Along the boards

Boston goaltender John Grahame Forget about his current 3-0-0 run. Grahame placed his career in jeopardy when he broke his ankle early this season in an off-ice incident. The injury was serious, and the context tainted his status as goalie of the future in Boston. But Grahame rehabilitated his ankle -- and his reputation. He's a little wild at times, especially when handling the puck, but winning hides weaknesses ... and heals wounds. N.Y. Islanders Having the worst team and arena in the league is one thing, but losing 6-0 at home to fellow bottom-dweller Tampa Bay is a new low. Detroit Red Wings When you're playing well, veterans are good for experience. When you lose a lot, veterans make your team old. Experience is kicking some tail right now. Dallas forward Jere Lehtinen Though he's one of the best two-way forwards in the game, Lehtinen has zero points and is a minus-2 in his last five games. Philly goaltender Roman Cechmanek Who's going to be the Czech Republic's starting goalie in the Olympics next year? Based on head-to-head competition, Cechmanek should get the nod over Dominik Hasek. In three meetings between Buffalo and Philly this season, Cechmanek has beaten Hasek all three times, shutting Buffalo out twice. Chicago Blackhawks The Blackhawks enter Sunday's game on a 3-0-1 streak. Tony Amonte leads the way with three goals and nine points in his last seven games. Hot seat: Jean-Sebastien Aubin held out because he thought he should be paid on par with young goalies like Brian Boucher. Boy, was he right in the wrong way. Aubin is blowing his chance to solidify his spot as Pittsburgh's No. 1 goalie. How much faith does coach Ivan Hlinka have in Aubin? Hlinka started Rich Parent in Saturday's loss to the Capitals. Hot seat, Part Deux: The March 13 trade deadline is creeping up, and the Coyotes haven't addressed many of their personnel issues. Look for Wayne Gretzky and Cliff Fletcher to take it to the wire with Nikolai Khabibulin.

Sick of all the trade rumors floating around? OK, we all love to read about them. But let's take a break from all the darts being thrown at the dart board and just watch some great hockey.

Here are some games this week that could serve as preludes to playoff matchups -- and at the minimum serve as examples of the tempo we'll be seeing in a month's time.

And by week's end, who knows? Maybe, one or two of these teams will have a few different players in the lineup to watch as well.

Tuesday: Ottawa at New Jersey
Philly might be ahead of New Jersey in the standings, but these two teams are the most talented in the East. This could be a preview of the Eastern Conference finals.

Ottawa recently swapped left wings with the Rangers, acquiring Eric Lacroix for Colin Forbes. That doesn't qualify as a significant move, so neither team has made a major deal for the stretch run. Expect that to change for the Rangers. Senators GM Marshall Johnston already stated that he won't be in the market for an A-level player -- mainly because of money. GM Lou Lamoriello will do something, although no one knows what.

On the ice, the Senators and Devils have great speed and depth -- and almost identical offensive and defensive team numbers. As of Sunday, both teams have allowed 157 goals, and the Devils' 217 goals for are seven more than Ottawa.

On paper, goalie Patrick Lalime (27 wins, 2.22 GAA, .915 save percentage) is having every bit the season Martin Brodeur is (30 wins, 2.35, .907). But Brodeur has two Stanley Cups and 50 playoff wins. Lalime doesn't even have a playoff start.

The Devils are 0-2-1 against Ottawa this season, including a 3-2 home loss on Feb. 14. The defending champs don't lack confidence, but proving they can beat Ottawa is a plus.

Tuesday: Detroit at Vancouver
If anyone is waiting for Vancouver to crack, keep waiting. The Canucks don't have the depth of Detroit, but Vancouver, winners of three in a row (including victories over Dallas and St. Louis), seems firmly entrenched in a playoff spot.

Unfortunately for coach Marc Crawford's team, Detroit currently is the hottest team in the NHL.

Goaltending has been trouble for both teams. Detroit's Chris Osgood, who had rediscovered his groove, has been pulled from his last two starts. The Canucks' goaltending -- Bob Essensa and Dan Cloutier -- still is viewed as their biggest weakness.

Markus Naslund might not get many votes for league MVP, however, he is deserving. His 37 goals and 66 points are impressive enough, but as team captain, he has led the young team extremely well since Mark Messier's departure.

Wednesday: Toronto at Edmonton
A battle of current No. 7 seeds in their respective conferences. The Maple Leafs visit Edmonton in the middle of a three-game swing through Western Canada, and seem to have regained some much-needed momentum since coach/GM Pat Quinn put the kibosh on the Eric Lindros trade.

Toronto has five players (Mats Sundin, Sergei Berezin, Yanic Perreault, Gary Roberts, Jonas Hoglund) with 20 or more goals, whereas Edmonton has just one (Ryan Smyth). It won't matter Wednesday as the Oilers enter this game well rested and on a roll, having won five in a row -- four of them at home. Edmonton has been home since Feb. 25 and will be playing its first game since March 2.

The Maple Leafs need to survive what should be an early Edmonton barrage. If the Leafs can keep it close through two periods, they have a shot in this one.

Thursday: Colorado at St. Louis
Two months ago, this game featured the league's two best teams. With St. Louis missing Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and a few others, and the addition of Rob Blake to the Colorado lineup, it now looks like a mismatch. The Blues will be playing with desperation because they need points to keep up with Detroit in the Central Division.

There's a good chance Blues GM Larry Pleau will have made a trade by Thursday. Yet instead of doing it to bolster a playoff run, he's trying to fill holes. Acquiring another defenseman is a given, but don't be surprised if he goes after a big-name forward.

As always seems the case this time of year, goaltending will be spotlighted. Whether it be Roman Turek or Brent Johnson, the Blues need a big game from their goalie.

Mailbag
Got a question? Send it in and Breakout will break it down.

Jeff Bond, Livermore, Calif.: Will San Jose Sharks GM Dean Lombardi make a trade by the deadline? If so could it be for Ray Ferraro? We want "CHICKEN FARM."

Answer: First of all, it's "Chicken Parm", and since the "F" and "P" aren't near each other, I assume you heard it wrong. Seriously though, Lombardi wants to acquire another forward, but he'd rather add a more gifted scorer like Atlanta's Donald Audette. The Sharks miss Vincent Damphousse (shoulder) in a big way, especially on the power play. In Saturday's loss in Boston, coach Darryl Sutter had Owen Nolan, Scott Thornton and Mike Ricci up front on the power play. That's way too much brawn -- and way too little puck-handling skill -- for a power play.

As far as Ferraro goes, Thrashers GM Don Waddell has assured Ferarro he won't be traded, thus allowing him to either re-sign or allow retire at season's end.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.