A Couple of Clinches and an Elimination

Finally, a little bit of action on the playoff pool selection sheet this morning, as some of the results shook a couple of teams into the playoffs and one officially out of the playoffs.  I have a few minutes this morning, so I'm going to get through it really quickly and adjust the playoff pool selection sheet to reflect these same results.  So, here goes...

First off, the Canucks clinched the President's Trophy, meaning they will have home-ice advantage in each round they play this Spring.  With the Flyers losing to the Thrashers in regulation and a win at home over the Kings, no other team in the league will best them in the standings.

The San Jose Sharks clinched their spot in the Western Conference playoff picture with a convincing regulation win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.  They are the second West team to clinch this season, with more right around the corner.

The Tampa Bay Lightning earned a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night to clinch their spot in the playoffs, making them the fifth team in the East to clinch.

On the way out, the Columbus Blue Jackets only needed to lose in overtime to be eliminated and that was exactly what happened.  The Jackets lost in overtime to the Capitals and that was that for them, eliminating the likes of Rick Nash and Steve Mason from the online selection sheet this morning.  It was a pretty rough year for the Jackets and now they don't have to worry about the rest of the year and start looking forward to their Summer.

Friday's schedule is fairly light, but it isn't without some playoff implications.  The Devils can officially be eliminated tonight with an overtime or shootout loss, only needing to lose 1 point to be officially eliminated.  They host the Flyers in one of the evening's early games.  The St. Louis Blues are in the same boat as the Devils, as they host the Flames tonight.  The Flames can keep their slim playoff hopes alive with a win, any kind of win will do, since they already don't have the adjusted wins tie-breaker in their favour.

The Blackhawks can put some more teams on the brink of elimination with a win over the Blue Jackets in Columbus, since they hold the 8th position in the standings, they can lower the death number for all the teams below them by one with a win.  If the Blues beat the Flames tonight and the Blackhawks win, the Blues will still be out of the playoffs.