Bluelines: Homestretch Heroics in the East's Wild-Card Race

Once upon a time, the bromide was "The regular season really doesn't count."

Nowadays, it counts. It really counts. We have an adrenaline-filled homestretch where every wild-card battle in the East feels like a manic melodrama.

Check out last night's matches when Florida walloped Washington 6-3, and Detroit demolished Calgary, 5-2. Nor tonight's intense Penguins-Islanders clash at UBS Arena.

Only three points separate Detroit (60) and Pittsburgh (63), but the Penguins have games in hand on everyone, a whopping five more than Florida and four more than the Isles and Caps.

For the Isles, tonight's game could be a playoff-run make-or-breaker. Plus, Lane Lambert's sextet gets another run at the Pens on Monday at Pittsburgh. (Tomorrow night, the Isles will have their hands full in Boston.)

Florida is a team to watch, with five wins out of their last seven games. 

"We were cooking," coach Paul Maurice said after last night's win. Sergei Bobrovsky has re-found his game in goal, and captain Aleksander Barkov is at the top of his game.

The Cats are home to Nashville tomorrow night; a biggie for both.

Or, as Isles defender Ryan Pulock puts it for all in the wild-card run: "This is desperation time – where every point matters."

It's a foregone conclusion that Toronto again will meet Tampa Bay in the first playoff round. Our Glenn Dreyfuss tells why the Leafs finally will prevail. Sean McCaffrey then follows with an emphatic nix to that nonsense. Read on:

"Yes," Dreyfuss insists, "finally this will be a super spring for the Leafs, leaping over the first-round obstacle that has foiled them for years – and years.

"The answer to why Toronto will win is in one word: Defense. After losing four seventh-game heartbreakers since 2018 – including the most recent one to Tampa – the Leafs knew they needed a full-team commitment to better defense.

"Toronto now has the sixth-best goals-against average. Tampa is 12th. Last year, the Lightning were top-six in defense, while the Leafs were – wait for it – 19th!

"Even more impressive, Toronto made this turnaround despite top defenders Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin out for extended stretches.

"It's because both the 'D' and forwards have transformed the neutral zone from last year's racetrack into this year's quicksand. So put me down for Toronto to reach the second round – or further – for the first time since 2004."

And now, the no, again, for Toronto:

"It's easy to pinpoint why the Bolts will beat Toronto," Sean McCaffrey asserts. "Two words – Maple Leafs! Sure, Tampa has playoff-winning ways. And their core ranks among the greatest of the salary-cap era. Then there's Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Leafs' goaltenders are no match, nor is the coaching: Jon Cooper is the longest-tenured and most successful coach in the league.

"Let's face it: the Leafs should feature a 'Beware of Choking' hazard label on the front of their jerseys. Why? Because they haven't made it past the first round since 2004 – when Brian Leetch was on their blueline!

Oh, yeah, there's also that time-honored NHL botany tradition since 1967: the only Leafs that fall in the spring are the ones in Toronto!"

* Marty Walsh, the new players' union boss, won't start a war with Gary Bettman for obvious reasons.

* One, the players never had it $o good.

* Two, the addition of Vegas and Seattle has ballooned the NHLPA "employed" list to record numbers.

* Three: Down the line – you never know – the league just might add another team or two. That would result in even more card-carrying NHLPA members.

* If the Rangers didn't want Patrick Kane – and for good reason – his recent ailment was the warning sign – you have to now wonder which team would be willing to gamble on this guy.

* Big Devils question: Does Tom Fitzgerald trade Damon Severson and promote wunderkind D-man Luke Hughes from Michigan to Newark?

* Whatever Fitzie decides to do, he’s my GM of the year.

* Nobody expects Kyle Dubas to deal for a money goaltender. That being the case, Toronto's GM once again will have realistically failed to fix the hole in the goals against dam.

* With all the unnecessary – and disgusting, I might add – talk about "tanking," weak teams continue to produce compelling wins.

* Exhibit A: Arizona beats Tampa Bay, 1-0, in a shootout on Wednesday night. Exhibit B is Columbus beating Winnipeg 3-1 last night.

* Studying the defending champ Avs all season long, I still can't figure out if they're even strong enough to get past the second playoff round. Or even the first, for that matter.

* Colorado's favorite team simply can’t get healthy. But the throng of injuries creates cap space.

* In the end, it could enable the Avs to get stronger as the trade deadline looms.

* An Adams Award dilemma: Granted that Jim Montgomery has done wonders in Boston. But he's got a loaded lineup, whereas Lindy Ruff has done more with less in New Jersey and rates Adams consideration.

* Outdoor games have been one of the most successful marketing moves under the Bettman administration, and the Stadium Series game tomorrow in Raleigh is another example.

* Really, it's hard to imagine, but Carter-Finley Stadium already is sold out for the Canes-Caps collision.

*The UFA who I like the most as a solid add is Max Domi.

*If the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Hamilton Tigers were around today, you could be sure they would be added to the Jakob Chyrhrun trade rumors. Why not? Everybody else is.

British Columbia-based Jerry Hack, author of Confessions of a Hockey Nobody, carefully studies the Canucks. Here's his review of coach Rick Tocchet's work so far:

"The Canucks' analytics have been trending better under their new coach. But it's a very small sample size. The players haven’t had much practice time due to time constraints, so it’s difficult to implement a system in mid-season when you can’t practise.

"This Tocchet team is harder to play against, battling harder for pucks, finishing checks and playing more in the offensive zone. That can be attributed to the bump a team gets with a coaching change.

"The penalty kill is still as ugly as ever. Killing penalties is not rocket science. It’s hard work, smart players and goaltending. Thatcher Demko’s imminent return will hopefully improve the situation and make Tocchet a better coach.

"Are the Canucks better now? After watching them lately, my mind wanders back to a line a local sportscaster once said about the team: 'The Canucks were idle last night, unfortunately, they were playing the Red Wings at the time.'

"Bruce Boudreau was a great coach last year. So, what changed? My thought is we need Tocchet the player, not Tocchet the coach.

"And in losing 6-4 to the Rangers on Wednesday night, it seemed that New York only played as hard as it had to in order to win. That and the Canucks caught Igor Shesterkin on a night when he was ordinary.

"This Vancouver team has some pieces of the puzzle, but it needs more to up its skill level to reach the playoffs next season.

"My conclusion:" Tocchet is not the answer; we were better off with Boudreau. The order of the day now is to wait and see.

BIG QUESTION: Led by McDavid, could Edmonton win the Stanley Cup?

BIG ANSWER: Only if Andrei Vasilevskiy is the Oilers' goalie.