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Southeast Division Watch (February 28)

Brooks Laich, Martin St. Louis

Washington Capitals center Brooks Laich (21) strips the puck away from Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Tampa, Fla., Friday, Feb. 4, 2011.(AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

Every week, we’ll provide updates for each division. The biggest contenders and/or closest races will receive the greatest amount of attention.

Bold = playoff contender; Italics = likely lottery fodder.

Pacific Division outlook (February 28 -March 6)

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (37-18-7 for 81 pts; 62 Games Played)

Current streak: Three straight wins.

Week ahead: @ New Jersey (Wednesday), @ Boston (Thursday) and home vs. Montreal (Saturday).

Thoughts: The Lightning have five more points, four more wins and one game in hand against the Capitals for the division lead. Still, they just recently finished the carbo-loading part of their schedule; now it’s time for the final leg of the marathon to the playoffs. Can they outlast Washington?

2. Washington Capitals (33-20-10 for 76 pts; 63 GP)

Current streak: One win.

Week ahead: Home against Islanders (Tues), St. Louis (Thurs) and @ Florida (Sun).

Thoughts: This will be a nice opportunity for the Capitals to earn some relatively easy points, which is good, because they have a treacherous six-game road trip coming up in mid-March.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (29-25-9 for 67 pts; 63 GP)

Current streak: One loss.

Week ahead: Home vs. Florida (Tues), home vs. Buffalo (Thurs) and @ Chicago (Fri).

Thoughts: The Canes can push the Panthers’ playoff dreams closer to the grave, then play a huge game at home against the ninth-place Sabres before they visit the red-hot Blackhawks. No cakewalks this week, unless Florida trades all their veterans for picks.

4. Atlanta Thrashers (26-26-11 for 63 pts; 63 GP)

Current streak: One win.

Week ahead: Three home games - vs. Montreal (Tues), Ottawa (Thurs) and Florida (Sat).

Thoughts: The Thrashers need to have a good week, because their schedule gets awfully rocky to finish the season. After they conclude their five-game homestand against the Panthers, they’ll play three of four and five of seven on the road. There’s also another five-game road trip remaining on their schedule. Overall, they play 10 of 16 away from Atlanta after Saturday’s game against Florida. They might end up a few strides short of being one of the feel-good stories of the 2010-11 season.

5. Florida Panthers (26-29-7 for 59 pts; 62 GP)

Current streak: One loss.

Week ahead: Away vs. Carolina (Tues), home vs. Montreal (Thurs), @ Atlanta (Sat), home vs. Washington (Sun)

Thoughts: If the Panthers can scrap together enough points to still be playoff-relevant on Sunday, they feature possibly the league’s oddest March schedule. Starting with that game against the Capitals, they will have a seven-game homestand followed by a five-game road trip. They might be the odds-on favorite to be next month’s streakiest team, then.