Western Conference playoff race
z - 1. Vancouver - 111 pts
2. Detroit - 98 pts
3. San Jose - 97 pts
4. Phoenix - 95 pts
5. Los Angeles - 94 pts
6. Nashville - 92 pts
7. Anaheim - 91 pts
8. Chicago - 90 pts
9. Dallas - 87 pts
10. Calgary - 87 pts
z - clinched conference title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot
It started off sketchy for Vancouver when Mike Fisher scored in the second period to give the Preds a 1-0 lead, but once the third rolled around, Luongo did his thing (16 saves) while Alex Burrows scored two goals and Aaron Rome added a third to give Vancouver the win and home ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs. For Nashville, the loss is tough because they had a chance to slide up the West standings and inch a little closer to Detroit. Instead, they stay in neutral while the Canucks stay on fire having won nine of their last ten games. They just keep winning in spite of injuries and that just frightens us.
Phoenix 2 - Dallas 1 (F/SO)
Is it too late to start an Ilya Bryzgalov for Vezina campaign? The Coyotes goaltender stopped 44 shots tonight while leading his team into the shootout where he was victimized by the same guy that got him in regulation, Jamie Benn, but Radim Vrbata and Ray Whitney would score on Kari Lehtonen (26 saves) in the skills competition to give Phoenix the win. While the Stars got a point, they’re still on the outside of the playoff picture. At the very least they’ve got the tiebreaker with Calgary for the time being. For the Coyotes, they move back to two point behind the Sharks and stay ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division.
Game one without Anze Kopitar went well for L.A. and it was captain Dustin Brown who led the way with two goals while Trevor Lewis added two assists. Jonathan Bernier earned his third shutout of the year stopping 32 shots and getting the win for the Kings. While getting the win without Kopitar is great, let’s see what the Kings can do against Vancouver on Thursday before we go declaring how OK they’ll be without their top scorer. So no, we won’t be crowning the Kings just yet. (Sorry, we had to do it)
Remember all the momentum the Blackhawks earned after their overtime win over Detroit yesterday? Yeah... So much for that. The Blackhawks were stoned by Tim Thomas and his 32 saves as he earned his ninth shutout of the year. Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk, and Nathan Horton each had goals for the Bruins as they improved their own standing in the Eastern Conference race. For Chicago, failing to add any points helps keep Dallas and Calgary in the race for the playoffs. We’re sure at least Dallas is thankful for that since they can’t get out of their own way lately.