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NHL Games to Watch this Weekend

Feb 20, 2009, 7:15 PM UTC

Every weekend, The Sporting Blog takes a look at the NHL games we'll be watching.

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â†µSATURDAY â†µ

â†µâ†µPittsburgh at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. ET: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma is 1-0-1 with his new charges, and while plenty of folks were concerned that the Pens couldn’t take down a dreadful Islanders team and win two points in Bylsma’s debut, points are points. Looking at the Mirtle Playoff Push chart once more, it’ll take 91 points to reach the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, which means the Pens need 29 points in 23 games, just like the Ducks out West. Again, it’s a doable, but daunting, task. â†µ

â†µâ†µAs for the Flyers, they trail New Jersey by eight points in the Atlantic with 26 games to go, which more than likely means the Flyers are playing for the fourth seed. I’m sure Mike Richards & Co. would love to put extra distance between the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth seeds in the East, four teams separated by just two points in the standings. â†µ

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â†µSUNDAY â†µ

â†µâ†µPittsburgh @ Washington: For most of the time that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have been in the NHL together, Crosby’s Pens have almost always seemed to have an edge. That changed this year, as the Caps snagged two wins from the Penguins in Pittsburgh. There’s no other team in the league that the locals in Washington get more pumped for than Pittsburgh, thanks to years of playoff misery delivered by the hands of the Lemieux-Jagr edition of the Penguins. So the Verizon Center will be rocking in anticipation of another win to help the home team keep pace with New Jersey for the second seed in the East. â†µ

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â†µFRIDAY â†µ

â†µâ†µAnaheim @ Detroit: Just last week, I laid out my case as to why it was long passed time to blow up the Ducks and start the rebuild in Anaheim, and some more recent moves are bolstering that case. â†µ

â†µâ†µWith 23 games to go, the Ducks are now out of playoff position in ninth place with 61 points. Edmonton is just one point ahead in 8th, but the Oilers have that dreaded game in hand. Dallas, which is now has to figure out how to get along without center Brad Richards, is in seventh place with 65 points, but with two games in hand. Columbus and Vancouver are one point above Dallas and tied for fifth, and the Canucks also have a game in hand on Anaheim. â†µ

â†µâ†µHockey blogger James Mirtle estimates that it’s going to take 90 points to make the playoffs in the West, which means the Ducks need to earn 29 points in their last 23 games. While it’s not an impossible feat, especially for a recent Stanley Cup champion, nothing I’ve seen from the Ducks as of late (5-5-0 in the last 10) convinces me they can turn it around. â†µ

â†µâ†µAs for Detroit, they’re still chasing San Jose for the top seed and trail by three points, but the Sharks have two games in hand. My guess is Detroit won’t flub a chance to win some easy points at home. â†µ

â†µâ†µFriday’s recap: Red Wings 5, Ducks 2 â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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