The biggest story of the night on this 7-game Wednesday was the race for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The 8th-place faltering Avalanche were at home against Anaheim, while the 9th-place Flames were at home versus Phoenix. The Flames needed a win to stay at least 4 points within Colorado, and that is our Game of the Night:
1 
2After being shutout by Boston, 5-0, on Saturday and sitting a tough 6 points out of a playoff spot, Calgary is all of a sudden on the verge of tying Colorado for 8th.
On Sunday, the Flames beat the Capitals in Washington and Colorado lost to the Sharks in San Jose. That put Calgary within 4 points. Tonight, the Ducks held off Colorado, and Calgary is now within 2 points of the Avalanche for 8th with their win over Phoenix.
Nobody found the back of the net until the 2nd period, when Rene Bourque put Calgary ahead 1-0 on the power-play 14:23 into the period.
In the 3rd, Ales Kotalik put it past Jason LaBarbera 3:46 into the period to make it 2-0 Calgary. But Phoenix would make it interesting with a goal from Lee Stempniak with just under 7 minutes to go to make it 2-1.
Miikka Kiprusoff held his ground and gave Calgary a huge win on home ice. He finished the game with 29 saves. Jason LaBarbera got the start for Phoenix in place of the usual Ilya Bryzgalov and played well, also ending the game with 29 saves.
Phoenix' loss keeps them at 100 points, and 4th-place in the West, 4 points behind San Jose for the lead.
The Flames now have 87 points on the year and have 5 games remaining. They are 2 points behind the 8th-place Avalanche, who have 6 games remaining.
The fight should be interesting the rest of the way, and it will be made even more interesting very quickly, as the Flames face off with the Avalanche in Denver on Friday with a chance to tie them in points.
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Panthers 2 Sabres 6
Buffalo wins their 3rd-straight and extends their Northeast Division lead to 7 points over Ottawa. They also jump over Pittsburgh for 2nd-place in the East with 96 points. Florida is 14th in the East with 72 points.
Hurricanes 2 Canadiens 1
Carolina keeps their very slim playoff hopes alive, as they will have to run the table in their remaining 5 games and hope for some help from other teams. But they'll take every win they can get, as they keep going in a very positive direction after a dismal 1st half of the season. They have 75 points, sit 11th in the East, and are 7 points back of 8th. Montreal loses their 2nd-straight, and although they remain tied in points with Philadelphia and Boston, with 82, the Canadiens sit in the 8-spot because they have played 1 more game than each of the other two teams. They are only 2 points up on the 9th-place Thrashers and 4 up on the 10th-place Rangers.
Lightning 2 Penguins 0
Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie would score for Tampa Bay, as they stun the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Mike Smith made 27 saves to record his 2nd shutout of the year for the Lightning. Pittsburgh's lead over New Jersey in the Atlantic Division remains at 1, and they drop down to 3rd in the Conference with 95 points. Tampa Bay is 12th in the East with 74 points.
Blackhawks 4 Wild 0
Chicago finally gets back on track, as Antti Niemi made 21 saves for his 7th shutout of the season. Chicago moves up to 101 points, 2nd-place in the West, 3 back of the Sharks for 1st with a game-in-hand. Minnesota is 13th in the West with 80 points.
Sharks 1 Stars 5
The last time San Jose was in Dallas, the Stars put up an 8-spot and won 8-2. It wasn't much of a better showing on Wednesday. Steve Ott recorded a hat trick for Dallas, and Evgeni Nabokov allowed all 5 goals for San Jose on only 21 Stars' shots through the first 2 periods. The Sharks remain 1st in the West with 104 points. Dallas has 82 points and sits 12th in the West, 7 points back of 8th.
Ducks 5 Avalanche 2
A huge loss on home ice for Colorado could come back to haunt them. Maybe they're panicking because they're such a young team trying to handle the pressures of making the playoffs, but whatever it is, they better get back to playing the hockey they were playing the whole year that got them in the top 8 in the first place. Jason Blake had a point on every Ducks' goal, finishing with a goal and 4 assists. Anaheim is 11th in the West with 82 points. Colorado has gone 1-5-1 in their 7 games, and have seen their playoff positioning melt before their eyes. They still remain 8th in the West with 89 points, but are only 2 up on Calgary with a game-in-hand on the Flames. Friday night is showdown night in Denver, and the Avalanche better have a quick turnaround because in comes Calgary with a chance to tie Colorado in points in a head-to-head matchup.
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Thursday's Schedule:
Panthers @ Bruins, 7:00
Sabres @ Maple Leafs, 7:00
Flyers @ Islanders, 7:00
Thrashers @ Capitals, 7:00, CSN, Versus
Hurricanes @ Senators, 7:30
Blue Jackets @ Red Wings, 7:30
Blues @ Predators, 8:00
Canucks @ Kings, 10:30, FS West, NHL Network
