NHL Playoff Preview: Who's Hot and Who's Not

With the NHL regular season reaching its finish line and playoff races looming in both conferences, each team in the hunt is working to punch their ticket to the postseason. Some teams have caught their stride as the end nears while some appear to be running out of gas.

Here are the top five teams who are poised for a strong playoff push, along with a list of five that are struggling going down the stretch.

Who's Hot

Pittsburgh Penguins

There is no need to question the Penguins' brass after the moves GM Ray Shero made within the last month. He hired Dan Bylsma to take over as head coach and made moves to acquire forwards Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz.

All three changes have paid immediate dividends, as the Pens are 11-1-3 under Bylsma. Kunitz and Guerin have fit perfectly on a line with Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin is looking to lock up his first-ever Art Ross trophy.

New York Rangers

The Rangers’ current situation is almost a carbon copy of the Penguins’ one. A coaching change and trades have made an impact on this team as they have flourished under John Tortorella's aggressive system.

Nik Antropov and Derek Morris have done well in New York, and Sean Avery has had an impressive homecoming. Consistency will be key as the Rangers hope to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

New Jersey Devils

Goaltending is always stellar in New Jersey but nobody would believe that the netminder who won 25 games this season is now in the AHL. Scott Clemmensen did an amazing job filling in for Martin Brodeur after the franchise goalie sustained his first serious injury of his pro career.

This edition of the Devils offers an offensive punch lead by Zach Parise and Patrick Elias. Parise currently has 41 goals and 85 points while Elias surpassed John MacLean as the franchise's leading scorer with his 702nd point against Chicago on March 17.

New Jersey has as legitimate a chance as anybody else to win the Stanley Cup this spring.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver has not been past the second round since 1994, the season in which they lost in the finals to the Rangers in seven games. There is a good chance that it could all change this season.

Lead by captain Roberto Luongo in net and a balanced scoring attack, the Canucks have won their last 11 at home and are 16-3-1 in their last 20 games overall. With the Canucks currently occupying fourth place in the West, they can find themselves with home-ice advantage in the first round.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Are the Blue Jackets contenders or pretenders? It is yet to be determined, but Blue Jackets fans can finally witness the greatness of postseason hockey the way their team is performing as of late.

It's not as if none of these players have any big-game experience. Mike Commodore and Fredrik Modin both have won Stanley Cups, while captain Rick Nash has represented Canada on many occasions for Olympic and World Championship tournaments.

All eyes will be on rookie goaltender Steve Mason as the ‘08-09 shutout leader will be looking to shut down the competition and make Columbus' first playoff appearance one to remember.

Who's Not

Buffalo Sabres

There's no question that the heart is there. But with a long-term injury to goaltender Ryan Miller, many people are questioning how the Sabres—mainly Patrick Lalime and Mikael Tellqvist—can step up in his absence and sneak into the playoffs.

Their chances seem pretty bleak at the moment, and will fail to qualify for the playoffs barring a miracle.

Chicago Blackhawks

Head coach Joel Quenneville and his team has revitalized hockey in Chicago, but they now need to revitalize their play. As of late, the Blackhawks are losing key games and have fallen to the fifth spot and could fail to gain home-ice advantage.

As the old saying goes, you have to lose before you can win. The Blackhawks can make it out of the first round but will have a tough task to win in the second.

However, if this core stays together for next season, there's no doubting they will mature together and move further in their process of winning the Stanley Cup.

Montreal Canadiens

The Habitants 2008-09 season is almost playing out like the Ottawa Senators’ 2007-08 one. The Canadiens started the year well and have slowly drifted off-track as the season has worn down. Carey Price is mired in the sophomore-slump while Jaroslav Halak has assumed starting goaltending duties.

The rest of the team hasn't faired too well either. After center Robert Lang suffered an Achilles’ heel injury in February, the Habs’ scoring has been hard to come by. The Canadiens' powerplay over the last two seasons ranked atop of the league but has fallen to 19th this season, which is near the bottom off all playoff-eligible squads.

Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov is leading the team with 55 points and is only one of two defenders to lead their team in points. Half of the team can opt for free agency in the summer, and if the team fails to succeed in the playoffs, very few of those players will be brought back for the 2009-10 season.

Dallas Stars

The Stars have seen worse days this season. Unfortunately, they have also seen better. The team sat in 15th place in the Western Conference on December 2, and worked their way to the fifth spot around the All-Star break.

On the other hand, a key injury to Brad Richards and the potential fatigue of Marty Turco can bring this team down.

With six teams in the West battling for two playoff positions, it would be hard to see Dallas move forward with the problems they have encountered.

Anaheim Ducks

Two years removed from their only Stanley Cup championship, the Ducks are in jeopardy of missing the postseason for the first time since 2003-04. On paper this team is built strong from the net out, but unfortunately for the Ducks, hockey is played on ice.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere has struggled mightily this season as the reigns of the crease have been attained by Jonas Hiller. Even with the emergence of Bobby Ryan, the Ducks' scoring is still hard to come by. Outside of Ryan, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Teemu Selanne, there is only one other forward with more than 10 goals.

The Ducks were built on raw power and forced their way to the cup two campaigns ago. However, they have done little to follow up on that and find themselves back-peddling in the Western Conference.