The month of March automatically conjures up a few thoughts in any normal person's mind: Spring is on its way and March Madness is almost upon us. Normal sports fans are prepping for a potential run to the Final Four for their team, myself included.
I am not a big basketball fan by any stretch of the imagination, but something about the NCAA tournament draws me in every year. March is probably the only time I will sit down and watch a basketball game from start to finish, so you can bet that once the tourney starts I will be on my couch rooting for Jordan Taylor, Jon Leuer and my basketball-playing name twin as they make a run toward Houston.
However, the sport that usually gets the majority of my attention, hockey, also has a playoff race that is worthy of attention. Anyone who has seen the way the NHL standings look right now knows that this year's race to the Stanley Cup playoffs is shaping up to be one of the most memorable ones in recent history.
To prove that point, all you have to do is look at the way the Western Conference looks right now where a mere five points separates the fourth place Chicago Blackhawks from the eleventh place Nashville Predators. What this means is that, with about a month left in the regular season only the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings are absolute stone-cold locks for hockey's postseason in the West. Coming down the stretch, you are going to have nine teams fighting for six spots — seems like a pretty good race to me.
It's like March Madness, where you have any number of teams fighting for a bid into the NCAA tournament. However instead of sitting around and hoping that their accomplishments from earlier this season are enough to propel them into the field of 68, these NHL teams can control their own destiny. If they win they can get themselves in, which makes for some intense, hard-fought hockey games over the course of the next month.
Let's use the Blackhawks as an example. They currently sit in fourth place with 80 points. If they were to go on even a small losing streak, the Predators could pass them with a few wins. Suddenly the Blackhawks have dropped seven spots and are out of the playoffs. Every game from here on out is a playoff game for these teams, and that makes for some great hockey.
The Eastern Conference isn't quite as cluttered at the top as the West, but that doesn't mean the race is any less exciting. In the East you have six teams fighting for the final two spots in the playoffs. Maybe I find the East more exciting because that is where my horse in this race lies; my Buffalo Sabres are one of the teams fighting for those two spots. After an awful start to the year they have rebounded and sit in eighth place with a one-point advantage over the Carolina Hurricanes.
You can bet that I am fully invested in cheering the Sabres to the playoffs for the rest of the season. When every game has the feel of the playoffs, there is never a dull moment.
But the exciting thing about the East is that you have a great story among the teams fighting for a playoff berth. Part of what makes March Madness fun is the Cinderella stories that emerge every year. I remember cheering my heart out for George Mason a few years back. Everyone loves a Cinderella story, and the Eastern Conference race has one for the ages.
On Jan. 8, the New Jersey Devils were sitting in the Eastern Conference cellar, 27 points back of eighth place. They were a team in disarray and the target of ridicule from the hockey community. The Devils were supposed to be one of the league's top contenders this year, but through the first half they looked anything but.
Since Jan. 8, though, the Devils have gone on an unbelievable 20-2-2 run to climb within eight points of eighth place, finally showing what made them a pre-season favorite for the Stanley Cup. During this stretch some have taken to calling them the ""NJuggernaut"" as they make an absolutely unbelievable run to the postseason.
If it weren't for the fact that they are directly competing with the Sabres, I would be fully on board with the Devils in their quest for one of the more unlikely playoff berths in recent memory.
So in the middle of your marathon March Madness viewing party be sure to check out some of the NHL games going on that night—chances are there are some crucial matchups on the docket. If you don't, you'll be missing some of the best hockey you'll ever be able to watch.
Thinking to yourself, ""But Old Dominion is playing VCU in a big 7-10 seed matchup! Why would I want to watch hockey?"" E-mail Ryan at rmevans2@dailycardinal.com
