What a night for goaltenders!

The New York Islanders appear to be in playoff mode already, and Rick DiPietro is without a doubt a in post-season mode. DiPietro stopped 39 shots last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, including 16 in the third period. The Islanders only managed one shot on Raycroft in the third. I don't think I've ever seen the Islanders keeper more in the zone than he was last night. His hightlight reel save came early in the third (check the highlights for this one) off a Mats Sundin rebound that floated to Tomas Kaberle who had most of the net to shoot on.....DiPietro snatched the puck out of the air from near point blank range. His confidence was also high, as he began moving out of the crease challenging shooters (something Theodore doesn't do anymore) and severely cutting off their angles. The Islanders went on to take the game 3-2 in the shootout. The Islanders and Leafs are tied for 9th place in the East, just 2 points out of the 8th spot currently held by the struggling Habs.

If DiPietro can keep his play at this level, and the Islanders get into the playoffs, they are going to be dangerous....especially if they face the New Jersey Devils who have been owned by the New York club for the past two seasons.

Quick Shave:
Florida Panthers goaltender Ed Belfour made 24 saves against the Montreal Canadiens and made defenceman Jay Bouwmeester's lone goal stand for the 1-0 win. The victory was Belfour's 76th shutout of his NHL career. Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made 32 saves to blank the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 last night. The win was Thomas' second by shutout this season. Recently acquired forward Brandon Bochenski (formerly of the Ottawa Senators, and Chicago Blackhawks....I think Don Cherry even annointed him as a possible Calder Trophy winner prior to last season) scored his 4th goal in 4 games with the B's. Colorado Avalanche goaltender Peter Budaj had an excellent rebound game last night against the Anaheim Ducks (who last night I found out, have the second worst record in the NHL since late December....how scary is that?). Budaj who was lit up for 4 goals against the Dallas Stars the other night responded by blanking the Ducks 2-0 for his second shutout win of the season. St. Louis Blues forward Bill Guerin joined the HTC last night in a 6-5 losing effort to the San Jose Sharks. Stache mentioned there are rumors swirling about him joining the Carolina Hurricanes..... which couldn't be too far from the truth as the Blues are stacked with plenty of veteran playoff rentals including him, Tkachuk, Weight, Rucinsky, and Dvorak. Don't be surprised if any or all of these guys are playing elsewhere next week. For more on rumors drop by Spector's Hockey, he covers all trade rumors.

Quick Shave:
Montreal at New Jersey 7:30 PM
San Jose at Nashville 8:00 PM
Detroit at Dallas 8:30 PM

Since we are coming down to the wire, more and more of these games are becoming very important. The Habs have been on quite a slide lately, and now find themselves barely holding on to the last playoff spot in the East. It's definitely desperation time in Montreal. The other two games are clearly pre-playoff matchups, and should be outstanding matches. Look for Detroit to come out hard after their recent thumping at the hands of the Flyers. Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh