NHL buffalo Sabres

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.

Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?

A lot of the talk following last night's Game 2 in Detroit centered around Chicago's Brian Campbell and his turnover, which led to Mikael Samuelsson's game-winning goal, giving the Wings a 3-2 win in overtime and a 2-0 series lead. But it wasn't nearly the first time that Campbell has made a mistake that has cost his team a victory in a playoff overtime. This is actually the third time in this past three years that a misplay by Campbell has led to an overtime defeat for his team.

One of the better ideas to come out of the NHL in recent years has been the NHL Winter Classic. Held first in Buffalo on New Year's Day in 2008, the annual outdoor game is not only into a ratings winner for NBC Sports on a day traditionally dominated by college football, it's also a big time event that's rapidly surpassed the league's All-Star Game in importance on the NHL calender.

And now, it's coming to Boston. At least that's what the Boston Herald is reporting this morning. That shot you see to the right is an artist's conception of what Fenway will be looking like come next New Year's Day when the reigning Eastern Conference Champions will get to host the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.

I went to the 2009 edition in Chicago, and trust me on this: Outside of the Stanley Cup Finals, there's no other hockey event you'd rather be at.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

It looked like a foregone conclusion not that long ago, but the Calgary Flames had trouble sealing the deal. Fortunately for them, Vancouver couldn't seize the opportunity to take control of the Northwest Division, and the Flames find themselves on the cusp of a division title. A 4-1 win over Los Angeles Monday night gave the Flames a two-point lead with three games to go.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

Thanks to a loss to Atlanta on Friday, the Florida Panthers had their backs against the wall Sunday evening. With Pittsburgh in town, Florida needed a win to keep up with the Eastern Conference playoff race. As we enter the final week of the season, the Panthers are indeed still alive, and Pittsburgh's hopes for a fourth seed took a huge hit.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

An 11th-straight home win did the trick for the Carolina Hurricanes. The 2006 Stanley Cup Champions will return to the playoffs for the first time since winning that title, as Carolina clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 3-2 overtime win over Pittsburgh Saturday in Raleigh.

Though they lost to the Sabres, 5-4, on Jason Pominville's overtime goal Friday night, the Capitals clinched the division title with the Bettman point they earned in the contest. Still, Bruce Boudreau took no enjoyment from the "achievement." He said: "Before the season started, we said we were going to win, and we have one goal in mind, and we aren't there yet. ... You know what? It's an accomplishment, but it's an accomplishment we thought was going to happen. I mean, let's face it, Carolina would have to win 12 in a row and we'd have to lose all of our games. It would be a monumental collapse." Kudos, coach. [AP]

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

It was a crazy Thursday in the NHL. David Backes' big night propelled St. Louis back into playoff position, while the Carolina Hurricanes moved into fourth place in the East with a win over the Rangers. New York now looks to be in a potentially perilous position, with just a two-point lead over ninth-place Florida. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames won and the Vancouver Canucks grabbed a shootout point, and both have clinched playoff spots.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

Some big games Wednesday night, but there might not have been a bigger result than the 6-1 beatdown Pittsburgh laid on New Jersey. Not only did it lift the Penguins into a tie for fourth place in the East with Philadelphia, but it keeps the Devils in this tailspin they've been in. Losers of six straight, New Jersey is actually in danger of blowing an Atlantic Division title that looked like an absolute certainty a couple weeks ago.

The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

At one point, the Vancouver Canucks had lost nine straight home games, Mats Sundin was an overpaid flop, and the team was going to have trouble making the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames had won the Northwest Division before the deadline deals that brought them Jordan Leopold and Olli Jokinen. It's obvious now that we spoke way too soon, as the division has a new leader, and there appears to be no doubt Vancouver will be a dangerous team in the playoffs.