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Around the rink - February 16th; Caps face Ducks, Western playoff battles pick up

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7:00 p.m.

Toronto @ Buffalo

Two teams looking to build off momentum from big wins last night. Toronto took out Boston with Phil Kessel and Mikhail Grabovski showing up in big ways. Buffalo was down 2-0 in the shootout against Montreal and stormed back to win. Toronto is on the outside fringe of playoff discussion while Buffalo is right there in the mix. Buffalo is usually a house of horror for the Leafs and the Sabres will have Ryan Miller back in goal after getting a full night off last night. If last night’s game was Phil Kessel’s awakening, is it possible the Leafs can make a run? Unleashing the potential of a 40-goal scorer late in the season would be a huge boost.

Carolina @ New Jersey

Carolina seeks to hang tight in the playoff race while the Devils look to firmly assert themselves into the hunt. For the Devils, knocking off a team that’s sitting just ahead of them in the East standings would help out immensely. Meanwhile, Carolina will be without defenseman Ian White as it appears the team is close to trading him. As it is, New Jersey is 14 points behind eighth place Carolina. It would take the Devils to continue on their ridiculous tear of late and make it last the rest of the season to get there, but you just never know what will happen, especially with teams near the bottom of the East playoff race losing more often than not.

Los Angeles @ Columbus

The Kings look to keep things rolling well on their 10 game road trip. They’ve gone 4-0-2 on it to this point and taking out a Columbus team that’s snapped out of their own funk of late would do wonders for their standing in the playoff race. Columbus is just four points behind L.A. in the West as the Kings are just one point behind Calgary for eighth in the West. Yeah, things are a bit tight. The Jackets go into this game winners of five of their last six games and two in a row.

7:30 p.m.

Philadelphia @ Florida

The Flyers got a big win in the shootout against Tampa Bay last night to help put a little space between themselves and the Lightning. Tonight they go to Sunrise to take on a Panthers team they’ve alternately handled well and been humbled harshly by. As always with the Panthers, it depends on which version of Tomas Vokoun shows up. If it’s the one they beat 5-2 earlier this year then great. If it’s the one who shut them out 5-0 in Philadelphia then life will be miserable. For Philly, they’d also like to see James vanRiemsdyk emerge as a power player for them. After a goal and an assist last night, giving him 13 goals on the season, he’s a real wild card. Perhaps the addition of Kris Versteeg will help him breakout further.

8:00 p.m.

Minnesota @ Chicago

Chicago will be without coach Joel Quenneville for this game as he was hospitalized late last night. Assistant coach Mike Haviland will have control of the team tonight and he’ll get Patrick Kane back in the lineup as well after being out with the flu. The Wild are hoping to keep the good times rolling but they’ll have their hands full with a Chicago team likely motivated to play hard for Quenneville while he’s out. The Wild have won nine of their last 12 games going 9-3-0 in that span to get them into the playoff race just one point behind Calgary for eighth. Chicago is four back of the eighth spot. Smells like a gut check game for both teams.

9:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh @ Colorado

It’s the war of the skating wounded as two of the NHL’s most injured teams will square off in Denver. If you bought tickets to this game earlier in the season hoping to see Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin take on Matt Duchene and the Avalanche, you’re going to be very disappointed having all three players out of action. The Avs are looking to get re-inspired after suffering a punishing 9-1 loss to Calgary on Monday. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has lost four of their last five and two in a row. A loss here for Pittsburgh might send their faithful into a full-fledged panic.

9:30 p.m.

Dallas @ Calgary

Dallas has lost six of their last seven and eight of their last ten. They’ve fallen out of first place and last night they even lost to the lowly Oilers 4-1. All is not well in Dallas and running into a scorching hot Calgary team isn’t about to help matters. The Flames thought they might be without Tim Jackman and Olli Jokinen as both suffered injuries in the 9-1 win over Colorado, but both players skated this morning meaning the Flames will be ready to go tonight. Calgary has won nine of their last 12 games and sit in the eighth spot in the West. How fun would a Calgary-Vancouver series be in the playoffs?

10:00 p.m.

Washington @ Anaheim

It’s either the best or worst time for the Caps to make a road trip out west. Their offense is struggling and the team has lost three in a row and six of their last eight. If you thought the pressure was on the team earlier this year while the HBO cameras were filming their eight-game losing skid, with the playoffs fast approaching the pressure is on. Tonight, they’ll get to see Curtis McElhinney in goal as Jonas Hiller is back on the IR with fatigue and shortness of breath. The Ducks are tough defensively but if the Caps offensive woes continue against a backup goalie, the panic button is about to get smashed to pieces in D.C. The Ducks are no pushovers though as they come into this game winners of four straight and eight of their last ten.