NHL Playoff Chase–Carolina’s on Fire Right Now, So Are Ducks!!!

First off, I must mention the Carolina Hurricanes.  They are scorching hot right now and are definitely a force to be reckoned with.  Last night’s overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins marked the 8th straight win for Carolina.  The Hurricanes who are 12-1-2 in their 15 games, are making a strong case that they will be a tough out for anyone who tries to get in their way of a Stanley Cup trophy.

The Boston Bruins shutout the New York Rangers 1-0.  The shutout was goaltender Tim Thomas’ 5th of the season. Shutout number 5 came just a day after Thomas agreed to a new 4 year $20 million dollar contract extension with the Bruins.  Thomas is 34 years old and playing the best hockey of his career.  The Bruins got an early 1st period goal from rookie left winger Blake Wheeler.  The rookie netted his 21st goal of the season in his young career.  Wheeler is proving to be a solid NHL forward early on.  With the win Boston crept to within 1 point of the league leading San Jose Sharks.  The Sharks had a chance to add to their point total but they couldn’t overcome the Anaheim Ducks who beat San Jose 4-2.  The win was crucial for the Ducks who are cementing themselves in 7th place in the western conference.  The Ducks are also one of the hottest teams right now, they are 9-1 in their last 10 games.

Of the other games that took place on Saturday night the Montreal Canadiens won by a score of 6-2 in a cake walk over the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Center in downtown Toronto.  The two teams are usually locked in a tight grip battle all game but the fact that the Leafs are out of playoff contention showed with their lackluster performance.  Montreal went up 4-0 early in the 2nd period and cruised to the victory.  The Habs are now 3 points ahead of the Rangers and just 1 point behind the Penguins for 6th place in the eastern conference.

The Nashville Predators got a big jolt in their playoff hope by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout.  The win put the Predators back into the 8th and final payoff spot.  Jason Arnott scored twice and added an assist to lead Nashville.  Arnott’s goals were his 28th and 29th of the season.  They are locked in a battle with the St. Louis Blues who lost a heartbreaker last night to the Dallas Stars 5-4 in overtime.  The loss pushed the Blues out of the last spot even though they both have 86 points, Nashville has the tie breaker in their favor because they have more wins.

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 in what turned out to be a very exciting game.  The 3rd period was when it got exciting.  Six goals were scored, 3 by each team.  Every time the Canucks scored to make it a one goal game, the Oilers responded with their own score to once agian increase the lead to 2.  The six goals were scored in a span of 12 and a half minutes.  Very exciting stuff,  however the win comes too little to late for the Oilers.  With only 3 games to go they can’t make up the ground to reach the playoffs.

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