A pair of five game winning streaks will be on the line Monday night when the Dallas Stars visit the Chicago Blackhawks. The mood for each team will likely be very different however – the Hawks have all-but sewn up top seed in the West while the Stars have scratched and clawed their way back into playoff contention on the heels on their own five game win streak.
With eight games remaining in the NHL’s regular season for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks both teams find themselves in very different fights. For the Wings, they are scrapping just to make the playoffs on the heels of a 2-4-1 stretch while the Hawks are on top of the NHL standings, trying to hold off the Anaheim Ducks for the President’s Trophy. .
The offense has been much less impressive as they have are the 4th worst team in the Majors in runs scored so far, a real disappointment given they were supposed to have a revamped lineup and the seeming return to form of OF Carl Crawford.
Today’s game is the rubber match in this series with these teams splitting the first 2 games. The Blue Jays had high hopes coming into this season, but they are only 3-5 and their pitching and offense have both struggled.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, in true championship style keep getting it done despite the absence of key players up and down their lineup. On Thursday night, the Pens will be without Sidney Crosby, James Neal and Paul Martin when they travel to Tampa Bay to take on a Lightning team that has gone 5-0-1 in their last six home games.
The New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins meet on Rivalry Night in the NHL with both teams having a lot to play for. For the New Jersey Devils, they will be looking to end an ugly seven game losing streak and to stay within striking distance of an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The forecasted demise of the New York Yankees might have been a little premature. After yesterday’s drubbing of Cleveland they are at .500 and if lefty Andy Pettite continues to turn back the clock they may have something to say all season long.
The Mets have taken advantage of their schedule to get off to a nice start.
They are just behind the Braves in the National League East standings and if they can get another series win in Philadelphia they will really be pleased with themselves.
Time is running out on the Carolina Hurricanes – they are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games and are sliding out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Their task doesn’t get any easier on Monday night when they travel to Boston to take on a Bruins team looking to rebound after losing to division rival Montreal on Saturday night.
I know I am supposed to write about Louisville but I have to throw some love to the Wichita State Shockers here. They pushed the Cardinals more than anybody expected and could easily have won the game.
The Orange were very impressive last week in earning their spot in the Final Four. They put forth two fantastic defensive games holding Indiana and Marquette to an average of just 45 points.
There was a lot of talk this season about how there wasn’t a dominant team in the college game. Louisville is making us second guess all of that rhetoric.
Slumping Devils Try To Right the Ship in Boston Thursday Night
The New Jersey Devils, losers of four straight games will try to get back in the win column Thursday night but the chore won’t be easy. Their opponent is one of the NHL elite – the Boston Bruins who endured a small hiccup during a 2-4-1 stretch ended last week.
The Phillies have not gotten off to a good start and are looking to salvage a game in this opening series against division rival Atlanta. Starter Roy Halladay gave a confounding performance yesterday, racking up the strikeouts while giving up the long ball.
Hot Western Conference Teams Collide – Wild Visit Sharks
The Minnesota Wild who are 8-2 in their last 10 games overall travel to San Jose Wednesday night to take on the a Jose Sharks, a team that has benefitted from a little home cooking and has won five straight games.
Well, for the first time this year, we have a brand new #1. If this wasn’t a bi-weekly column, we may have had one last week. But the Penguins have emerged – their climb to the top has come at a steep price however. There is no timetable of when Sidney Crosby will return to action after getting hit in the face with a slapshot against the Islanders.
