Avalanche Engulfed in Flames

On March 17th, the Flames were 9 points behind the Avalanche. They aren't anymore. Coming into Friday, Calgary was 2 back of Colorado for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West. Their battle in Denver is Friday's Game of the Night:

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Colorado has been one of the best surprise stories in the league this year, but their dream run has run into some fire.

Both goalies played very well tonight and the 1st goal of the game was scored 2:28 into the 2nd period off the stick of Nigel Dawes to give Calgary a 1-0 lead.

Rene Bourque made it 2-0 2:11 into the 3rd period, but T.J. Galiardi would make it very interesting with a goal just over 5 minutes later to cut the lead back down to 1.

But that was all the offense Miikka Kiprusoff would need, as he got the big win for Calgary on a 35-save night. Craig Anderson made 25 saves for Colorado.

These two teams are now tied for 8th-place in the West with 89 points, but Colorado still sits in 8th because they have 1 more win and have played 1 fewer game.

The Avalanche have 5 games left, 3 at home, while the Flames have 4 games left, 2 at home.

The stretch run will be quite interesting--much more than Colorado would have hoped.

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Blackhawks 2 Devils 1 (SO)

Kris Versteeg tied the game for Chicago with only 26 seconds left in regulation, and the Blackhawks rallied to beat the Devils in a shootout in Newark. Chicago now has 103 points, 2nd in the West, 3 back of San Jose for 1st. New Jersey's point ties them with Pittsburgh with 95 points for 1st in the Atlantic Division and 3rd in the East. Both Pittsburgh and New Jersey have the exact same record with 5 games left.

Canadiens 1 Flyers 0

Montreal now has 84 points, moving up to 6th in the East, now 2 up on Boston and Philadelphia. The Flyers are all of a sudden the ones in trouble. They sit 8th with 82 points, only 2 up on the tied-9th-place Rangers and Thrashers. They are tied with Boston for 7th, but they have played 1 more game than the Bruins.

Rangers 5 Lightning 0

The Rangers tie Atlanta in points for 9th with 80, and hold the spot themselves because they have 1 more win and a game-in-hand. They are 2 back of Philadelphia for 8th with a game-in-hand on them as well. 6 through 10 in the East (Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, Atlanta) are separated by only 4 points. Tampa Bay is 14th in the East with 74 points. Mike Smith allowed 4 goals on 7 shots for the Lightning in the first 15 minutes of the game.

Sharks 3 Wild 2

San Jose remains 3 up on Chicago for the best record in the Western Conference with 106 points and they extend their lead on Phoenix in the Pacific Division to 6. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 80 points.

Oilers 3 Stars 6

Don't count the Stars out just yet, as they now have 84 points and continue to score. They're 5 points behind 8th-place Colorado and 9th-place Calgary, but their problem is that they only 4 games remaining. They would need some major help to sneak in. Edmonton is last in the league with 55 points--22 points behind the next-best team in the West, Columbus.

Canucks 5 Ducks 4 (SO)

Vancouver holds off Anaheim in a wild one at Honda Center. The Canucks now have 98 points and remain 3rd in the West. Anaheim is 12th in the West with 82 points.

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Saturday's Schedule:

Thrashers @ Penguins, 1:00

Senators @ Islanders, 2:00

Predators @ Red Wings, 2:00

Bruins @ Maple Leafs, 7:00

Sabres @ Canadiens, 7:00, NHL Network

Devils @ Hurricanes, 7:00

Rangers @ Panthers, 7:00

Capitals @ Blue Jackets, 7:00, CSN

Stars @ Blues, 8:00

Oilers @ Coyotes, 10:00

Ducks @ Kings, 10:30, FS West