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Around the rink - March 16; Caps look to make it ten in a row in Detroit

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All times Eastern

7:00 p.m.

Toronto @ Carolina

Carolina helped improve their shot at getting back into the eighth spot in the East by shutting out Buffalo 1-0 last night. Whether Cam Ward has another gem up his sleeve could decide whether or not the Maple Leafs still have a playoff spot to chase after. The Leafs are six out of the eighth spot and four behind Carolina in the standings. A loss would leave Toronto just 11 games to try and make up that ground and doing that would require a lot of help from other teams in between. Daunting to say the least, but it makes tonight’s game a huge one for how the Eastern Conference’s bottom end of the playoffs could shake out.

7:30 p.m.

Washington @ Detroit

The Caps won their ninth straight game beating Montreal 4-2 and as they head into Detroit they face a Wings team that’s been solid all season long and one that’s made life hard on the Caps in recent years at home. Washington hasn’t won in Detroit since November 2003 when Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang led the Caps to victory and gave goalie Rastislav Stana his first and only victory in the NHL. The teams don’t play each other every year in Detroit, but with it being since before Alex Ovechkin arrived in Washington, that’s pretty rough. Seeing Pavel Datsyuk and Ovechkin square off on the same ice should be a treat and bring the best out of both of them.

10:00 p.m.

Colorado @ Vancouver

This could get awkward. Colorado’s lost 19 of their last 20 games while Vancouver could clinch a playoff spot and the Northwest Division title by just earning a point in this one. It’s hard to fathom that these two were close in the divisional hunt back in December but here we are nonetheless as the Canucks have a 41 point lead on the Avs. We’re guessing the Canucks will get it all wrapped up and be the first team to make the playoffs this season because the depths of how poor Colorado’s played of late is stunning.

St. Louis @ Anaheim

Anaheim seeks to get themselves back into a better position to attack for the playoffs as a win would put them ahead of Calgary for the eighth spot in the West. Both teams would have 81 points, but the Ducks have more wins and will have two games in hand on the Flames. Translation: Times are getting rough for Calgary. The Blues are playing for a bit of pride as a win would tie them in points with Columbus in the Central Division. It would also do wonders to help them play the role of spoiler for the teams trying to get in the playoffs. If you can’t join the postseason party, you might as well try to drag others into the misery with you.