The Minnesota Wild won a key matchup with division rival Vancouver Friday night, 2-1, and created some space at the top of the up-for-grabs Northwest Division. The Wild now lead the wild and wacky Northwest by three points -- a substantial margin considering the tightness of the chase in recent weeks -- but that doesn’t mean the division title is in the can.

After Colorado’s critical 7-5 loss to Edmonton Saturday afternoon, none of the four teams with a legitimate chance to win the Northwest has more than eight games remaining. On the other hand, none of the four clubs has fewer than five games against one another.

The Calgary Flames face all three of their rivals -- Minnesota, Colorado and Vancouver -- in the next four nights. In two weeks, the season closes with Minnesota at Colorado and Calgary at Vancouver.

Here is a schedule of games remaining between the four clubs, including their records against one another going into Saturday night’s action. The Flames host the Wild tonight, against whom they are 5-1-0. It’s a key opportunity to close the gap on first-place Minnesota.

Minnesota Wild (40-26-9, 89 points)
March 22 at Calgary. . . . . . . . . . .1-4-1
March 28 vs Vancouver. . . . . . . . 4-2-1
March 30 vs Colorado. . . . . . . . . 4-2-0
April 3 vs Calgary
April 6 at Colorado

Calgary Flames (38-26-10, 86 points)
March 22 vs Minnesota. . . . . . . . .5-1-0
March 24 at Colorado. . . . . . . . . 3-1-3
March 25 vs Vancouver. . . . . . . . 1-3-1
March 30 at Vancouver
April 3 at Minnesota
April 5 at Vancouver

Vancouver Canucks (38-27-10, 86 points)
March 25 at Calgary. . . . . . . . . . . 4-1-0
March 26 at Colorado. . . . . . . . . . 2-3-1
March 28 at Minnesota. . . . . . . . . 3-3-1
March 30 vs Calgary
April 1 vs Colorado
April 5 vs Calgary

Colorado Avalanche (39-31-6, 84 points)
March 24 vs Calgary. . . . . . . . . . . 4-3-0
March 26 vs Vancouver. . . . . . . . .4-1-1
March 30 at Minnesota. . . . . . . . .2-4-0
April 1 at Vancouver
April 6 vs Minnesota

Let the fun begin.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two of Pittsburgh’s trade-deadline acquisitions, Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis, were productive Sunday afternoon, when the Penguins skated to a 7-1 win over division rival Philadelphia. Hossa tallied a goal and an assist while Dupuis contributed three helpers.

Hossa was expected to be a key contributor, but suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for six games in his first Pittsburgh appearance. While he returned in impressive fashion Sunday, Dupuis has quietly provided a boost to his new team during Hossa’s absence. The 28-year-old veteran has registered a goal and six assists in eight games, after collecting a total of just 15 points in 62 games with Atlanta.

In fact, among the 33 players with NHL experience who were dealt within 48 hours of the trade deadline, Dupuis is one of the top point scorers.

Points Leaders among Players Dealt within 48 Hours of February Trade Deadline

Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Games. . . . . . . . . . . . G. . . A. . . . . Pts
Jeff Halpern, TB. . . . . . . . .10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . 6. . . . . 11
Brian Campbell, SJ. . . . . . . 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . 9. . . . . 11
Brad Richards, Dal. . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . 7. . . . . .9
Steve Bernier, Buf. . . . . . . .8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. . . . 6. . . . . .8
Andrew Ladd, Chi. . . . . . . .11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . 5. . . . . . 8
Pascal Dupuis, Pit. . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1. . . . 6. . . . . .7
Colby Armstrong, Atl. . . . . .10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . 4. . . . . .7

Posted by Thom Henninger at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the playoff push heading into its final three weeks, it’s a good time for the goal scorers on contending teams to get hot. No one is sizzling more than Washington star Alexander Ovechkin, who has scored eight goals and averaged more than two points a game in six March contests.

Ovechkin scored twice and netted the game-winner with 1:54 remaining Wednesday night, giving the Capitals a key 3-2 win over Calgary. He now has 56 goals in his quest to be the first 60-goal scorer since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96.

Unfortunately for the Caps, they are just 3-3-0 in March, and they are five points out of the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference with 11 games to play. They have fallen seven points behind the Southeast Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes, who are 5-0-0 this month and have won eight of their last nine games.

The Hurricanes have been sparked by Eric Staal, who has netted four goals and 12 points in those five contests. He was good for a goal and two assists in Wednesday’s 3-0 blanking of the Chicago Blackhawks. Only Ovechkin has more points this month.

