Healthy Habs in mix for crowded East race
The race for the final four playoff berths in the Eastern
Conference continues to be an interesting one.
For months it's been a tight contest, with as many as nine
teams jockeying for position at one point. But with less than a
month remaining, the race appears to be narrowing down to six
clubs.
As of March 18, only 10 points separated the Ottawa Senators,
who held fifth overall with 79 points, from the 10th overall
Atlanta Thrashers, with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia
Flyers, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers sandwiched between them.
The Senators and Thrashers, however, are two clubs heading in
the wrong direction, having only three victories in their last 10
games.
Red hot heading into the Olympic break, the Senators have
been ice cold since, losing six of their first seven games in
March. Three of those losses came against the bottom-feeding
Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs, two clubs they
should've beaten at this stage in the season.
Goaltenders Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott didn't play
well during most of those defeats and the offense was anemic,
scoring only five goals.
If the Senators can't get more offense and better goaltending
over their remaining dozen games, the possibility of falling out of
playoff contention is very real.
As for the Thrashers, they started the month off with two
victories but then went 0-5-1 before snapping their winless skid
with a 4-3 upset over the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week.
Like the Senators, the Thrashers also suffered from poor
goaltending and meager offense, managing only eight goals in that
six-game slide and giving up 21.
Sitting five points out of eighth on March 18, the Thrashers
simply cannot afford another lengthy losing streak if they hope to
keep their postseason dreams alive.
The Flyers (4-3-2), Bruins (4-3-1) and Rangers (3-3-2),
meanwhile, have struggled to win consistently since the Olympic
break.
With only one win in their last four, the Flyers are jostling
with the Canadiens for sixth overall. They have a couple of games
in hand over the Habs but could find winning those games and others
in the near future difficult as yet another of their goalies has
gone down to injury.
Michael Leighton, who'd done a tremendous job replacing
injured starter Ray Emery, is listed as day-to-day with a high
ankle sprain, forcing them to rely on backup Brian Boucher and a
call-up from their farm club.
If Leighton is out for a significant period and Boucher
struggles, the Flyers' playoff hopes might be dealt a mortal blow.
The Bruins know only too well how the loss of an important
player can jeopardize playoff chances, having lost top playmaker
Marc Savard for the rest of the season to a grade two concussion
courtesy of Pittsburgh Penguins cheap-shot artist Matt Cooke.
Since losing Savard on March 7, the Bruins have only two
victories in six games heading into a Thursday rematch against
Cooke and the Penguins.
Barely clinging to the eighth seed in the East, the Bruins
cannot allow revenge for Savard's injury to affect their
performance. Victories, not vengeance, are important now, meaning
forwards Patrice Bergeron, David Krajci, Mark Recchi and Blake
Wheeler must continue stepping up offensively as they've done in
recent games.
The Rangers meanwhile have been slowly gaining ground on the
struggling Bruins, climbing to within three points of eighth
overall.
Still, it's been a slog of fits and starts, as inconsistent
defense and lack of offensive depth continue to hamper the
Blueshirts as it has for most of this season.
They've gotten a boost in their last two games courtesy of
super-pest Sean Avery, who was the game star in a 3-1 victory over
the Flyers last Sunday and seemed re-energized after being benched
prior to that game.
Still, their playoff chances continue to rest upon the
goaltending of Henrik Lundqvist and the offense of the Marian
Gaborik line. If they falter in the season's final weeks the
Rangers could miss the playoffs.
The only team in this group which appeared headed in the
right direction is the Canadiens, who've been on a tear since the
Olympic break, winning seven of their last eight, including a
season-high six straight.
Much of the credit belongs to goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who
has emerged as the Canadiens starting goalie this season over Carey
Price with a 23-10-2 record, a 2.48 GAA, .920 save percentage and
three shutouts. He's provided the Habs with clutch goaltending
which in turn has his teammates playing with more confidence.
Health is another reason for the Canadiens surge in March.
Having spent much of the season playing with an injury-depleted
lineup, the Habs emerged from the Olympic break well-rested and
with most of their injured players back in action.
They can also look forward to sniper Mike Cammalleri and
power-play specialist Marc-Andre Bergeron returning to action soon,
which could be a significant improvement to their offensive game,
particularly their power-play.
As for the Tampa Bay Lightning, NY Islanders and Florida
Panthers, they're presently between six-eight points out of eighth
and while not mathematically out of it they're rapidly running out
of time to gain ground in the standings.
They'll need to win three-quarters of their remaining games
and hope most of the clubs above them slump in order to make it.
