It’s the playoff performances of Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley and especially Joe Thornton that you should be worried about.
Flyers/Rangers is on NHL Network (at least in Canada.) Philly just tied the game 1-1, 12 minutes left in the third.
Philly is in, the Rangers are out. The 8 Eastern teams are now set
With only the Sabres/Devils game having an impact on the seedings (if Buffalo wins, they get second and New Jersey gets third), the East matchups are as follows:
[ul]
[li]Washington vs. Montreal[/li][li]Buffalo/New Jersey (whoever wins) against Philly[/li][li]Buffalo/New Jersey (whoever loses) against Boston[/li][li]Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa[/li][/ul]
Well, Detroit won it. Phoenix Coyotes in the first round.
Gotta be the worst 102 point season I’ve ever seen. Wasn’t it only in the last two weeks or so that the Wings really solidified a playoff spot?
IIRC they’ve been in the playoffs since the March 13 game vs. Buffalo, but you’re right on the solidified part. I’m honestly surprised they made the playoffs this year much less 100+ points again. With the injuries, offensive and defensive lapses, goalie struggles, and how intensely competitive the West is (seven out of eight playoff teams with 100+ points) it’s been a long season and I’m pessimistic about their chances. But then I’ve been pessimistic about them all season and have been wrong about a fair amount.
I’ll save the big prediction for the playoff thread, but I’d be shocked if they made it to the conference finals.
I am absurdly pleased to note that, despite the perception over the season that Detroit was having a completely crummy year and wasn’t likely to make the playoffs while Pittsburgh was having a “good, not great” season on the way to a possible repeat, in the end the Wings beat out the Penguins by a point. Take that, Crosby!
To be honest, a month and a half ago I was still iffy on that whole “making the playoffs” thing myself.
I’m not worried about them at all, and it’s an idea that was never really true.
Marleau has had good playoffs in the past, but he’s been awful since Thornton was acquired. Maybe another series against Colorado will reinvigorate him. 
Take it from a Senators fan: Heatley’s always been a follower, not a leader. If the team is doing well, he’ll also do well. But if the team is doing poorly he’s not the type to put them on his back. If Thornton and Marleau are going, he’ll be going too.
But Thornton? He’s never had a good playoffs in his life. He’s a perimeter player, which is death in the playoffs where you have to be scoring the dirty goals to succeed. I watched him closely at the Olympics and I was appalled at how he avoided the slot like the plague and let his linemates fight all of the battles along the boards. It is so incredibly telling that Thornton had only two points when his linemates were scoring pretty well.
Well I’m glad they got phoenix rather then Vancouver. Not because of the team but because of the travel. Those extra couple hours on the plane and in customs really seem to wear the wing down every year.
I’m gonna miss Modano 