NHL: The Wild, Wild North West Division

As an avid Colorado Avalanche fan, I have never seen such a competitive playoff race as the one taking place in the NHL's Northwest Division.

Over the past two weeks, first place in the division has changed hands three times between three different teams. And only seven points separates first place Calgary and fifth place Edmonton.

It seems like on a nightly basis I find myself cheering for a different division rival to win over another division rival, and its absolute chaos. Down the stretch run all five teams finish off the season with games against one another which will most certainly determine the order of finish in the western conference playoff race. 

I personally believe that this is the most competitive division in hockey and ironically enough each of the five teams play a very different style of hockey. However, every team comes out hard to play every night making for very exciting hockey. 

The Northwest consists of tremendous goaltending from the likes of Roberto Luongo in Vancouver and Mikka Kiprusoff in Calgary. A very sound defensive style coming from out in Minnesota under the helm of Jacques Lemaire. A very quick run and gun style from the youthful and speedy Edmonton Oilers squad. Finally, a solid physical and hard working game from the Colorado Avalanche.

Down the stretch I believe the Northwest division will be the most exciting to watch and will come down to which teams play the best hockey at the right time. Each team will be looking at its key players to step up and help make one last push towards the playoffs.

Let the scoreboard watching and the cheering for rivals begin! 

Below I have listed the remaining schedule for each team in the northwest, key players and strategies for success, as well as my prediction for final position in the standings:

Calgary Flames (five games remaining, sit at 90 pts)

Schedule remaining: Edmonton, Vancouver, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Vancouver 

Key Players: Kristen Huselius, Mikka Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf, Jerome Iginla, Owen Nolan 

Keys to Success: The Flames will need Kipper to be at his best and to play sound defensive hockey. More secondary scoring from guys like Huselius and Alex Tanguay is a must. This team will also need veteran leadership down the stretch from captain Jerome Iginila and grinder Owen Nolan.

Prediction: Calgary will win the Northwest Division and claim the 3rd seed in the West.

Minnesota Wild (five games remaining, sit at 89 points)

Schedule remaining: Edmonton, Vancouver, Colorado, Calgary, Colorado

Key Players: Marian Gaborik, Brent Burns, Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom, Pavol Demitra, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and Brian Rolston

Keys to Success: The Wild will need to have consistent goaltending from the tandem of Harding and Backstrom on a nightly basis. Minnesota will also be leaning heavily on Gaborik to continue his breakout season in which he's finally been able to avoid injury. Minnesota's defensive style would also be greatly complimented by great secondary scoring from the likes of Pierre Marc Bouchard. Lastly great leadership from both Demitra and Rolston could lead the Wild to the division crown.

Prediction: second in the Northwest, sixth place in the West

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