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Will Pens, Devils or Sabres gain East No. 2 seed?

Marc-Andre Fleury, Jamie Langenbrunner

New Jersey Devils’ Jamie Langenbrunner (15) attempts to get his stick on the puck as Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 17, 2010, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

AP

Earlier today I broke down the Eastern Conference’s bottom three playoff spots and the four teams who have a good shot of filling them. My blog buddy Marty Vance took a look at the other end of the East spectrum, assessing which of the New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins had the best chance to nab the second seed in the conference.

At this point; looking at these schedules, how can you not assume the Penguins are going to be grabbing the 2nd seed? But look a little closer. I could easily see both Pittsburgh and New Jersey having identical 2-1 records going into Sunday, or even really, New Jersey could be ahead by 2 points, having their most difficult game in their finale, while Pittsburgh plays Washington tonight.

... I don’t think anybody wants that 4 seed, with a first rounder against Ottawa, then most likely heading to Washington in the 2nd. Yikes.

Marty predicts that the order will turn out to be New Jersey at No. 2 with Buffalo in the third spot and Pittsburgh getting the tough hand at No. 4. I must agree with him because the Devils’ well-earned (seriously, 6-0 against the Penguins? That’s insane.) tiebreaker over Pittsburgh very well might be the ultimate factor.

It borders on poetic that - at least at this moment - the Penguins and Devils have the exact same record even though Pittsburgh dropped every game to New Jersey. For Buffalo, I figure there isn’t nearly as much anxiety involved with being a second seed versus being a third. Naturally they’d prefer the second seed, but a matchup against Montreal might actually be less strenuous than a grind-it-out series against Boston.

You’ve got to love the fact that there’s plenty of meaningful hockey to be played in this final week of regular season action.