ESPN.com: NHL - In the Corners: The fight for first

Frozen Ponderings

A month ago, the race for the Calder Trophy was a two-pony race between Tampa Bay's Brad Richards and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov. But both have struggled of late. Despite his impressive 48 points (17-31-48), Richards only has one point in his last five games. Nabokov's struggles have been well documented: 0-2-1 in his last four starts with a 3.17 GAA. Of course, their overall numbers still make them frontrunners, but perhaps, the door has been opened for someone like Kings defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who has two goals and five points in five March games. Overall, Visnovsky has 35 points and is an impressive plus-14.

Flyers backup Brian Boucher has started just four games since Jan. 1 -- a span in which the Flyers hav played 30 games. His numbers this season (3.38 GAA, .872 save percentage) look awful next to his rookie campaign (1.91, .918). But if he's not traded before the Tuesday deadline, he might end up coming in handy in the playoffs. If Roman Cechmanek falters, Boucher could rekindle last year's magic and provide a boost. "We have a lot of faith in him (Cechmanek), but we also have a lot of faith in Bouch because of what he did last year," forward Mark Recchi said.

The Avs have a good chance to eclipse the franchise record for wins. The year after the Avs' Cup-winning year, they won 49 games -- the Cup year, it was 47. Entering the weekend, Colorado had 43 wins with 15 games remaining.

A total of 10 points in 27 games isn't great for an NHL center. But Marty Reasoner's stats for the Blues are deceiving. He's been sent up and down more than the stock market, and he's finally getting some consistent time with the big club. In his last eight games, he has seven points (3-4-7), including an impressive goal Thursday against Colorado when he fought through traffic to to get a shot off in front of Patrick Roy. Part of Reasoner's problem sticking in the NHL with St. Louis is his style, as well as St. Louis' organizational depth. In terms of the former reason, the 24-year-old needs to be at least a No. 2 center because he's not considered strong enough defensively to anchor a thrid or fourth line. That's why he's so attractive as trade bait: Reasoner has good offensive talent and is a solid center to build around.

Both the Flyers and Stars are in the midst of intense races for division titles. And their postseason fates may well rest on whether they finish first or second.

The difference between the two spots?

If the Stars win the Pacific Division, their likely first-round opponent would be Vancouver or intra-division rival San Jose. A second-place finish probably earns them the right to face St. Louis or Detroit.

For Philly, a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division means either Toronto or Pittsburgh. Finish in second place, and it's likely to be Buffalo or Pittsburgh.

No playoff round would be easy but -- especially for the Stars -- first place gives a team far better odds at advancing.

Vancouver or Detroit? Toronto or Pittsburgh? Save the big boys for the later rounds.

And even though Flyers goalie Roman Cechmanek is 3-0 against Dominik Hasek and the Sabres, no team wants to face a hot Hasek in the playoffs.

"We just want to go into the playoffs playing the best hockey we can," said Flyers forward Mark Recchi, who acknowledged the big difference in opponents but expressed that there should be no difference to the team's approach. "We can't try and avoid a team because we'll have to beat them to win it, anyway. We'd love to finish first, but playing well going in is more important.

"We believe in what we have."

Although Philadelphia could end up facing Pittsburgh either way, the Flyers enter Saturday's showdown with New Jersey, which holds a one-point lead over Philly, having won two in a row and keeping pace without top-line forward Simon Gagne, who is out with a shoulder injury but could return next weekend.

Recchi and linemate Keith Primeau are major reasons for that. Recchi has eight points in his last four games (2-6-8), and Primeau has nine (5-4-9) in his last five. Both are a plus-8 in that span. All with a rotating guy on their left wing. Mark Greig and Paul Ranheim were there for a bit, and now it's Michel Picard's turn.

"Keith has been driving to the net well and risen to the challenge. He's been asked to do a lot for our hockey club," Recchi said. "He's big, strong and has a little mean streak. It's been a lot of fun."

The Stars, on the other hand, enter their weekend home-and-home showdown with Colorado on a different note, having lost a listless 4-1 home game to Chicago on Wednesday.

"Everyone right now has to start elevating their game," Dallas forward Kirk Muller said. "You look at yourself and say, 'Where do I want to be better, where do I want to get to.' That's got to come from yourself, and if everyone is doing that, we'll be OK."

Hitchcock was so alarmed at Wednesday's performance that he put his veteran team through an unusually vigorous practice Thursday to express his displeasure.

"But, at the end of the day, in my opinion, we are still going to be a team that needs to be reckoned with because of the knowledge and determination within the group," Hitchcock said afterward.

So, on both sides, the faith is there that first place is attainable, and both teams' playoff potential hinges on the next three weeks.

Mailbag
During the season, a question or two from ESPN.com users will be answered in every edition of In the Corners. If you want to get a question answered, click here and ask away.

Question from Justin Mendence from Clovis, N.M.: I know the Ducks' ticket sales are not great, so signing a big name free agent is not going to happen, but other moves can be made to help them out. Will other teams not even talk to them because they are so bad? Will Paul Kariya stay with the Ducks now that the only other offensive power on the Ducks (Teemu Selanne) is gone?

Response: Signing a big-name free agent isn't the answer. Organizations do that when on the cusp of a run for the Stanley Cup. The Ducks need to rebuild and work toward qualifying for the playoffs. Management might have held on to Selanne too long; they should have realized the team wasn't going anywhere a lot sooner.

Paul Kariya must stay. He is the only marketable star on the team -- and one of the truly elite players in the game. At 26, Kariya is young enough to build around, and there are one or two promising players on the team -- not enough, but a start. Mike Leclerc and Matt Cullen show promise, and don't forget Jeff Friesen is younger than Kariya.

Re-signing Marty McInnis is a positive step as well. What the Ducks need to do is develop -- or trade for -- young talent and/or draft picks. The right trades and drafts could make Anaheim highly competitive in a couple of seasons. If there isn't enough patience, a high-priced free-agent goalie could hide weaknesses and move the team ahead more quickly.

Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com. Mike Heika also contributed to this report.

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