Why am I quoting a Steely Dan tune? No idea, but it was in my head, so hopefully you will be humming it to yourself all day now. Share my torture.

Without Rick DiPietro the New York Islanders collapsed. Backup goaltender Mike Dunham took the helm in his absence (which I pointed out he doesnt fare well at this time of year.... he helped the Atlanta Thrashers pack their bags for the golf courses following a disastrous appearance against the Washington Capitals in the final game of the season).... the Islanders would have been served better by leaving the net empty and playing with the 6th skater.

Goaltender Rick DiPietro returned to form last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced, and leading his team to a 3-1 victory. With the win the Islanders moved back towards the playoff bubble, with 81 points. Good enough for 10th place, and just 1 point out behind the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Montreal Canadiens.

The Islanders have some games in hand on the teams in front of them, and also have a pivotal matchup against the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon. A massive two points will be on the board.

Quick Shave:
The Carolina Hurricanes faced only 10 shots last night from the Washington Capitals, and they almost lost! Probably because John Grahame was in net (tell me the Hurricanes and Islanders aren't going to go hunting for new backups this off season). Grahame let 3 goals in on 6 shots! He was pulled and goaltender Cam Ward returned for the first time since having his knee lacerated in the third period. Ward made four saves, and Eric Staal and Andrew Ladd scored early in the third to take the win 4-3. The Hurricanes remain in 8th place overall in the Eastern Conference. The Montreal Canadiens are really scrapping to remain in the playoff hunt as well. They exploded in the second half of the game to take down the Boston Bruins 6-3 last night. The Habs sit in 9th place in the East. The Minnesota Wild who won their 8th straight last night, 5-2 over the St. Louis Blues are 1 point behind the Northwest Division leading Vancouver Canucks, and the third seed in the West. In fact, if the Anaheim Ducks keeps playing as poorly as they have lately (they fell to the Phoenix Coyotes last night 2-1), then Vancouver and the Wild have a legitimate shot at the 2nd seed, which they are just two points shy of now. The San Jose Sharks hammered the Atlanta Thrashers 5-1 last night on the heels of a dominant performance from their top line. Jonathan Cheechoo joined the NHL Hat Trick club, Milan Michalek had a goal and two helpers, and Joey T. assisted on three... in fact everyone on the Sharks scored last night. The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 last night and moved with 2 points of the Thrashers for the Southeast Division lead. Martin St. Louis potted two, and past the 40 goal mark.

Game of the Night:
Toronto at Buffalo 8:00 PM
Dallas at Anaheim 10:00 PM

Do or die time for the Leafs tonight, and they face no easy opponent in the Buffalo Sabres. The Ducks have been one of those teams at the top that seem to have been mailing it in for the last few weeks, and certainly need to up their game before the post season, or its gonna be first round and out for a lot of these guys. Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh