The Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets face off tonight in a compelling matchup as both teams keep clawing away in their bid to make the playoffs.
You have to love these stretch-drive, playoff-type games -- games between two teams that need the points so bad.
For Bill Guerin and Antoine Vermette, the meaningful games are a welcome change after spending most of the season on teams headed nowhere.
"You know what, it's been a lot of fun so far," Guerin, acquired by the Penguins last Wednesday, told ESPN.com yesterday. "I've been having a blast, I really have. The games have been so exciting. We're right in the thick of things and, for me, it's nice to have these big games of importance."
For Vermette, who was traded to Columbus by Ottawa for Pascal Leclaire, landing in a playoff race with the Blue Jackets has brought things back to normal.
"Yes, absolutely," Vermette told ESPN.com. "This year was very unusual because I was lucky in Ottawa over the years to always be on a winning team that made the playoffs. This year in Ottawa was different. But now, I've got a chance in Columbus to battle for a playoff spot.
"And really, we are in the playoffs right now because every game means so much and the standings are so close. We need these points badly."
Both players were oozing enthusiasm at the other end of the phone line. Funny how a late-season trade to a team in a playoff race can do that. Guerin feels rejuvenated on a line with fellow trade pickup Chris Kunitz and superstar center Sidney Crosby.
"Playing with Sidney and Chris is so much fun," said Guerin, who has five points (1-4) in three games on the line. "I think Chris and I both have the same idea -- we try to find 87 out there and give him the puck as much as we can because you know something is going to happen."
Vermette has played on a line with Jason Williams and R.J. Umberger, collecting two assists in his two games as a Jacket.
"The guys have really made me feel welcome, the organization and the coaching staff, as well," said Vermette. "It's nice to be here."
What gives?
Our ESPN.com colleague Scott Burnside had an interesting point in his Five Things column Monday when he pointed out that a few of the top seeds in the NHL have been somewhat struggling recently.
The Bruins have lost five of six, for example.
"The thing we're seeing a lot right now is that every team we're playing is in a dog fight to make the playoffs," Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "So they have that extra motivation and extra determination. We're just not at that level right now. We're trying to be, and we want to be, but we just don't have that same desperation right now. Those other teams are basically in playoff mode right now and we're building towards that."
For teams like Boston, San Jose, Detroit and Washington -- all of whom have sputtered somewhat of late -- the challenge is to find as much meaning in the March games before the real thing starts in mid-April. At least for the Sharks and Wings, they're chasing each other for the Western Conference lead. Just who they'll play in the first round remains a mystery, thanks to a crazy chase at the bottom of the West playoff race involving a handful of teams.
"There's so many teams, in both conferences, from sixth to 10th, that you have no idea who you're going to play against," Sharks star center Joe Thornton told us this week. "It can change each and every day. You can get dizzy just looking at it and trying to figure it out right now."
Pierre LeBrun
