As of now, the Stars and Kings are not projected to make the playoffs.

Big surprise there, right?

What is a surprise is that as of right now, all five Central Division teams are in the playoffs with the Blues currently holding a one point lead over the Ducks for the 8th seed.

More after the jump.

Since the Last Update

Well, I thought that Detroit would get to beat up on the Islanders Friday night in Motown. Instead, man bit dog. Couple that with their 4-3 loss to Nashville last night, and the Red Wings are now two points behind the Sharks, who beat Phoenix at home Saturday night. And the stress train is rumored to officially be rolling along without any delays or stops for at least the next month.

As for the Preds, that 4-3 win coupled with a 4-3 shootout win at home against Los Angelels allowed them to pull two points clear of the Blues for the 7th seed.

Edmonton dented the Ducks post season hopes with a 5-3 win at Honda Center Friday night, then followed that up with a 3-2 home loss to Minnesota last night.

That win by the Wild allowed them to stay in the thick of the race after dropping a 3-2 decision to Calgary the night before.

An important win by the Flames to be sure, since Vancouver beat up on Colorado Friday night then shut out the Blackhawks in Chicago yesterday afternoon. As of now, the Flames own a one point lead over the Canucks in the race for the Northwest Division title.

As for the Blackhawks, they won their third straight Friday night with a 3-2 OT win over New Jersey before dropping yesterday's game against the Canucks in which they had a rather entertaining line brawl.

Speaking of that brawl, I can't blame Shane O'Brien for wanting to forcibly remove Alex Burish from close proximity to either of the Sedin twins. I can blame Alex Burrows for being a little bitch for pulling on Duncan Keith's hair.

Canucks vs. Blackhawks LINE BRAWL! (March 29th 2009) HQ! (via HockeyWebCast)

[Update:] Being sick at home has it's advantages.

One of those is the ability to surf the Internet all day and look for YouTube videos. Something I wouldn't normally be able to do at work since they block Youtube access.

During my travels across YouTube land, I found another case of D-baggines from Burrows during the 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinal series between Dallas and Vancouver.

Oh how could we ever forget this?

Dallas Stars Brenden Morrow Fighting on one Skate (via jstiegelmeyer)

But I digress.

Though a playoff spot looks very likely for the Columbus Blue Jackets, they did run into some problems during a home and home series against the Blues this weekend.

After dropping a 3-2 decision to the Blues in a shootout at Scottrade Center, they got drilled at home by the score of 5-2. Rick Nash also got drilled on a nice T.J. Oshie reversal.

Oshie Hits Nash Again (STL feed) (via stanawart)

Looking Ahead

• Calgary hosts San Jose tonight in one of three games on a very light schedule.
• Tomorrow night is when the good games are as Columbus hosts Nashville, Minnesota hosts Vancouver, and Edmonton hosts Anaheim.