the race

Steve says:

Well..Draft day has come and gone...Fletch made a few deals...mostly getting rid of cap hits and trading them for draft picks in the next couple of seasons...
I like the move...with the NTC 5 not waiving, I expect some action this summer...McCabe in the minors perhaps? A Raycroft buyout...man I wish we could stop paying goalies after they leave us (see Belfour).

And since it would appear as though the remaining vets and the Marlies callups have no plans to throw in the towel, I figured it was time to take a look at what needs to happen to make the big show...

So i'll start following the race again to see how close we get to that magical 8th spot...

right now we sit 12th in our conference, but we have been playing fantastic hockey...5 wins in the last 6 games...really strong defensive play and some incredible goaltending has given us a chance in every game...and Sundin, ever since declaring his unity with Leaf Nation, has really turned it on and shown everyone what it truly means to carry a team on your back (The Clown could learn a thing or 2)

So...in order to help our position, the following games played tonight require the following outcomes:

Toronto over Tampa
New Jersey over Washington
Montreal over Buffalo
Minnesota over Florida

What would this do? It would allow Toronto to leapfrog over Washington into the 11 spot leaving us 2 points behind NY Islanders and 4 points out of the 8th spot.
sounds good right?
There's a but.

BUT

Washington and Buffalo each have 1 game in hand on Toronto, and Philadelphia has 2 games in hand...

so the race is tight....17-ish games left

more updates to follow

Go Leafs