NHL Heads into Final Quarter of Regular Season

The NHL is now into its last 8 weeks of the regular season before the greatest spectacle in professional sports starts up again, the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the pursuit of North America's oldest and most revered trophy.

In the East, it would seem that 5-6 spots in the playoffs are sewed up with 5-6 teams fighting for the final two slots. BUF, NJ, ATL, PGH, & OTT are in and you can probably include CAR as well. I favor TB & MTL for the last two as they hold off TOR, NYR, NYI, & BSN. WASH, FLA, & PHIL are done already. PGH is playing so well that they may overtake NJ and win the Atlantic Division. BUF will be the top seed and ATL should hold off CAR to win the Southeast Division.

Out West, NASH & DET will battle to the end for the number one seed. ANAH will take the Pacific and CALG the Northwest title. The eight playoff spots are just about filled, barring a late run by EDM or COLO to overtake MINN or VANC. STL, PHX, CHI, CMBS, & LA are done for.

The West promises to have some great matchups with quality teams in competition in NASH, ANAH, DET, SJ, & DAL.

It looks almost for sure that the Colorado Avalanche will not be in the postseason for the first time since the club came to Denver in 1995 from Quebec. Ten straight postseason appearances which included two Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001 and four other Western Conference Finals appearances (1997,1999,2000,2002) under coaches Marc Crawford and Bob Hartley ( now in LA and ATL each, respectively) and solid teams anchored by Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote, Rob Blake, Adam Deadmarsh, Stephane Yelle, Sandis Ozolinsh, Jon Klemm, Alex Tanguay, Chris Drury, Patrick Roy and numerous hard-working other players will come to an end with this season, but the team doesn't look too far away from getting back to postseason next season.

Look for SJ and BUF to playing in the Stanley Cup Finals in Mid-May with the Sabres skating home with the Cup for the first time in their franchises 37-year existence. But before it gets to that point, we have over two months of great games and great best-of-seven series from coast to coast and excitement, surprises, and upsets will abound. To win the sixteen games in the postseason to take the Stanley Cup is one of sports greatest tests of endurance, strength, and heart and is truly a joy to watch and follow during the Spring. The NBA is now a joke and a thugfest and full of adulterers with no heart or soul in its players as compared to the NHL and its players.