NHL: Will the Rangers' and Sharks' Streak Matter in the Playoffs?

With only ten games left for most NHL teams, the time is now to go on long winning streaks in order to secure one of the top spots in the conference.

Teams like the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks have been making noise with their recent hot streaks, trying build momentum or have home-ice advantage in at least the first round of the playoffs.

For the Rangers, their 10-0-3 run (which ended on Friday night with a 3-2 loss at Florida) may not be enough to vault them into the top four spots in the Eastern Conference. New York currently has 83 points and face the Tampa Bay Lightning--the current cellar-dwellers in the conference--on Saturday night. The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins begin the day ahead of the Rangers in the divisional standings, with 88 and 87 points, respectively.

(The Devils defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in an early Saturday afternoon contest, temporarily distancing themselves further from the rest of the pack.)

Despite being just a handful of points behind New Jersey in the Atlantic Division standings, New York starts Saturday's action in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, as Northeast Division rivals Ottawa and Montreal also have 87 points. Carolina, leaders of the Southeast Division with 81 points, is guaranteed the No. 3 seed in the conference.

With the way the Devils, Penguins, Senators, and Canadiens are capable of playing, the Rangers will be hard pressed to surpass any of those teams. Starting the first round on the road is the most likely scenario facing New York.

Out west, the Sharks have won 11 straight games and have moved three points ahead of Dallas in the Pacific Division. Anaheim, meanwhile, is four points behind. San Jose has two games in hand over both the Stars and Ducks. And with the Ducks' all-star defenseman Chris Pronger suspended for the next eight games for his leg-stepping incident against Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, Anaheim appears to be vulnerable as far as winning the division is concerened.

San Jose, which by the way, has more points than every team in the East, would appear to be in the driver's seat for the Pacific Division crown, and look to hang on to their No. 2 position in the Western Conference standings. But whether or not the Sharks' Joe Thornton actually shows up in the playoffs this time around, is a big question.

For now, the streaking Rangers and Sharks' recent success begs the question: Does having long winning or unbeaten streaks heading into the playoffs mean much?

(Ahem, on a slightly different topic, will the Houston Rockets' 21-and-counting winning streak mean anything come playoff time? We'll have to wait and see.)

Looking back at last season, Minnesota shocked the hockey world with a nine-game winning streak in March and ended the season on a 12-2-1 roll, but still finished the 2006-07 regular season seventh in the Western Conference despite 104 points.

In the playoffs, the Wild were matched up against the No. 2 seeded Anaheim Ducks, and quickly fell behind 0-3, losing three straight one-goal games. Minnesota was ousted in five games.

Thus, having a late-season winning streak doesn't necessarily guarantee post-season success.

This season, the Sharks will have to contend with the likes of the Stars and the conference-leading Detroit Red Wings. The Avalanche, who have won eight of ten since acquiring Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei and signing Peter Forsberg, look to be dangerous as well, though they could miss the playoffs altogether.

But definitely the Sharks have to be considered one of the serious contenders out west.

Meanwhile, in the East, the Rangers might not survive the first round depending on whom they match up against. If the playoffs were to start right now, New York will have to deal with the Canadiens, one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL and a squad that boasts the top power play in the league.

But again, that's why they play the games.

For Sharks and Rangers fans for sure, hopes are flying high with the Stanley Cup playoffs approaching.