Eastern Conference Playoff Race A Four Man Show?

Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Montreal, NY Rangers,
Carolina, and Boston? Six teams with the same common goal… Fighting
for two playoff spots. Two… a mere two spots for six teams. But
with only a few minutes of thinking time I can eliminate two teams.
It’s plain and simple to see, and you’ll see it too once I show it
to yah.

Team 1 that’s out… Boston. Sorry Bruins fans, but
I’m not gonna play dumb with you and say they have a shot. Boston
loses their big money goalie, Byron Dafoe, and as of now, though
Tallas is playing well, it does not account for what the rest of the
team is lacking. Right now in the 12th spot, they will need to leap frog
some teams that are on hot streaks, and with their recent downfall
they will need to win probably 14 out of the last 20 games. That’s a
good estimate too… I’m being conservative and saying they’ll
probably need about 87 points to get in. As of now they have 59. I
doubt that they will get 14 wins out of their last 20. Team 2 that’s
out is NY Rangers. They made themselves a pretty big buffer zone by
going on a winning streak but what do they have now? A hot goalie..
and that’s it. They have a lot of veteran players and a lot of
talent that just isn’t talent anymore. For Footballs fans who read this..
The NY Jets started out 1-6, they then won 6 games in a row and were
7-6. Many believed they had a shot at the playoffs still… but then
they sunk like a ship. This reminds me of the Rangers because the
Rangers started out pitiful, then climbed their way back into
contention, but have lost it again; and also, how long do you think
32 year old Brian Leeches, and 34 year old Hatchers will run on
blood and guts? Another 2 months? I certainly don’t think so. I
believe they will place a close 9th in the east, but I just don’t
have it in my heart of hearts that they will be a playoff team.

Now that that’s cleared up.. let’s talk about who I
think WILL make it. 4 teams.. 2 spots. Pittsburgh… God forbid Jagr
gets hurt or they are out of it, and do you honestly believe with all
his injuries he can stay healthy for all 20 games with 2 months
remaining? I certainly don’t… he’s out for a week and a half with
a little hip injury. He’s a great player.. but he is out too much. Pittsburgh is a good team, but they aren’t a playoff contender
without him, and he may be there for a while, but a no-100% Jagr, or
a no Jagr at all will destroy the Penguins. So.. Pittsburgh is OUT.
On To Montreal. When I look at this team I see.. an underrated
goalie.., not a lot of speed, but some great goal scorers. What does
this give you: V-I-C-T-O-R-I-E-S. Victories. They may not come the
pretty way, they may not be wam-bam-slam score, but a
hard working Montreal is a good team. However, that doesn’t mean
they’ll work this hard for 20 or so games, but the way they’ve
played all year, and the way they’ve played recently, I think it
will work for them. Montreal at the beginning of this year didn’t
have a great record, but they worked hard. Now, I’m not sure if
they did every game but for the 15 or so games I’ve accounted for by
them they have worked hard. Now… they’ve turned that hard work
into wins. Defeating teams like Toronto is an example. I believe
they’ll keep that up, and I believe they’ll take a spot. I also
believe that spot will be number 7. Now.. onto Carolina. This is
more of a "bite the hand that feeds you" situation. It
seems like all the "weak" teams have been used up in
recent weeks by Carolina. They will now play teams that are either
in the hunt, or WAY ahead of them in the standing in the next weeks,
and that can’t be good for a team who is 3 points outta’ the
playoffs. If they played a schedule of any other team right now I
think they’d make it. However that isn’t true, and they have one of
the hardest remaining game schedules out there. It will be no
surprise to me if the Hurricanes go hmmmmm… 10-5-3-2 in the last
20 games.. giving them about 86 points making them probably a little
bit shy of the mark needed to make the playoffs. Sorry Canes, but
your schedule is what hurt’s ya. So.. Carolina is OUT. And that
leaves Buffalo. Now I’m not picking the Sabres because I’m a fan of
the team. Personally, I don’t believe they deserve to be in the playoffs
the way they’ve played this year. However, there are 4 players on the team
that have played great all year… Maxim Afinogenov, Miroslav Satan,
Martin Biron, and for the games he’s played, Dominik Hasek. Very few
teams are lucky enough to be blessed with 4 superstars, and 3 of
which are so young. Also, their captain Mike Peca has played
amazing as of late, and had a hat trick in a losing effort, a
natural hat trick by the way. Now the Sabres took a tough loss to
The Rangers, and a tough loss to Toronto recently but that means no
harm to them in that they can grab a few wins quick. Time will tell
their
fate, if they lose a few more in a row, they will be destined to
doom, but if they take a win or two in the next two games they will
be back in superb shape. Myself, because of the way some of their players have
been playing, believe that the team will hold ground and gain a
little to get the 8th spot.

All in all this is what I think will happen and hey,
you never know, I might be right.