Home Stretch

Well, there's no question that the NHL is heading into one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory. Following the trade deadline and a slew of coaching changes (Rangers, Montreal, Pittsburgh), teams are getting ready to make the final push to secure a playoff position. Problem is there are more playoff worthy teams than spots available. The Eastern Conference race is shaping up to be one of the tightest and most exciting races seen in years. While Boston, New Jersey and Washington have the top three spots all but locked up, the remaining five are completely in play. After Philadelphia who is in 4th with 84 points, spots 5-10 are only separated by 4 points. Right now as it stands, Montreal and Pittsburgh have 80 points, Carolina has 79, the Rangers have 78 in the eighth and final spot, followed by Florida who also has 78, and Buffalo at 76 points in 10th place. With roughly twelve games left until the final tally, you can be sure that who ever is left on the outside, looking in will be sorely disappointed.

Things in the Western Conference are not all that looser, while Detroit, San Jose and Calgary pretty much have locked up the top three spots, followed closely by Chicago and Vancouver in 4th and 5th, the remaining three spots are a complete log jam of teams vying for position. Just four points separate the 7th position and the 12th position. There have also been a number of surprise teams this year, with Columbus and Nashville, two of the latest expansion teams added both have a shot of making the playoffs this year for the first time ever. In the East, the poor play of teams like the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, all favorites this year and all playoff teams last year, have seen their head coaches ousted. All of these story lines have provided for much to be talked about in media circles assigned to covering the NHL this year. Whether it be bloggers, who are undoubtedly having a field day and record number of hits due to the current climate in the NHL, or mainstream sites like NHL.com, TSN.ca or even ESPN.com, there is no question that this has been a banner year for the NHL.

Between three major contenders all clinging to the final three spots of the conference, three surprise coach firings, an anti-climatic trade deadline, and the closest conference standings this late into the season in recent memory, have all provided for excellent opportunities for bloggers to comment on the situation, and for fans to vent and leave comments on how they feel about their teams performance.

Excellent sites to keep in mind while following the playoff push are: hockeybuzz.com and hfboards.com. Both sites have a number of different bloggers not only blogging the NHL in general but blogging specific teams with team specific sites and weekly content.