The return of Cullen

So it has finally happened and Cullen is on his way back to Raleigh. In exchange we sent Andrew Hutchinson (who never really had a fair shake), prospect Joe Barnes (meh), and a third round pick. We have a bona fide third line center and it makes me wonder what the team has in store for Jeff Hamilton. Will he play on the third line? Will he play fourth line and get power play minutes?

I like the fact that we have some serious threats on the shootout now. Those lost points would have put us in the playoffs last year and I think they'll make a big difference this year too.

Playoff Picks - Round 2

OK, five out of eight isn't so bad. The only series I got completely was Buffalo in 5, everything else being an unmitigated mess. I'll try to do better this round.

Eastern Conference Semifinals
Buffalo (1) vs NY Rangers (6) - Buffalo in 6
New Jersey (2) vs Ottawa (4) - Ottawa in 6

Western Conference Semifinals
Detroit (1) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6
Anaheim (2) vs Vancouver (3) - Anaheim in 5

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Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Buffalo (1) vs Ny Islanders (8) - Buffalo in 5
New Jersey (2) vs Tampa (7) - Tampa New Jersey in 7 6
Atlanta (3) vs NY Rangers (6) - NY Rangers in 6 4
Ottawa (4) vs Pittsburgh (5) - Pittsburgh Ottawa in 6 5

Western Conference Quarterfinals
Detroit (1) vs Calgary (8) - Calgary Detroit in 7 6
Anaheim (2) vs Minnesota (7) - Anaheim in 6 5
Vancouver (3) vs Dallas (6) - Vancouver in 5 7
Nashville (4) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6 5

We're off to see the wizard

Whitney re-signed for three years for around $3.55 millon per. That was quick. He mentioned that it was the easiest negotiation he had been involved with and he probably could have done it without his agent. That's always nice to hear.

I've been watching as many playoff games as possible in the meantime. When the Canes aren't directly involved, I find that I develop my favorites somewhat organically. I watch several games and discover who I am cheering for. I was cheering for Vancouver and Pittsburgh so far. That's not to say those are my Finals picks, but those are the teams I have been pulling for. I'm watching Buffalo and the Islanders right now and I haven't quite picked one yet; the same goes for the Rangers and Thrasher - my heart's just not in it. I have a soft spot for Nashville, so I'll be keeping an eye on their series with San Jose too.

Playoff Picks - Round 1

Eastern Conference
Buffalo (1) vs Ny Islanders (8) - Buffalo in 5
New Jersey (2) vs Tampa (7) - Tampa in 7
Atlanta (3) vs NY Rangers (6) - NY Rangers in 6
Ottawa (4) vs Pittsburgh (5) - Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference
Detroit (1) vs Calgary (8) - Calgary in 7
Anaheim (2) vs Minnesota (7) - Anaheim in 6
Vancouver (3) vs Dallas (6) - Vancouver in 5
Nashville (4) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6

Revised scenario

We have to take everything into account to determine our real chances; most importantly, tie breakers. Atlanta has actually clinched, despite no official designation. If they dropped their last three games and Toronto won their last three, they would be tied with 41 wins. Atlanta gained more points in the head-to-heads, so they win that tie-breaker and are in.

Solid
NY Rangers - Four points ahead and winning the tie-breaker against Toronto with 3 to play. The magic number for them is 2. It would take a complete meltdown for them not to make it.

Strong
Tampa Bay Lightning - Three points up with three to play. It gets a bit more dicey for the Bolts. They also have the tie-breaker over the Leafs, so their magic number is 3. Their last three are against the Canes, Panthers, and Thrashers. It's not out of the realm of possibility for them to lose their last three - the Canes are desperate, the Panthers are playing very well, and Atlanta is headed into the franchise's first post-season appearance and want to do well.

The Scrum
Montreal Canadiens - One point up with three to go, they are in the thick of it. They play Boston, the Rangers, and Toronto to close the season. Their biggest advantage? The large number of wins is the first tie-breaker.

Toronto Maple Leafs - One point back (effectively two) with three to go. They play Philly, the Isles, and Les Habs to finish the season. Their low win total is a liability for tie-breakers, so they need to win the spot outright.

Carolina Hurricanes - Two points back (effectively three), three games to go. They also lose the main tie-breaker with Montreal, so they need to get three more points than the Canadiens and two more than the Leafs to qualify. They finish with Tampa, Atlanta, and Florida. The win last night gave them a burst of life that will hopefully become a win streak. They still need some help. Luckily, the two teams they are chasing play head-to-head to finish the season. It may come down to that.

NY Islanders - Four points down, four to go. They face the Rangers, Toronto, Philly, and New Jersey. That's no easy path and they're already in a tailspin because of their goalie situation. They need wins and help.

A pulse

Going into the third period tonight, the Canes were on their last leg. Down 3-1 with no chance of anything. A short handed goal by Brind'Amour followed by the game-tying goal by Rosie gave the team a burst of life they exploited in overtime with a rare 5-on-3 power-play. Unlike every other power play this team has squandered in the past few games, Whitney came up big and got the all-important two points. To make things even nicer, the Rangers smoked Toronto tonight.

