The playoff race in the Eastern Conference is proving to be an exciting one. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are all heating up at the right time, making the final stretch of games in the 2013 regular season more important than ever. As the Penguins clinch their division and Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals on a win streak, the Bruins are determined to knock both teams off. At this point, the Eastern Conference crown is anyone's game.
Despite having lost Sidney Crosby for the near future, the Penguins wrapped up the Atlanta Division with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh sits on top the conference with 60 points and an impressive 30-10 overall record. The team had the 15-game win streak and despite two losses in a row, is prepared to carry that momentum into the postseason. After acquiring Jarome Iginla at the trade deadline, the team set themselves up for the absence of Crosby. Pairing Iginla with the return of Evgeni Malkin has created a scoring tandem for Pittsburgh that will be deadly against any team.
While the Penguins continue to own the conference, the Washington Capitals just capped off their fifth win in a row, proving to be a viable threat the Penguins dominance. Despite getting a slew of their latest wins against the bottom-feeders of the Eastern Conference, the Capitals earned an impressive win against the Montreal Canadiens, another top team. Ovechkin is heating up, scoring his sixth goal in three games on Tuesday night. He remains tied with Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos for the NHL lead in goals at 26. Ovechkin has 17 goals in the past 15 games.
Head coach Adam Oates believes winning games in hostile environments like Montreal, helps the team prepare for a tough postseason that waits ahead of them.
"You know they're going to make a push, which they did. Then the building gets electric and it's hard to play here, so it's a great thing for the guys to fight through that and experience that because it's going to help them down the road," Oates said post-game.
The Boston Bruins sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and are doing everything they can to show they can add to the tough road to the Stanley Cup. The Bruins have had multiple scorers in their last few games. The team faces the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night. At this point, every game is crucial for Boston in order for the team to get a decent seed in the playoffs. The Eastern Conference race is not slowing down any time soon. These teams made the most moves during the trade deadline and it is proving fruitful during the final stretch of the season.