The Stanley Cup won't be handed out until June, but this is the time when we see teams making runs at the playoffs. And you can't win the Cup if you don't make the playoffs. Race for the Cup is your daily check of where your favorite team stands as the season dwindles.

While teams like Minnesota continue to struggle with the notion of playing every game with a sense of urgency, the St. Louis Blues have caught fire at the perfect time. The young guns went into Columbus Sunday evening and whipped the Blue Jackets. That win, combined with an Edmonton loss to Minnesota, gave St. Louis the eighth position in the Western Conference.

In the East

Eastern Conference, 3/29 1. y-Boston Bruins 104 pts 2. x-Washington Capitals 99 3. x-New Jersey Devils 98 4. Philadelphia Flyers 92 5. Carolina Hurricanes 91 6. Pittsburgh Penguins 90 7. New York Rangers 87 8. Montreal Canadiens 86 9. Florida Panthers 85 10. Buffalo Sabres 82	Eastern Conference, 3/29	1.	y-Boston Bruins	104 pts	2.	x-Washington Capitals	99	3.	x-New Jersey Devils	98	4.	Philadelphia Flyers	92	5.	Carolina Hurricanes	91	6.	Pittsburgh Penguins	90	7.	New York Rangers	87	8.	Montreal Canadiens	86	9.	Florida Panthers	85	10.	Buffalo Sabres	82	Eastern Conference, 3/30 1. y-Boston Bruins 106 pts 2. x-Washington Capitals 99 3. x-New Jersey Devils 98 4. Philadelphia Flyers 92 5. Carolina Hurricanes 91 6. Pittsburgh Penguins 90 7. New York Rangers 87 8. Montreal Canadiens 86 9. Florida Panthers 85 10. Buffalo Sabres 82	Eastern Conference, 3/30	1.	y-Boston Bruins	106 pts	2.	x-Washington Capitals	99	3.	x-New Jersey Devils	98	4.	Philadelphia Flyers	92	5.	Carolina Hurricanes	91	6.	Pittsburgh Penguins	90	7.	New York Rangers	87	8.	Montreal Canadiens	86	9.	Florida Panthers	85	10.	Buffalo Sabres	82
Eastern Conference, 3/29
1.	y-Boston Bruins	104 pts
2.	x-Washington Capitals	99
3.	x-New Jersey Devils	98
4.	Philadelphia Flyers	92
5.	Carolina Hurricanes	91
6.	Pittsburgh Penguins	90
7.	New York Rangers	87
8.	Montreal Canadiens	86
9.	Florida Panthers	85
10.	Buffalo Sabres	82
Eastern Conference, 3/30
1.	y-Boston Bruins	106 pts
2.	x-Washington Capitals	99
3.	x-New Jersey Devils	98
4.	Philadelphia Flyers	92
5.	Carolina Hurricanes	91
6.	Pittsburgh Penguins	90
7.	New York Rangers	87
8.	Montreal Canadiens	86
9.	Florida Panthers	85
10.	Buffalo Sabres	82

In the only game Sunday involving playoff contenders, Boston held on late to beat Philadelphia 4-3. The Bruins continue on track to earn the top seed in the East, while Philadelphia has now blown two of the four games they once had in hand on Carolina.

Not only are the Flyers in danger of falling out of a home-ice spot, they have Pittsburgh gaining quickly on them, and that could ultimately mean Philly has to deal with the Devils or Capitals in a first-round series.

In the West

Western Conference, 3/29 1. y-San Jose Sharks 109 pts 2. x-Detroit Red Wings 107 3. Calgary Flames 92 4. Chicago Blackhawks 91 5. Vancouver Canucks 89 6. Columbus Blue Jackets 86 7. Nashville Predators 82 8. Edmonton Oilers 81 9. St. Louis Blues 81 10. Anaheim Ducks 80 11. Minnesota Wild 78 12. Dallas Stars 75	Western Conference, 3/29	1.	y-San Jose Sharks	109 pts	2.	x-Detroit Red Wings	107	3.	Calgary Flames	92	4.	Chicago Blackhawks	91	5.	Vancouver Canucks	89	6.	Columbus Blue Jackets	86	7.	Nashville Predators	82	8.	Edmonton Oilers	81	9.	St. Louis Blues	81	10.	Anaheim Ducks	80	11.	Minnesota Wild	78	12.	Dallas Stars	75	Western Conference, 3/30 1. y-San Jose Sharks 109 pts 2. x-Detroit Red Wings 107 3. Calgary Flames 92 4. Chicago Blackhawks 91 5. Vancouver Canucks 91 6. Columbus Blue Jackets 86 7. Nashville Predators 84 8. St. Louis Blues 83 9. Anaheim Ducks 82 10. Edmonton Oilers 81 11. Minnesota Wild 80 12. Dallas Stars 75	Western Conference, 3/30	1.	y-San Jose Sharks	109 pts	2.	x-Detroit Red Wings	107	3.	Calgary Flames	92	4.	Chicago Blackhawks	91	5.	Vancouver Canucks	91	6.	Columbus Blue Jackets	86	7.	Nashville Predators	84	8.	St. Louis Blues	83	9.	Anaheim Ducks	82	10.	Edmonton Oilers	81	11.	Minnesota Wild	80	12.	Dallas Stars	75
Western Conference, 3/29
1.	y-San Jose Sharks	109 pts
2.	x-Detroit Red Wings	107
3.	Calgary Flames	92
4.	Chicago Blackhawks	91
5.	Vancouver Canucks	89
6.	Columbus Blue Jackets	86
7.	Nashville Predators	82
8.	Edmonton Oilers	81
9.	St. Louis Blues	81
10.	Anaheim Ducks	80
11.	Minnesota Wild	78
12.	Dallas Stars	75
Western Conference, 3/30
1.	y-San Jose Sharks	109 pts
2.	x-Detroit Red Wings	107
3.	Calgary Flames	92
4.	Chicago Blackhawks	91
5.	Vancouver Canucks	91
6.	Columbus Blue Jackets	86
7.	Nashville Predators	84
8.	St. Louis Blues	83
9.	Anaheim Ducks	82
10.	Edmonton Oilers	81
11.	Minnesota Wild	80
12.	Dallas Stars	75

Yes, you see things correctly. The St. Louis Blues are, as of right now, a playoff team. The Blues beat Columbus 5-2 Sunday in Columbus to sweep the home-and-home series. St. Louis has won five straight.

Nashville went into Detroit and beat the Wings 4-3. Not only is that a third straight win for the Preds, but the Wings dropped both ends of back-to-back home games. The Sharks now own a two-point lead over Detroit, and they have a game in hand. Detroit's 225 goals allowed, by the way, is tied for third-most among current NHL playoff teams.

Anaheim held off Colorado, which allowed them to move into the ninth position, one point behind the Blues. The Ducks have been playing well, but with Nashville and St. Louis both also hot, it really hurt Anaheim to drop that home game to the Oilers on Friday.

.

What's Next

The Devils try to make a return to the second position, as they visit the Garden to play the Rangers. Since they have a game in hand on Washington, it's an opportunity to "keep pace", so to speak. At one point, it looked like New Jersey had a chance to catch Boston for the East lead, but those odds grow longer and longer by the day.

Meanwhile, San Jose goes to Calgary, and Dallas puts their slim playoff hopes on the line at Phoenix.

x - Clinched Playoff Spot, y - Division Champ, z - Conference Champ; green - Rise in the Standings, red - Fall. The top three teams in each conference are division leaders.

Blues Take Eighth Spot in West originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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