game versus the Whale, and then a trip to Washington to battle the Caps. These five games will tell the tale.

11. Ottawa Senators (26-34-15, 67 pts): Ottawa has been impressive in staying in the race this long. It would be nice to see them make it, but the deck is stacked against them. They only have two games left with teams they're fighting with for the final spot and they have the least wins of any of the teams vying for a post-season berth, meaning they could lose out on a tie- breaker.

Key Remaining Games: Against Washington on April 3 and Hartford April 9.

12. Tampa Bay Lightning (29-38-8, 66 pts): The Bolts are hanging close thanks to Johnny Cullen and the triumphant return of Daren Puppa, who stopped 28 shots in a 1-1 tie with the Panthers on Sunday, March 30. The only hope Tampa has is if Puppa stonewalls the competition from here on out. They have games in hand on most of the other teams, so that's the good news. The bad news is the Bolt's final games are against Philadelphia, New Jersey (2), the Islanders, Pittsburgh, the Rangers, and the Whale. That's tough.

Key Remaining Games: Obviously the games against the Islanders (4/5) and Whale (4/13) are huge.

Western Conference

1. Colorado Avalanche (46-21-9, 101 pts): Suddenly, the Colorado Avalanche doesn't look so unbeatable. The Champs have lost three of their last four, Patrick Roy is out with a minor shoulder injury, and Joe Sakic seemingly hasn't scored a point since the Carter administration. What does this all mean? Well, not much. They're still the best team in hockey.

Key Remaining Games: The men with feet on their shoulders have April 11 circled on the calendar. That's when they travel to Dallas to play the Stars in the contest that could decide the top spot in the Western Conference.

2. Dallas Stars (46-23-6, 98 pts): The Stars have gotten hot at just the right time, going 7-0-2 in their past nine games to move within three points of Colorado with one game in hand. The story for the Stars has been the play of Arturs Irbe. With Andy Moog still sitting out because of a sore back and injured ankle, the little Latvian has been real wizard in net. Listen closely and you can almost hear the chant that rang true in 1993- 94... Chomp, chomp, chomp! Irbe Like wall! Chomp, chomp, chomp!

Key Remaining Games: If Dallas wants the top spot in the West, they'll have to beat the Avalanche when they come to town on April 11.

3. Detroit Red Wings (36-24-15, 87 pts): Detroit has planted roots in the number three slot. Not much else to play for except confidence entering the postseason.

Key Remaining Games: Um, they don't have any.

4. Edmonton Oilers (35-35-7, 77 pts): The Oilers have settled into a nutty pattern. They've alternated wins and losses over their past six games and have gone 4-5-0 in their past nine. Being five points ahead of ninth place Calgary, the Oil should still have a playoff spot wrapped up, but they could drop to a lower position... maybe even as low as eighth.

Key Remaining Games: They've only got five games left, the biggest of which are matchups with the Blackhawks (4/3) and Coyotes (4/11).

5. Anaheim Mighty Ducks (33-33-11, 77 pts): The Ducks are playoff bound, dude. Quack, quack, quack. The only thing that could derail the Ducks' post-season plans is if Teemu Selanne doesn't return soon from his bruised hip, or if Guy Hebert doesn't return to form after his recent bout with dehydration and exhaustion.

Key Remaining Games: The Ducks have a big game against Chicago on April 1. After that they can feast on two remaining games with the Sharks (4/2, 4/11) and one against the Kings (4/9).

6. Phoenix Coyotes (35-35-6, 76 pts): The Desert Dogs could be poised to move up in the standings. They own two more wins than Anaheim and finish the season against the Oilers in Edmonton. So the possibility of improvement is there. Of course, the Coyotes also have games against Colorado and Dallas. Those aren't gonna be easy.

Key Remaining Games: The season finale in Edmonton on April 11 could be huge as far as playoff positioning is concerned.

7. St. Louis Blues (33-34-9, 75 pts): Just when it looks like the Blues are ready to fall apart, they come up with two straight wins over Los Angeles and Philadelphia to pull back into the thick of things. The club had lost three of four just before the modest two-game winning streak. Grant Fuhr has been the most valuable Blue, playing every game in recent memory. He doesn't even go home at night, he just sleeps in the St. Louis goal crease. Without Fuhr the Blues would be dead. With him they should be able to sneak into the playoffs.

Key Remaining Games: The Blues have a big game against Chicago on April 9. A win there would do wonders to cement their playoff position. The depressing part of the Blues' schedule is they still have two games left to play in Detroit (4/1, 4/13).

8. Chicago Blackhawks (31-33-12, 74 pts): With Chris Chelios healthy and Tony Amonte leading the way on offense, the Hawks look like a strong contender for the eighth spot. They also have a slew of crucial games down the stretch that should determine their fate.

Key Remaining Games: All of Chicago's games are enormous. The Hawks have three straight road contests against Anaheim (4/1), Edmonton (4/3), and Calgary (4/6), before they return home to host St. Louis (4/9) and Calgary (4/11). The Hawks then close out the season in Dallas on April 13. But those five games against fellow desperation teams will decide where the Hawks end up.

9. Calgary Flames (32-36-8, 72 pts): The Flames are a hard working club, but that just doesn't look like it will be enough to get them into the big show. Theo Fleury is going to have to carry this team on his back if Calgary wants to keep playing past April 12.

Key Remaining Games: The Flames have two games against Chicago on April 6 and 11 that could decide which of the two clubs gets invited to the postseason. Games against Colorado (4/1) and Detroit (4/8) sort of put a damper on the wishful thinking for El Scorcho.

10. Vancouver Canucks (32-40-5, 69 pts): Much like the Capitals, the Canucks don't deserve to be in the playoffs. So why bother talkin' about 'em?

Key Remaining Games: Aw, who cares?

Well, that's the big playoff picture for the moment. By the time this is read things would have probably changed several times over. Yes, there's nothing quite like the excitement of a playoff race. Now just imagine what it would be like if the hockey being played wasn't boring, clutch and grab wrestling matches performed by mediocre teams made up of players that wouldn't even be in the league if not for expansion. Ah, can you imagine? That would be great, that would be fun.


LCS: Guide to Hockey

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