Faceoff Factor

Southeast Division answers criticism

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Mar 16, 11:01 PM | Hype this story!

A month ago, the Southeast Division was the talk of the National Hockey League when none of its teams had high enough points to qualify for the eight spot (though the division leader still had their reserved spot in the top three).

Now, how has the worst division in the NHL responded to the criticism?

Three teams have stepped it up to very competitive, playoff levels.

One team is the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes would actually have enough points to qualify for sixth place in the Eastern Conference (a few weeks ago, they wouldn’t have made it at all if it weren’t for their position atop the division). Carolina is proving that they are a playoff-caliber team and a worthy divisional leader.

The Hurricanes have gone 12-2-1 in their last 15 games and finishes up the season with all eight games being played against divisional opponents.

Another team is the Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin hasn’t had much playoff opportunity in his stay so far in the nation’s capital, but he’s out to turn that around. The Caps have gone 11-6-3 in their last 20 games.

The last team, the Florida Panthers (that’s right, the Florida Panthers), is slowly making their way into the playoff picture as well. Things seem to have suddenly started to click in Sunrise, Florida where Jacques Martin and the Panthers have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games (which includes a seven game win streak).

Scoring doesn’t seem to be a problem for the Panthers anymore as Jokinen, Horton, Weiss, and Booth are leading the team game after game to big wins. The Anderson-Vokoun goaltending duo seems to have finally paid off with great success allowing only 9 goals on 240 shots between the two of them in the last ten games.

So how does the playoff picture look for the Southeast Division?

The Carolina Hurricanes still hold the division lead with 83 points, but that certainly isn’t insurmountable to the teams now behind them by only five points.

(10)Washington and (11)Florida, each with 78 points, are looking to pass (9)Buffalo and (8)Philadelphia so at least one of them can make the final cut. But can these two teams who were flying so low a few weeks ago really make the playoffs?

Why not?

Buffalo isn’t having as much success as years prior and doesn’t seem to have the energy to keep up a good run for the playoffs. The Flyers are constantly having goaltending problems and might not be able to fend off these Southeastern, momentum-stricken teams much longer.

The good news for the Sabres and Flyers is that the Capitals and Panthers will soon be playing only divisional opponents and might eliminate both themselves and their divisional rivals from the playoff race at the same time.

Whether they can take advantage of the situation is a story that only they can tell over time.

The Capitals only have two non-division (both non-conference) games left before they play all divisional opponents. They travel to Nashville and Chicago before touring the southeast to Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida; the last three of which will be welcomed into the Verizon Center for the Capitals’ final three games.

The Hurricanes play two on the road, two at home, two on the road again, and two at home again, which can play a mental effect on the team with all the traveling involved. All remaining games are played against divisional opponents.

The Panthers share a similar schedule only with a three game road trip bringing up the end of their season consisting of two important games against Carolina and Washington.

Whether more than one team makes it to the playoffs from the Southeast Division or not, it is still a remarkable turn-around, and, contrary to earlier in the season, many eyes (especially those from Philadelphia and Buffalo) will be turned to the Southeast come playoff time.