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NHL weekend schedule

NHL Weekend Preview

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Four of the NHL’s six division titles are still very much in play as we head into the homestretch of a regular season that ends on April 8. Only the New York Rangers in the Atlantic and the Vancouver Canucks in the Northwest are really home free for a first-place finish and guaranteed top-three seeding, and of these two, only the Rangers are in complete command for the race for the #1 seed in their conference. Everything else is neck-and-neck.

Tonight’s card is highlighted by Chicago’s visit to Ottawa. The Senators can close back to within one point of Boston in the Northeast, after the Bruins narrowly escaped New Jersey in overtime last night. The Blackhawks’ ship has steadied after some recent struggles, but they are by no means home free in the West. They’ll have to play tonight with forward Jonathan Toews, one of the league’s best offensive threats. At the borderline of the West playoff race are games with Dallas-Edmonton and Calgary-Anaheim. The Stars would make the playoffs over Los Angeles on a tiebreaker as of today, while Calgary is just a point back.

Saturday has a busy schedule, but not many really good games. One notable exception is Nashville-Florida. While the Predators are in good shape for the playoffs and not likely to climb to an elite seed, the Panthers are in a three-team dogfight for the Southeast Division with Winnipeg and Washington.

The NBC cameras will come out on Sunday in Madison Square Garden when the Bruins come MSG to play the Rangers at 12:30 PM ET. The game virtually coincides with the Knicks-Celtics game in the Garden on ABC, ensuring busy remotes in the Big Apple and the Hub. Ottawa will be in Florida, and Philadelphia visits Washington, giving the Eastern Conference three big games. In the West, the key game is Detroit-Chicago, although the Red Wings are still without Pavel Datsyuk at forward, and for at least this game will miss veteran defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom. The Wings have cooled a bit after their record home winning streak and are now in a tie with St. Louis for the Central Division title. Both the Red Wings and Blues are hot on Vancouver’s heels for the top spot in the West overall.

If the current NHL standings hold until the playoffs—admittedly an unlikely prospect, but we’re close enough to the finish line to start looking forward to some possible first-round playoff matchups—then Phoenix-Chicago in the West has the potential to be an excellent first-round series. It’s a complete contrast in styles, with the Blackhawks having a huge edge in frontline talent with Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Toews, while Phoenix has the goalie in Mike Smith. You usually bet the goaltender in the NHL playoffs, but Chicago’s advantage among the regular five is significant enough to make a  potential Blackhawks-Coyotes battle one to watch.

NHL Weekend Preview

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The Washington Capitals have done whatever they can in recent weeks to play themselves out of a chance at postseason redemption. The Caps have fallen four points behind a less-talented Panthers team in the NHL’s Southeast Division, and this is a division so poor that right now it stands to get just one team in the playoffs.  Friday’s NHL card is highlighted by a Panthers-Caps game down in the Sunshine State and if there were ever a time for Alex Ovechkin to show he’s more than just another pretty face, tonight would be good place to start. Other key games include Boston’s visit to Winnipeg. The Jets are still lurking with a playoff shot, four points out in the East and the Bruins have been playing some unstable hockey of late. Even as they hold down the #2 seed in the East, no one can forget that last year Philadelphia looked unstable late, held down the two-spot, and then was swept home by the B’s in the second round. I know as a Boston fan  I just shamelessly made that last passage about the B’s when the Jets have more at stake. Also worth checking is Nashville-Detroit. The Predators are settled into the 5-spot in the West for the time being, but Detroit has Vancouver hot in its heels for the conference’s pole position.

On Saturday the NHL Network has its usual day-night doubleheader. The prime-time fare (7  PM ET) is Washington-Tampa Bay. The Lightning are positively terrible this year, and this is the kind of game the Caps again must take care of business on. The day game at 1 PM ET is Pittsburgh-Philly. If the postseason started today this would be a first-round series and the Flyers lead by two in the fight for home ice. The West has a huge game with Calgary-Los Angeles. The Flames are two points out of the playoffs in the West, and it’s the Kings, along with the Phoenix Coyotes, who are right ahead of them. LA dropped a tough one to Phoenix last night to tighten this race up, and a Calgary win on Saturday turns it into a free-for-all . As for the Coyotes, they host Dallas, whose only four points back themselves, while Toronto—currently #8 in the East and three up on Washington—visits red-hot Vancouver.

Sunday in the NHL means NBC coverage and the day opens at 12:30 PM ET with split coverage among Pittsburgh-Buffalo, St. Louis-Chicago and San Jose-Detroit. The Penguins-Sabres game better be meant for the local markets because Buffalo is going nowhere. The Blues-Blackhawks is a nice rivalry spot (in the Midwest, rivalries are “nice”, whereas in the East it’s bloodsport). Chicago stopped the bleeding with a clutch win over the New York Rangers last night in MSG, but the Blackhawks are still in an uncomfortable spot with all the Western teams listed above right on their heels. The bleeding may be stopped in Chitown, but the patient is not yet back to full health. San Jose is like Florida—they’re the #3 seed right now, but only because of the privileges accorded a division champ. In reality, they only lead the Kings by four points and if LA takes the lead in the Pacific, the Sharks will drop to the bottom of the playoff seedings. A late NBC game is Boston-Minnesota (3:30 PM ET), where the Wild have been struggling. And a true must-win battle is Colorado-Winnipeg, with both teams trying to keep playoff hopes alive.