Most Goals in March. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Most Points in March

Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G. . . . .Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pts
Alexander Ovechkin, Was. . . . . . .8. . . . .Alexander Ovechkin, Was. . . . . . . . 14
Jeff Carter, Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . . .7. . . .Eric Staal, Car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Brad Boyes, StL. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . .Mats Sundin, Tor. . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Andrew Cogliano, Edm. . . . . . . . .5. . . . .Jeff Carter, Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Johan Franzen, Det. . . . . . . . . . .5. . . . .Evgeni, Malkin, Pit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dany Heatley, Ott. . . . . . . . . . . .5. . . . .Kimmo Timonen, Phi. . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Zach Parise, NJ. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . .Four others with. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Like the Caps, the Toronto Maple Leafs are five points out of the postseason picture. They looked buried until a 7-2-1 surge that includes this week’s home-and-home sweep of the No. 8 seed, the Philadelphia Flyers. Leafs captain Mats Sudin has tallied four goals and 10 points in six games this month, but Toronto’s playoff push may have taken a hit when Sundin suffered a groin strain in the first period of Wednesday’s 3-2 victory in Philadelphia.

Jeff Carter scored one of the Flyers’ goals, giving him four in Philadelphia’s last three contests, and he has seven for the month. The eighth-seeded Flyers are 3-2-2 in this stretch, and they remain four points ahead of Buffalo and five in front of Toronto, Washington and Florida.

The Detroit Red Wings have maintained their position atop the Western Conference with four wins in four games this month. It’s not the usual suspects finding the net in March. No Red Wing tops the five tallies from Johan Franzen, who has pushed his goal total for the season to 17. Franzen, Edmonton’s Andrew Cogliano and Ottawa’s Dany Heatley each have three game-winners in March.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, it’s inappropriate that the title above is a take-off of a movie that’s 45 years old, yet it makes the point that today's NHL is a young man’s game. Not for those as young as the up-and-coming in tennis or gymnastics, but the top two point scorers in the league are barely old enough to order an alcoholic beverage when out in public with teammates.

Russians Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin lead the way with 92 and 89 points, respectively, and the 22-year-old Ovechkin is on his way to becoming the first 60-goal scorer since Mario Lemieux netted 69 and Jaromir Jagr tallied 62 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

Among the 26 players who have scored 27 or more goals this season, eight of them are 23 years old or younger. With 54 goals in 68 games, Ovechkin has found the net at least 11 more times than anyone else in the NHL.

Most Goals by Players 23 Years Old or Younger, 2007-08

Player. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Age. . . . . . . . . . . . Goals
Alexander Ovechkin, Was. . . . . . . .22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Evgeni Malkin, Pit. . . . . . . . . . . . . 21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Rick Nash, Cls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Eric Staal, Car. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Dustin Brown, LA. . . . . . . . . . . . . .23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Corey Perry, Anh. . . . . . . . . . . . . .22. . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Anze Kopitar, LA. . . . . . . . . . . . . .20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Zach Parise, NJ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

The Los Angeles Kings, who rank last in points in the Western Conference, have to be encouraged by their two young goal scorers. Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar lead the Kings in goals, and they are the team’s best hope of returning to the playoffs anytime soon. By then Kopitar will be legal to celebrate the Kings’ first postseason appearance since 2002 with a beer.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

February was a rough month for the Detroit Red Wings, who have won just once in their last 11 games. After falling 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks on Friday, the team with the most points on the season had finished 4-8-2 for the month.

The Red Wings were 38-10-4 at the start of February, and their numbers to that point contrast with what they’ve done since closing out January with five straight victories. Detroit has had trouble putting the puck in the net this month, and the team was shut out by both Dallas and Calgary in the last two weeks.

Red Wings, Oct-Jan vs. Feb
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oct-Jan. . . . . . . . . .February
Shots/Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.6. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.9
Goals/Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.0
Shots Allowed/Game. . . . . . . . . . . .23.8. . . . . . . . . . . . .24.3
Goals Allowed/Game. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.5
Power Play Pct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.5. . . . . . . . . . . . .19.1
Penalty Kill Pct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.2. . . . . . . . . . . . .83.3

Perhaps the Red Wings will get back in the win column on Sunday afternoon. After recent losses to Dallas, Calgary, Vancouver and San Jose -- all teams with serious playoff aspirations -- the Wings take on the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres can’t be taken lightly however, as they are just three points out of the East’s final postseason berth and desperate to win every time out.

Posted by Thom Henninger at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)