It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division.
The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to build off a magical season. Columbus got its first taste of playoff hockey, while St. Louis returned to the playoffs after a far-too-long absence. Meanwhile, Nashville is trying to rebound after just missing the cut for the Western Conference playoffs.
Game Three is often a pivotal moment in a best-of-seven series. Of course, in the case of the St. Louis Blues, it's more about keeping hope alive at this point.
Yes, teams have come back after losing the first three games of a series. However, there's a reason why it hasn't happened in the NHL in over 30 years. Betting on it as the likely outcome of your team's series is just not a smart way to go about things. The Blues and their fans are about to find out why.
Exactly 1,230 regular season games have been played. We're down to the best eight teams in each conference. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday night with four series lid-lifters.
The Western Conference is home to the league's best team (San Jose), the defending champion (Detroit), and the two most intriguing Cinderella stories in the league (St. Louis and Columbus). Can Cinderella put off the stroke of midnight, or will an established power advance their way to the Finals?
With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified.Monday's installment: the St. Louis Blues.
Raise your hand if you expected to see the St. Louis Blues as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. No hands raised, eh? Not surprising. Entering this season, not much was expected from the Blues after falling short of the postseason in each of the previous three years.
Despite a rash of injuries to several key players, the Blues were one of the best teams in the NHL during the second half, and now find themselves with an opening round match up against the Vancouver Canucks. So, who are these guys?
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.
It was a crazy Thursday in the NHL. David Backes'big night propelled St. Louis back into playoff position, while the Carolina Hurricanes moved into fourth place in the East with a win over the Rangers. New York now looks to be in a potentially perilous position, with just a two-point lead over ninth-place Florida. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames won and the Vancouver Canucks grabbed a shootout point, and both have clinched playoff spots.
Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead. Hurricanes 4, Rangers 2: Carolina continued its winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday night, extending its current winning streak to seven games. Chad LaRose scored a pair of goals in the win, while Cam Ward stopped 36 shots, including 29 through the first two periods.
The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of a series of must-win games in their quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The run continued Thursday in Detroit, where St. Louis tried to rebound from a rather listless effort Wednesday night in Chicago. They got plenty of help from one of their young guns. David Backes is in his second full season with the Blues and was on the cusp of a 30-goal season heading into Thursday's game. He's not "on the cusp" anymore.
Entering the 2008-09 season, not much was expected from the St. Louis Blues. Most people recognized their talented young core, but few, if any, were predicting a trip to the playoffs. With just 13 games remaining on their schedule, the Blues enter Tuesday's game in Edmonton just two points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and have an opportunity to move into a tie for the No. 8 spot with a win (and a Dallas loss). So, how did they get here?
Avalanche 4, Flames 3: Colorado ended a four-game losing streak with its win over Calgary on Monday night, thanks in large part to a three-point effort from Marek Svatos. Svatos chipped in two goals (including the eventual game-winner late in the second period) and added an assist, while Ryan Smyth registered a pair of helpers in the win.
Peter Budaj was strong in net for the Avalanche, turning aside 36 of 39 shots to pick up his 14th win over the season.
The Blues led 2-1 going into the third, but the teams would combine to score five third-period goals -- all in the final five minutes. The Bruins led 4-3 in the final seconds, but after St. Louis' Barret Jackman laid down in his own crease to block a shot, the Blues rushed back the other way and David Backes scored the tying goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. Officials would review the goal for a possible high stick, but it would stand. The Blues went on to pull off the upset in the shootout.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division. 
Game Three is often a pivotal moment in a best-of-seven series. Of course, in the case of the St. Louis Blues, it's more about keeping hope alive at this point.
With the NHL playoffs just around the corner, FanHouse takes a look at some of the lesser-known teams that qualified. Monday's installment: the St. Louis Blues.
The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.
The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of a series of must-win games in their quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The run continued Thursday in Detroit, where St. Louis tried to rebound from a rather listless effort Wednesday night in Chicago. They got plenty of help from one of their young guns. David Backes is in his second full season with the Blues and was on the cusp of a 30-goal season heading into Thursday's game. He's not "on the cusp" anymore.
Avalanche 4, Flames 3: Colorado ended a four-game losing streak with its win over Calgary on Monday night, thanks in large part to a three-point effort from Marek Svatos. Svatos chipped in two goals (including the eventual game-winner late in the second period) and added an assist, while Ryan Smyth registered a pair of helpers in the win. 
