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.

Boost to morale

John Grahame failed the 25% rule tonight, but the return of Cam Ward (who only had to face 4 of the Caps' 10 shots) and a resurgence early in the third period gave the Canes a needed two points. The Canes remain in 8th place for now, although a regulation loss tonight would have dropped them 11th, below Toronto. The race is incredibly tight, so every point will count from here on out.

Stars 0, Ice Hawks 5

We played a strong game last night against a much improved team. The first time we played them, the Stars were disorganized and easy prey. They are a Learn-to-play team with few experienced skaters. They had some good chances last night and the game was actually closer than the score indicates. Their primary weaknesses are their ability to handle pressure down low and they don't have anyone who has developed a real scoring touch yet. This is their first season in existence, so next season will be much better for them - much like the White Flash this season (last season was their first as well).

Stars MVP: #33, Jay Alcott (G). 5.0 GAA, 33 Saves, .868 Sv%
Ice Hawks MVP: #1, Brian Shaw (G). 0.0 GAA, 16 Saves, 1.000 Sv%, 1 SO.

Game Details

Scoring	1	2	3	Total
Stars	0	0	0	0
Ice Hawks	2	2	1	5

Shots on goal

Stars	16
Ice Hawks	38

Scoring Summary
Period 1
Ice Hawks - Bruce Borer (Chris Caran) , 7:35
Ice Hawks - Bruce Borer (Greg Frye, Chris Flood) , 19:45

Period 2
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood (Dan Smyrski) , 16:05
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood (Chris Ellis) , 19:55

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood (Chris Caran, Kevin Kleber) , 17:25

Penalties
Period 1
Stars - Corey McKittrick - (Slashing Minor), 2 min , 15:08

Period 2
Stars - Chris Tilly - (Unsportsmanlike Conduct Minor), 2 min , 17:12

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Jay Rocker - (Interference Minor), 2 min , 5:44

Wha?

I thought the Canes played pretty well the other night against New Jersey, even in a loss. It was basically two defensive lapses that the Devils capitalized on. It's only halfway through the game today, Brodeur is on the way out, and the Canes have a 4-0 lead. I can only hope that they now have things moving in the right direction and they make a solid run towards the post season. Everyone else we needed to lose last week did so, so our loss didn't even knock us out of the picture. We need to make the best of every opportunity we have - even Marty Brodeur having an off game.

On a personal note, my rec team has won three in a row since we got our new jerseys. I have a four game point streak (4G,5A,6PIM,1GWG) and am tied for the team lead in goals (8) and points (15). Oof, New Jersey just scored. 4-1. Anyway, the Ice Hawks are playing really well right now. Our last game was a 5-1 victory over the Bonefish, who had only lost 1 game in regulation this season (against the top team, who is undefeated). We're getting hot at the right time, with only three games left before the playoffs start.

OK, it's 7-2, LaRose has two goals, and Cam Janssen should probably have his kneecaps broken so he doesn't have the chance to injure people.

Ice Hawks 5, Bonefish 1

We beat one of the best teams in the league tonight. The Bonefish have only lost two games this season before tonight, and only one in regulation. They're a strong team on all fronts with solid offensive and defensive play. I can't pin point the difference, but we were all over them tonight. It was a penalty-filled game, but our penalty kill was very effective and we had a lot of jump in our steps.

I had a pretty solid night, tallying a goal and an assist. They actually outshot us by quite a bit, but we had their goalie's number. Casulli's goal was the easiest of the season. Their goalie skated out to get a loose puck towards the blue line. Greg Frey (#94) was pursuing and their goalie whiffed. Casulli picked up the loose puck and skated it into an empty net.

My goal was nice too - I deked through the defense and beat the goalie with a forehand-to-backhand move and a backhand in the top shelf.

Ice Hawks MVP: #22, Nicole Leech (LW). Not on scoresheet.
Bonefish MVP: #33, Kevin Crawford (RW?). 1G, 2 PIM.

Game Details

Scoring	1	2	3	Total
Ice Hawks	1	2	2	5
Bonefish	0	1	0	1

Shots on goal

Ice Hawks	16
Bonefish	23

Scoring Summary
Period 1
Ice Hawks - Bruce Borer (Chris Caran, Ray Eustace) , 13:18

Period 2
Bonefish - Kevin Crawford (Pat Bush) , 3:58
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran (Kevin Kleber) , 4:39
Ice Hawks - Greg Frye (shorthanded) (Bruce Borer) , 17:36

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood (Greg Frye) , 5:14
Ice Hawks - Matt Casulli (unassisted) , 6:36

Penalties
Period 1
Ice Hawks - Dan Smyrski - (Roughing Minor), 2 min , 15:40
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 16:35
Bonefish - Pat Bush - (Holding Minor), 2 min , 18:35
Ice Hawks - Dan Smyrski - (Interference Minor), 2 min , 19:12

Period 2
Bonefish - Matt Cofone - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 2:22
Ice Hawks - Chris Ellis - (Slashing Minor), 2 min , 3:17
Ice Hawks - Matt Casulli - (Too Many Men Minor), 2 min , 5:57
Bonefish - Mike Brem - (Roughing Minor), 2 min , 11:19
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood - (Roughing Minor), 2 min , 11:19
Bonefish - Kevin Crawford - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 15:16
Ice Hawks - Matthew Leech - (Holding Minor), 2 min , 15:16
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 16:56

Period 3
Bonefish - Roy Holloway - (Holding Minor), 2 min , 1:12
Bonefish - Matt Cofone - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 3:36
Bonefish - Phillip Squires - (Unsportsmanlike Conduct Game Misconduct), 10 min , 5:14
Ice Hawks - Chris Ellis - (Slashing Minor), 2 min , 7:23
Bonefish - Matt Cofone - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 10:15