Death Watch Update: Stretch Run Edition

This is going to be a much more frequent feature over the next two weeks. With only about 10 games to play per team, the playoff bubble is quickly shrinking.

DEAD

These teams are toast, and probably wishing they'd lost more often for draft purposes.

Islanders

Thrashers

Lightning

Senators

Leafs

Avalanche

Coyotes

RISEN ZOMBIE-LIKE FROM THE GRAVE

Blues - WTF? These guys were out of contention by training camp, and were pronounced "DEAD" on the very first Death Watch in January. Since then they've been winning 3 out of every 4 games, and are now only a single victory away from the 8th seed. Their 3-game series against Columbus will have the atmosphere of the tournament in "Bloodsport".

ON THE DEATH WATCH

Kings - They've been tenacious, but the clock is running out. Their next 4 games -- Blues, Stars, Preds, Stars -- are all must-wins. After that it's a home-and-home against Phoenix. That stretch will either make or break LA's season.


Sabres - It's been tough to watch this train wreck after such a spunky season from Buffalo. A 1-5-1 stretch in March is poison, especially when it involves two losses to Ottawa. This week's games against Florida and Montreal are a last-chance opportunity for the slumping Sabres.

Stars - Yeah, they're only 3 points out of the 8th seed. But the Stars have an unfavorable schedule and just lost Brad Richards. They're already staring up the bracket at 4 other bubble teams, so there is almost no room for error as this team tries to right its losing streak.

SOMEHOW STILL KICKING

Panthers - This might be one of the NHL's best stories of the season, but also its most under-reported. GM Jacques Martin made an incredibly ballsy move at the trade deadline by not dealing Bouwmeester, gambling that the Panthers could make the playoffs and possibly convince their stud defenseman to give it another year or three in Miami. Today the Cats are only a point behind Montreal for that precious 8th seed.

Predators - If the most under-reported story isn't the Panthers, maybe the Preds deserve that title. Quietly, they're on an 8-2-3 streak that's got them in the 8th seed... for now. Nashville, virtually devoid of marquee players and led by obscurities like JP Dumont and Pekka Rinne, has a brutal schedule down the stretch.

Ducks - It's time for someone to be a hero in Anaheim, which fights for its playoff life tomorrow night in Nashville. The Ducks are on a mini-streak (3-0-0) but are one of the league's least consistent teams. Anaheim has to avoid the too-predictable losing streak, or they're going to be done in short order.

Wild - Hobbled by injuries, the Wild are going to count on Marian Gaborik's return to spark them into the playoffs. An ill-timed road trip and a schedule full of desperate teams won't make it any easier for Minnesota, who will need a good push to overcome the other Western bubble teams.

Beginning A New Phase Of The Season

Lots of new beginnings for the Bruins tonight in St. Louis:

Step Six - According to my 12-step season breakdown, the Bruins are wrapping up the first half of the season with a brutal holiday roadtrip. Tonight's game in St. Louis is a good warmup for tough games in New Jersey, Carolina and Pittsburgh before the New Year.

The post-Bergeron era - Not to jump to conclusions, but Patrice Bergeron's concussion in last night's game cast a shadow over any hopes that he would return to have a "normal" career. Even if this turns out to be a relatively minor injury, and he makes a quick comeback, it still drives home the reality that he can't play a fast-paced collision sport without serious risk of permanent damage to his grey matter. It's hard to imagine that, given the style of play that makes Bergeron effective, he won't continue to suffer concussions every few months, following a career arc similar to that of Brett Lindros. This would be an appropriate time to adjust any dreams of him growing into the mold of a 30-goal, 100-point player.

The Fernandez era - Manny will have his third start in four games, and his second in as many nights, breaking the simple rotation that had been standard over the past couple of weeks. For the time being, he has effectively usurped Tim Thomas as the #1. How long will he be the hot hand?

The injury bug - Up until recently, the Bruins had been one of the league's healthier teams. But like everyone else, they won't succeed without a little mid-season adversity. Aside from Bergeron, the Bruins look to be missing Marco Sturm and Andrew Ference for the long-term. Aaron Ward and Petteri Nokelainen will be out as well for tonight's game. So we get to see guys like Martin St. Pierre, Vladimir Sobotka and Matt Lashoff take their shot at a big-league career.

Adversity is tough to deal with, but it's a good thing in the long run. Let's see if this team's ready to fight through the sort of tough road games that are ubiquitous during the playoffs.