2011 NHL Playoff Outlook: Rangers, Hurricanes, Blackhawks or Stars?

Only three days left, who's it going to be in the eighth seed?

Will the Rangers get lucky and watch Atlanta put a dent in Carolina's hopes or will Jeff Skinner continue his goal march right into the last playoff spot in the East?

In the West, can the defending Stanley Cup champs avoid the wrong side of history or will the pesky Stars determine a new champion before the playoff run even begins?

This is just my own opinion/prediction, comment if you disagree.

Rangers/Hurricanes:

Sorry New York fans, but the Blueshirts really dropped the ball last night against Atlanta.

Some disasterous giveaways paired with nothing but a too-little too-late theme has the Rangers' fate in the hands of Carolina. Lundqvuist was the only reason the Rangers even stayed in the game last night with some huge saves, but no matter how great your goalie is, if the forwards can't put the puck in the other net, you're going to lose (obviously).

I expect the injury to Ryan Callahan played a major roll in this loss and could ultimately be the reason why New York won't skate again after Sunday. This loss kind of put a damper on my article here considering Callahan's injury won't have an impact on the playoffs afterall, but I guess is still relevant since it may contribute to them not making it at all.

But anyways, the Hurricanes take on Atlanta tonight and if they can pull it off before a shootout they will leapfrog into the last seed. Carolina has been playing their best hockey of the year and between Skinner putting the pucks in and Cam Ward keeping them out, I'm expecting to see them in the playoffs this year.

Ward's performance against the Wings was outstanding knocking away 42 shots for his fourth and most pivotal shutout of the year.

The Canes seem to be the clutch team while the Rangers are watching their season slowly slip away, we'll see tonight just how big of a loss last night's game was.

Blackhawks/Stars:

On the West side I see the story unfolding a bit differently.

Although the Stars have put together a nice three-game winning streak, I think the drive of the young Blackhawks will keep them in that final playoff spot. They have too much firepower and leadership being backed by some top notch goaltending and have also been on a decent run themselves.

The Stars do have the favorable schedule playing two non-playoff teams, but Chicago always seems to play their best hockey when up against the Wings (their last two games are a home-and-home series vs. Detroit).

I mean I could easily be wrong and we could see the Stars run their winning streak into five games and looking at the stats and tie-breakers, if they do that, both in non-shootout form, and Chicago fails to win either game, the Stars would be in.

There are quite a few possibilties and we will know more after tonight's matchups, but for now, I'm expecting to see the Vancouver/Chicago rivalry take shape after Sunday.