NHL's wild west races to finish line

ShareThis

Owen Nolan called it "nuts ... I've never been a part of something this tight." Alex Tanguay ventured that there were "no easy games" anymore. Jarome Iginla calculated that it would take 96 points to guarantee his Calgary Flames team a playoff spot. Coach Mike Keenan acknowledged once again that he is no fan of the National Hockey League's three-point game, in which two teams can -- and frequently do -- earn a valuable point if a game goes into overtime or a shootout.All of them were talking about the crazy Western Conference playoff race that -- in the past week or so -- sorted itself out into hockey's version of musical chairs, with nine contenders essentially vying for eight spots. The usual cast of also-rans have fallen far enough off the pace that they retain only the slim hope for a miracle finish and a spot in post-season play.Phoenix has risen from the ashes and Columbus and Chicago are coming on too, but for now, they are out and four others -- the Detroit Red Wings, the Dallas Stars, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks -- are almost certainly in. The Red Wings and Stars did enough early on to solidify their position, while the Sharks' record nine-game winning streak has more or less secured their spot as well. Anaheim stutters and streaks, but 11 points in the Ducks' final 11 games will get them to 96, Iginla's cut-off line, so concede them a spot too.That leaves the Flames, the Vancouver Canucks, the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche and the Nashville Predators to sort out the remaining four spots, with Nashville currently bringing up the rear, with 78 points in 70 games, going into Tuesday night's home date with the Sharks.The best thing the Predators have going for them is the schedule -- and the NHL's decision to have teams finish with a heavy concentration of divisional games. From Nashville's perspective, that means they play only Central Division teams after Mar. 20 -- two against Detroit and six others against teams that will be close, if not officially, eliminated from playoff contention by then.Nashville will be off in its own world, while the other four -- all Northwest Division squads -- line up to play each other. It's rare, but not entirely impossible, that one division will earn half of a conference's playoff berths -- it could happen over in the Atlantic Division as well, where the New York Rangers' recent surge have made them candidates to for the divisional crown.Last year, the odd team out in the West was the Avalanche, which actually set a franchise record for most wins in March (11), but came up just short of the slumping Flames in the final week. Colorado is on a nice 7-2-1 run at the moment and despite minor injuries that knocked Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote out of their line-up for Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Dallas Stars, they look as if they are catching fire at precisely the correct time.If the Canucks qualify, they can probably trace their place back to Monday night's dramatic 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings, in which they tied the game late and then pulled it out in extra time -- a two-point swing that, given the closeness of the race, could easily be the difference between making and missing the playoffs.Statistically, the Flames are in the best position of all, one point ahead of Minnesota in the race for first, with a game in hand. Their upcoming road trip, which begins Wednesday night in Washington, features games against four teams currently out of the playoff picture, including the Capitals and Atlanta Thrashers on back-to-back nights.On an earlier swing through the Southeast, the Flames went 3-0 and were led by Iginla and Kristian Huselius, who seems to thrive in the more open, less aggressive style played in that division. Huselius broke out of an extended goal-scoring slump in Monday night's 7-3 win over St. Louis; the Flames left town in an upbeat frame of mind following that decisive victory, after taking eight of 10 points in a home stand where they didn't play particularly well, but found ways of winning anyway, thanks largely to Miikka Kiprusoff's improved play in goal.Tanguay, who led the way offensively for the Flames against St. Louis with two goals, sounded a warning prior to the team's departure, noting: "There are certainly no easy games, no matter whether a team is in the playoffs, or outside looking in and just trying to get there. Other than maybe Atlanta that may be a little further slipping out, the rest of the teams are still very much in contention; and they're going to play their hearts out. For us, we have to make sure we secure our playoff spot. You don't want to give those teams any chance of getting back on you."(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)