Tonight and the Standings

Have you heard my new band, Two-night and the Stand-ins?

Sorry. That was dumb. I've kinda got a headache. Let's blame that.

Last night the Thrashers matched the Canadiens goal-for-goal twice before the latter erupted for 4 consecutive and ended up winning 6-3. Fine, whatever. Again, I'm OK with bubble teams gaining their points against inferior teams. As long as we can, too. We'll see the same Atlanta tomorrow night.

Standings (numbers keep changing, rankings keep not)!

4. Philadelphia, 90 pts, 10 GR
5. Carolina, 87 pts, 7 GR
6. Pittsburgh, 86 pts, 8 GR
7. NEW YORK RANGERS, 86 pts, 8 GR
8. Montréal, 83 pts, 9 GR
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9. Florida, 81 pts, 9 GR
10. Buffalo, 76 pts, 10 GR
11. Toronto, 75 pts, 8 GR
12. Ottawa, 74 pts, 10 GR

Yeah, it's a standings party. Do I realistically think I care about all these teams? No. But honestly, despite a 1-game lead, Buffalo has a worse chance of making it at this point than Ottawa. So if I include one, I have to include the other. Also, they're both in action against other bubble teams tonight. So, here's the full picture. Given that we're 10 points ahead of 10th right now, I could probably stand to start ignoring everyone down there. But if Ottawa's gonna keep making it interesting, it's good to keep tabs. Besides, if we keep winning, we don't have to care regardless. So, tonight:

Florida at Buffalo, 7:00 - I guess go Sabres, for the reasons we keep using - if their season really is over, let's keep Florida from creeping back over the line. A Buffalo win keeps more distance between "playoffs" and "not," and since we're in the former, that's good for us.

Ottawa at Carolina, 7:00 - Same idea? Even on Ottawa's incredible hot streak, they're gonna have a hard time getting in, and I'd rather see them use said current hotness to beat out our current rivals as long as they have it. Let them lose to other people and beat the team that we're 1 point behind with 1 game-in-hand. A Penguin fan friend of mine and I kinda decided we'd root for the Sens and Sabres tonight, and I think it's the right call. As usual, no overtimes please.

Calgary at Pittsburgh, 7:30 - This is one where the Pens really don't need these two points. The Flames are a very good team, though they're significantly better in Calgary than they are on the road. The Pens have way more on the line tonight than they do, though they'd like to grow their cushion over the Canucks from 3 to 5 and get more comfy as the division leaders. They already have 90 points on the season, and are a good enough team to beat the Pens. But they have to actually do it, and the Pens just keep fucking winning. Also, come on: Dion Phaneuf has the best name in hockey. Go Flames!