NHL playoffs around the corner East edition

1.	* Boston		100
2.	* Washington		96
3.	* New Jersey		95
4.	Philadelphia		84
5.	Pittsburgh		84
6.	NY Rangers		82
7.	Montreal		81
8.	Carolina		81
9.	Florida		80

With just about 10 games left in the regular season the playoff races in both the east and the west are heating up. The east is the more interesting race for me to watch and not only because I am more accustomed to eastern hockey but because the race is tighter and there is much more that is left undecided at this point in the season. The players in the eastern conference are far more marketable than some of the western conference players, something that the NHL is in desperate need of right now. Ovetchkin, Crosby, and Malkin are all great players who the league can use to increase their popularity.
Many of the teams in the east playoff picture are getting hot at just the right time of the season. New Jersey just got their starting goalie Brodeur back in time for the playoff push and Parise does not seem to stop scoring. Just when everyone thought that the Penguins were out of the playoff scene they put together the type of run that I knew they were capable of. If their goal tending can stay tough then this is a team that can make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals. A third team that is starting to click at the right time of the year are the Rangers. They have a new coach who is now getting much more effort out of his players, one of the premier goaltenders in the league, and the return of Sean Avery who ads some much needed heart to the team.
Like I said the east is a very open conference and I can see any one of these teams advancing to the finals with the exception of Montreal, Carolina, or Florida. For ratings purposes the best possible match up in the eastern conference finals would be the Capitals taking on the Penguins. This rivalry has been heating up throughout the season even going as far as Crosby and Ovetchkin jawing at each other near the end of a recent game. The fans of these two teams do not like each other and would be a match up for the ages.