This weekend I decided to get my 2009 Stanley Cup playoff tickets. I had decided earlier in the weekend to take a look at the playoff race and this is what I found. The playoff setup seems to be really taking shape in the last week or so. We can finally see that some teams have clinched something and other teams have been eliminated. Let’s start in the Eastern Conference. Boston, Washington and New Jersey are in. This is quite a coup, especially for Washington, as they have struggled more in recent years, so making the playoffs at position #2 is an especially exciting event for them. Philadelphia, Carolina and Pittsburgh will have to mess up big-time to get bumped from the postseason. In the West, San Jose and Detroit are for sure in, but Calgary, Chicago, and Vancouver are looking very good too. It’s going to be a great postseason!

On Friday, Calgary beat Carolina 4-3, Buffalo crashed Washington 5-6, Toronto outplayed Atlanta 4-0, and Minnesota won over Anaheim 5-2.

On Wednesday night, a pair of injury fill-ins – Raymond and Jaffray playing for the Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. As the teammates said earlier, it was the first time teammates scored their first NHL goals. Ducks coach Randy Carlye explains the loss of his team and the victory of the other by the young age and energy of the new team members. For Jaffray, that game was a debut game. Raymond played in nine games and it was his first time up with the Canucks this season before he was sent back to the minors.

Zetterberg was named the National Hockey League’s first star for the past month. Henrik Zetterberg leads the league with twenty-two points and have a twenty-game points streak that dates back to last season. With a point tonight at the Calgary Flames, the player would tie the Wings’ longest season-opening point streak, set by Ullman in 1960-61. The Blue Jackets goaltender Leclaire and the Flames right wing Iginla were the 2nd and 3d stars, respectively.

The decisive goal was scored by Ilya Kovalchuk in a shootout last night to give the Thrashers a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Ilya Kovalchuk put a shot past the Canadiens rookie Carey Price on the Thrashers’ 3rd attempt, and Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg forced Kovalev to shoot wide. Each team scored in the 2nd round after neither of them scored in the 1st one. The Canadiens forced overtime after Higgins scored on a power play with only two minutes remaining in regulation.

The Coyotes scored two times in the final 8 minutes to earn a comeback victory at home. Zigomanis tied the score with seven minutes remaining and Sjostrom scored the winner on a wraparound shot with 3 minutes left. After no goals in the first and second period, Brad Boyes scored his 9th goal in ten matches to give the St. Louis Blues a lead.

Evgeni Malkin from the Pittsburgh Penguins had 2 goals and one assist and Sidney Crosby added one goal and 3 assists for visiting Penguins.

Sidney Crosby assisted on a power-play goal by Sykora that broke a 2-2 tie midway through the 3rd period, and then scored less than 5 minutes later.

The Minnesota Wild was without two forwards Demitra and Gaborik and goalie Backstrom because of their injuries.

In other NHL matches, Filppula scored with twenty-five seconds left to give the Red Wings a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers; and Jarome Iginla scored 2 goals to help the Calgary Flames defeat the visiting Nashville Predators, 5-1.

Simon Gagné from the Philadelphia Flyers has not played for the team since he experienced dizziness after colliding with the Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester in last Wednesday’s match.