There are two months left in the NHL regular season.
My first reaction after reading this is where has the year gone? It seemed like yesterday we were celebrating the Boston Bruins kicking off defense of their Stanley Cup championship against Philadelphia.
Now with two months left to go I'm trying to figure who are the eight teams in each conference that will be playing hockey in the spring.
In past years you could look at the standings at the All-Star break and figure who was in and who was out. Usually one team in the top eight was vulnerable and one team on the outside was ready to make a charge.
This year that isn't exactly the case.
Of the top eight teams in the East the only ones I feel confident about clinching a playoff berth are the Rangers, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
The last three teams holding playoff spots are New Jersey, Ottawa & Toronto. Of those three I think the Senators are in the most danger of losing a playoff spot.
Ottawa has played 55 games, more than any team in the East and they are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. Right now they are the most vulnerable of all the teams in the East. As to who replaces them my pick is whoever doesn't win the Southeast Division, Washington or Florida.
The Panthers currently holds the lead in the Southeast and I think that is their best chance to end a playoff drought that has lasted 10 seasons. The reason I'm not buying in on Florida is I still expect Washington to come on strong and win the division again.
The Capitals have way too much talent to miss the playoffs. While they may not be a cup favorite like they were at the start of the season I can't see them missing the playoffs. Especially when they have more talent on their roster than the Panthers or the other three teams they are chasing in the East.
The problem for the Panthers is if they don't win the Southeast Division they have to fight with Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Tampa Bay for one of those final playoff spots. I'm not convinced Florida can outlast all four of those teams.
If you are a fan of Buffalo, Montreal, Carolina or the Islanders you can find something else to do this spring, your team won't be playing hockey after April 7th.
I'll be back at the end of the week with a breakdown of the Western Conference because I'm still trying to figure out who survives and who doesn't.
In the meantime here's the Power Poll for Week 16:
1. Detroit 35-16-1 71 points
Jimmy Howard being out the next couple games with a broken finger will show how much faith GM Ken Holland has in backup Ty Conklin.
2. N.Y. Rangers 32-12-5 69 points
Rangers have a .710 winning percentage in their first 50 games. Their best start in 40 years.
3. Boston 32-16-2 66 points
Bruins are 22-0 when leading after two periods this season.
4. Vancouver 32-15-5 69 points
Hell of an effort by Kevin Bieksa to force overtime against Colorado.
5. Nashville 32-17-4 68 points
Predators have won six of their last seven and are positioning themselves as one of the elite teams in the West.
6. Pittsburgh 30-18-4 64 points
3-1 win over Boston on Saturday shows how tough Penguins will be if/when Crosby returns.
7. Philadelphia 30-15-6 66 points
Flyers have scored a Power Play goal in their last seven games.
8. St. Louis 30-14-7 67 points
Blues have lost three of their last four games.
9. San Jose 29-15-6 64 points
Milwaukee Brewers CF Nyjer Morgan lives out a dream practicing with the Sharks.
10. Chicago 29-17-7 65 points
If the Blackhawks don't figure out what to do with their goaltending they won't go far in the playoffs.
11. New Jersey 29-19-3 61 points
When people say Ilya Kovalchuk packs a punch, they aren't always referring to his scoring.
12. Washington 27-20-4 58 points
Mathieu Perreault has the hot stick for the Capitals. Five goals and three assists in his last eight games.
13. Toronto 27-19-6 60 points
Back to back shutouts for James Reimer who was named 3rd star of the week.
14. Ottawa 27-21-7 61 points
Watching the Senators over the last few games I get the feeling the bottom is about to fall out.
15. Los Angeles 25-18-10 60 points
Nice to see Dustin Penner can laugh at his misfortune.
16. Dallas 26-22-2 54 points
Just as Mike Riberio returns from injury the Stars lose Brendan Morrow with an upper body injury.
17. Minnesota 25-19-7 57 points
Acquisition of Erik Christensen from the Rangers gives the Wild a forward where they need some depth.
18. Colorado 26-25-3 55 points
Two home losses to Minnesota in a nine day span could be the reason the Avalanche miss the playoffs.
19. Florida 24-16-11 59 points
Panthers are 2-5-1 on the second half of back to back games after loss to Tampa Saturday night.
20. Winnipeg 24-23-6 54 points
Jets finish 2-4 on six game road trip.
21. Calgary 24-22-6 54 points
Olli Jokinen is the hottest player right now for Calgary with one goal and four assists in his last five games.
22. Tampa Bay 23-23-5 51 points
Lightning have won six of their last seven games. Are doing just enough to stay in the playoff race.
23. Phoenix 23-21-8 54 points
Ray Whitney is a hot commodity as the trade market heats up which means the Coyotes have a decision to make whether they are in or out of the playoff hunt.
24. Buffalo 22-24-6 50 points
Congrats to Ryan Miller on becoming the all time Sabres wins leader.
25. N.Y. Islanders 21-22-8 50 points
Former Minnesota Golden Gopher Aaron Ness recalled from Bridgeport on an emergency basis.
26. Edmonton 20-26-5 45 points
When you have an eight point game and tie a team record held by Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey well you are a lock for 1st star of the week. Congrats Sam Gagner.
27. Carolina 20-25-9 49 points
Cam Ward sets a Hurricanes record with 47 saves in a win over Boston last Thursday night.
28. Montreal 19-24-9 47 points
It has been one year since Scott Gomez has scored a goal for the Canadiens. You think you could get more from a guy making over 7 million a year.
29. Anaheim 19-24-8 46 points
Looking to end two game winless streak tonight against a Calgary team that hasn't won in Anaheim since the lockout.
30. Columbus 14-32-6 34 points
Strong rumors the either Rick Nash or Jeff Carter could be had for the right price. Carter I believe, not certain about Nash.
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