Lou Lamoriello did it again.
With his team poised to finish second in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils' general manager fired his coach with less than a week left in the regular season, a surprising move considering he hired Claude Julien to replace himself as the Devils coach before the start of the season.
The logical explanation is that Julien did something to incite Lamoriello's wrath, but since no such incident or act on the part of Julien has been reported by the Devils or any other party, the reason behind the decision remains a mystery. Lamoriello has named himself to replace Julien for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, which is not too surprising since the Devils GM has had great success as a coach, and perhaps feels he is truly the best fit behind the bench. The Lamoriello-led Devils are one point from clinching the Atlantic Division title and securing their spot as the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Not too far from Jersey, things have been unraveling quickly for the New York Islanders. The Isles have dropped four of their last five since losing star goalie Rick Dipietro to injury last week. Trailing the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens with three games remaining, the outlook is bleak for the Isles. No matter what happens, the organization has to be happy with the team's surprising performance and coach Ted Nolan's great leadership.
With the Islanders fading, the real battle in the East is taking shape between two Canadian Original Six powers. Montreal holds the last playoff spot by one point over its rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, with two games to play, meaning the stage could be set for an all-or-nothing match between the nemeses on Saturday night in Toronto. Both teams have been playing well, but Montreal has remained one of the hottest teams in the East over the last few weeks. With original starting goalie Cristobal Huet returning to back up surprise rookie Jaroslav Halak, the Habs are in the driver seat, but if it comes down to a final game on Saturday, all bets are off.
While the final standings in the East are still in limbo, the Western Conference playoff picture appears just about set. The Calgary Flames need either a win or just one Colorado Avalanche loss this week to sew up the last playoff spot. If Calgary were to win two of its last three games, the Western Conference would finish with eight teams with at least 100 points, a testament to the difficulty of the conference.
While the East has a few favorites including the Buffalo Sabers and the Ottawa Senators, the West has no such leader. This is not for lack of a strongest team but rather a result of the collective strength of the conference. As the current first place holders, the Detroit Red Wings have shown weakness in the past few playoffs and will most likely face a tough Calgary squad.
Picking a winner from the other six playoff teams is a task that seems nearly impossible, since all of the teams have capable goaltenders and prolific scorers. Experience, however, favors the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars, but each of these teams has been injury prone this season.
Perhaps a sign of growing parity in the NHL since the new collective bargaining agreement, neither of the two teams from last years Stanley Cup Finals will make the playoffs this year. Seemingly strapped by financial limits and disappointing play from star players, the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers will not get a shot at returning to the finals. It seems as if financial savvy and player development will lead to constant success in the new NHL, perhaps shown best by the leadership of teams like Buffalo and the Anaheim Ducks.
