Know Thy Enemy

Seven games left and a bit of ground to cover. So what's ahead for our competition? Have the scheduling gods smiled upon us or is Bettman's ultimate plot still in motion?

...yes?

Here's how it breaks down:
Carolina Hurricanes - 1st in division with 85 points
- Seven games remaining, four at home and three on the road
- Two sets of back-to-back games
- Panthers twice (Carolina leads season series 4-2)
- Capitals twice (Carolina leads season series 4-2)
- Thrashers once (Carolina leads season series 5-1-1)
- Lightning twice (Season series tied 3-3)

Florida Panthers - 3rd in division, 11th in conference with 78 points
- Eight games remaining, four at home and three on the road
- One set of back-to-back games
- Hurricanes twice (Carolina leads season series 4-2)
- Lightning twice (Season series tied 3-3)
- Thrashers twice (Florida leads season series 4-1-1)
- Capitals twice (Florida leads season series 4-2)

Buffalo Sabres - 9th in conference with 81 points
- Eight games remaining, four at home and four on the road
- One set of back-to-back games
- Maple Leafs twice (Buffalo leads season series 4-2)
- Senators twice (Ottawa leads season series 4-2)
- Canadiens twice (Season series tied 3-3)
- Bruins twice (Boston leads season series 4-1-1)

Philadelphia Flyers - 8th in conference with 82 points
- Eight games remaining, four at home and four on the road
- One set of back-to-back games
- Rangers twice (New York leads season series 5-1)
- Islanders twice (Philadelphia leads season series 5-1)
- Devils twice (New Jersey leads season series 5-1)
- Penguins twice (Philadelphia leads season series 4-2)

Boston Bruins - 7th in conference with 83 points
- Nine games remaining
- Two sets of back-to-back games
- Canadiens twice (Montreal leads season series 6-0)
- Maple Leafs twice (Season series tied 3-3)
- Senators twice (Ottawa leads season series 4-2)
- Sabres twice (Boston leads season series 4-1-1)
- Devils once (New Jersey leads season series 2-1)

And finally...

Washington Capitals - 10th in conference, 2nd in division with 80 points
- Seven games remaining
- No back-to-back games
- Thrashers once (Atlanta leads season series 4-3)
- Hurricanes twice (Carolina leads season series 4-2)
- Panthers twice (Florida leads season series 4-2)
- Lightning twice (Washington leads season series 4-2)

At this point it may be time to throw in the towel on that pesky Southeast Division race - the Hurricanes just refuse to die despite injury after injury. They are the hockey equivalent of the black knight, bouncing around on one foot claiming it's "just a flesh wound".

And if we're willing to concede the title to the Canes, we might as well hope that they continue their dominance as they take on the Panthers two more times. The least they can do if they won't go away is take care of Florida for us, right? It's not like we can rely on Atlanta to do our dirty work for us, clearly.

As for 8th place, that race is still very much up for grabs. Neither Buffalo nor Philadelphia has been exactly dominant against their division rivals lately, and neither team has looked consistently tough in general over the past few weeks. One thing is for sure - this race could go down to the wire.