3. Atlanta (93 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, TOR, BOS, WAS, CAR, TB
6. NY Rangers (91 pts, 3 GR) - NYI, MON, PHI, TOR, NYI, MON, PIT
7. Tampa Bay (90 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, CAR, WAS, CAR, FLA, ATL
8. Montreal (88pts, 3 GR) - NYR, OTT, BUF, BOS, NYR, TOR
9. Toronto (87pts, 3 GR) - CAR, ATL, PIT, NYR, PHI, NYI, MON
10. Carolina (86pts, 3 GR) - TOR, PHI, TB, FLA, TB, ATL, FLA
11. NY Islanders (84pts, 4 GR) - NYR, NJ, BUF, OTT, NYR, TOR, PHI, NJ

F'n overtime

Rangers beat the Isles in overtime. That's just disappointing. Still, the Canes have the tie-breaker at the moment and Tuesday's matchup against Toronto looms.

3. Atlanta (88pts, 6 GR) - FLA, TOR, BOS, WAS, CAR, TB
6. NY Rangers (87pts, 6 GR) - NYI, MON, PHI, TOR, NYI, MON, PIT
7. Tampa Bay (86pts, 6 GR) - FLA, CAR, WAS, CAR, FLA, ATL
8. Carolina (84pts, 7 GR) - TOR, PHI, TB, FLA, TB, ATL, FLA
9. NY Islanders (84pts, 7GR) - NYR, NJ, BUF, OTT, NYR, TOR, PHI, NJ
10. Montreal (84pts, 6 GR) - NYR, OTT, BUF, BOS, NYR, TOR
11. Toronto (82pts, 7 GR) - CAR, ATL, PIT, NYR, PHI, NYI, MON

Crossroads

This is it - the final stretch. I couldn't make the game tonight - my wife had a baby shower to go to and my son has a double ear infection. Still, I was able to watch everything from here. San Jose is a very scary team and the Canes jumped out on them quick. They blew some easy chances in that rush, including a 2-on-0 with Staal and Cole; they almost came to regret it too.

Still, the guys played a great game when they needed to and got a very crucial two points. Toronto, Philly, and Tampa are up next. Every game is must-win at this point as there is no room for error. The playoffs probably started, in earnest, last week.

If the playoff cutoff projection of 92 points is true, the Canes need to win 4 of their last 7. That's very doable. Let's look at the remaining schedules of everyone involved.

3. Atlanta (88pts, 6 GR) - FLA, TOR, BOS, WAS, CAR, TB
6. Tampa Bay (86pts, 6 GR) - FLA, CAR, WAS, CAR, FLA, ATL
7. NY Rangers (85pts, 7 GR) - NYI, MON, PHI, TOR, NYI, MON, PIT
8. Carolina (84pts, 7 GR) - TOR, PHI, TB, FLA, TB, ATL, FLA
9. Montreal (84pts, 6 GR) - NYR, OTT, BUF, BOS, NYR, TOR
10. NY Islanders (83pts, 8GR) - NYR, NJ, BUF, OTT, NYR, TOR, PHI, NJ
11. Toronto (82pts, 7 GR) - CAR, ATL, PIT, NYR, PHI, NYI, MON

The Islanders and Candiens both have the most difficult roads, both with games remaining against Buffalo and Ottawa. The Isles have two tilts against New Jersey as well, so it's definitely going to be a tough road. The Rangers play both the Islanders and Canadiens twice down the stretch, so it is entirely possible that those three teams will do most of the weeding out amongst themselves.

Atlanta only has three games against any teams in the playoff race, so they should be relatively safe unless they completely implode. Now it comes down to winning the games against non-playoff foes and making the most against your head-to-head matchups.

Missing weekend

I was out of town this weekend and unable to see the past two games except for part of the shootout this afternoon. Three out of four points isn't so bad, except for the part about giving the Rangers two. Time is running out and the team needs to make a move.

Ouch

Hedican - concussion; Williams - the ever popular "upper body" injury; down 4-1 in the third period to the Rangers in a exceedingly tight playoff race. Things are getting messy for the Hurricanes, bordering on ugly. They're not playing bad hockey, but this is a dangerous time to start losing players and games.

In even bigger news, Foppa is on his way to Music City. Huge trade and pushed the Preds, already first in the league, into legit Stanley Cup favorites. This is a move akin to the Hurricanes picking up Weight and Recchi last year. Good for them. They had the guts to pull the trigger and go for it all.

Ward Smash!

I think it's very funny how something that Aaron Ward did all the time while he was a Hurricane is suddenly vilified now that he is a Ranger. Aaron always used his free hand to maul opposing players, something routinely cheered by the announcers and the fans. He clobbered Kevyn Adams last night and all of a sudden he's a vile cheater. It just amuses me.

More importantly than the "family reunion" was the win for the home team, making this home stand 3 out of 4. The Canes are still in "playoff contention" if you can use that term this early in the season. I think they're only going to get better, considering the number of injuries they are carrying right now. I have heard nebulous rumors about us trading for a defenseman, but nothing specific - I have not been keeping up with the various rumor sites lately.