Tonight's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Capitals 4 -  Lightning 2: We're #2!!! We're #2!!!  As Jonathan Werner said: Until they become #1.  See below to see who we'll play.
   
2. Devils 3 - Senators 2: Devils clinch the division, 3 seed.
   
3. Rangers 2 - Flyers 1: Rangers hold the tiebreak over Montreal.  If NYR win their final game (see below), they clinch the 7 seed.  if Philly wins their last two games they will get the 4 seed no matter what Pitt does. 
   
4. Bruins 5 - Canadiens 4 (OT): Bruins clinched the conference a couple of games back. Canadiens need a win and a Rangers loss to get the 7 seed (and thus the Caps.
5. Pens 6 - Islanders 1: Pens hold the tiebreaker over Philly, but Philly has a game in hand.  Pens need a win and a Canes loss for the 5 seed.
   
6. Sabres 5 - Hurricanes 1: Sabres eliminated despite the win.  Another win gives the Canes the advantage over the Pens and probably the 5 seed.
   
7. Panthers 3 - Thrashers 2: Sorry, Florida.  Your season came to an end tonight.  It was fun while it lasted though...
   

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[Ed. Note: Fates conspired against me last evening and this morning, so I figured I'd throw Rage's daily recap of the games that matter (slightly edited) out there for discussion as the playoff picture starts to come into focus.]

Last night's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Sabres 3 - Leafs 1: The Sabres stay alive, but their tragic number is 1 (Rangers).

Tonight's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Capitals @ Lightning: 1 point for the Caps clinches the second seed.
   
2. Devils @ Senators: A win for the Sens clinches the 2nd seed for the Caps.  A single point for the Devils clinches the division.
   
3. Canadiens @ Bruins: A single point for the Canadiens clinches the playoffs.
   
4. Islanders @ Penguins: Any combo of 2 points earned by the Pens/lost by the Canadiens (e.g. 2/0, 1/1, 0/0) guarantees that the Caps second seed play either the Candiens, Rangers or Panthers.
   
5. Flyers @ Rangers: A win by the Rangers clinches at least the 8 seed.
   
6. Sabres @ Hurricanes: 3 team race (Phil/Car/Pitt) for the 4/5/6 seeds.
   
7. Panthers @ Thrashers: Looking dicey for the Panthers.  Check out bullets 4 and 5 above.

You can find an updated Playoff Tracker here. Note that in the tracker, I don't account for tiebreakers but I've added a little table to help compare total wins and head to head points earned.

Best case Scenario for Tonight:

A point earned by the Caps/lost by the Devils.  And a guarantee of either Montreal, NYR or Florida in the first round.

Today's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Caps 4 - Thrashers 2:  Caps win!  Devils Lose!  Caps magic number stands at 1.
2. Leafs 4 - NJD 1:  Way to get it done, fellas.  Thanks a bunch.  Devils MN for the division is 1 (Flyers)...(despite what my playoff tracker says)
   
3. Rangers 3 - Canadiens 1: Despite the loss, Canadiens are 1 point away from the playoffs.  The Rangers are 1 point out of the 7 seed, but the Canadiens are currently the holder of the tiebreak (more head to head points, same number of wins).  Rangers clinch the playoffs with another win, or 3 points won/lost by the Panthers.
4. Pens 6 - 'Ning 4: I think most of us are rooting for the Pens to get to the 5th seed, and the Flyers to get the 4th seed.  Carolina currently holds the tiebreak and are up by 2 points.  Either way, it's going to be very difficult for the Caps to play them in the first round.  Pens would have to lose both, Montreal win both.
   
5. Flyers 2 - Panthers 1: The Flyers retain hold on the 4 seed with a game in hand on the Canes.  Note that if they end the season tied, the Canes would hold the wins tiebreaker.
6. Canes 9 - Islanders 0: Pretty good effort tonight, Islanders.  Brendan, we could have been great together.  The Canes need 1 win to prevent Pitt from passing them (so let's hope they lose both remaining games).
   
7. Senators 3 - Bruins 2: Nothing to add here.
   

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Today's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Sens 3 - Canadiens 2: The loss confirms that the Canadiens only control the 7 seed (thanks to Commentor FFSEnough for clarifying that for me yesterday).  Canadiens MN for the 7 seed is 4 points (Rangers).
   
2. Wings 4 - Sabres 1: Lindy, Noooooo!!!!!!  Sabres tragic number is 3 points lost (Rangers/Panthers).

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Today's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Caps 6 - Thrashers 4: They allowed us to score more than we did them.  Caps MN for the 2 seed is 5 (NJD).
   
2. Panthers 4 - Pens 2: Ruh roh...Canadiens now control the 6 seed, Pitt the 7 seed.  The Pens need 3 points in 3 games to clinch the playoffs.  If the Panthers win out, they are in the playoffs (see ya, Torts).

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Tonight's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Devils 3 - Sabres 2:  Caps still are 7 points from the 2 seed.  The Devils are 2 points from their division crown.
   
2. Bruins 1 - Rangers 0: Bruins clinch the conference.  Rangers no longer control the 8 seed (Florida holds the tiebreaker).
3. Canadiens 6 - Leafs 2: Canadiens still control the 7 seed right now, are 4 points from securing a playoff berth.
   
4. Senators 4 - Flyers 3 (OT): Flyers are 1 point from the playoffs (or 1 lost point from Florida).  Still control the 4 seed.
   
5. Canes 3 - Pens 2 (OT): Even with an OTL, the Pens control the 5 seed.  The Canes and Pens are 1 and 3 points away from the Playoffs respectively.
   
6. Lightning 3 - Islanders 1: 2 points for the Ning!  More ping pong balls for the Tavares/Wong marriage!
   

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Tomorrow's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Sabres 5 - Caps 4 (OT): Caps get a point, win the SE Division.  The Sabres keep hope alive.  Given the Devils OTW, the Caps MN for the 2nd seed is 7.
2. NJD 5 - 'Ning 4 (OT): Terrible line change by the 'Ning in OT gives the Devils 2 points.  Devils are 5 points away from the division clinch (Flyers).
   
3. Flyers 8 - Leafs 5:  Given the Penguins 4-2-0 record against the Flyers this year, the Flyers have a MN of 9 for the 4 seed.
4. Thrashers 2 - Panthers 1: Panthers now trail the Rangers by 2 points for the 8 seed.
   

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Notes about tonight's games and tomorrow's preview as it relates to the playoffs.

Tonight's games (involving Eastern Conference teams):

1. Canes 4 - Rangers 2: A loss of any kind by Carolina would have clinched the division for the Caps.  As it stands, the Canes move up to the 4 seed while the Rangers fall to the 8 seed (and hold a tiebreaker over the Panthers given their 3-0-1 record head to head).  Bottom line, the Caps still need 1 point to clinch the division.
2. Canadiens 5 - NYI 1: With the win, the Canadiens now control the 7 seed.  They have 1 point and 1 game in hand on the Rangers.  How does everyone feel about facing them in Round 1?
3. Bruins 2 - Senators 1: The Bruins need only 2 points to clinch the conference and now have a 9 point lead on the Caps.  This game also eliminated the Sens from playoff contention.  Flags in Ottawa fly at half-staff eh?  (Note: Ray Emery's house not included)  NJD has officially been eliminated from contention from the 1 seed.

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