regular season done, postseason around the corner

the final day of the nhl regular season is in the books, and after 1230 games, 16 teams in the playoffs. this year the playoff format is almost reminiscint of the 1980s format. the difference is this year the top three in each division get in and two wild card teams in each conference. the division winners get the wild card teams. division playoffs still apply. in the metropolitan division, pittsburgh faces columbus and philadelphia plays the new york rangers. in the atlantic, boston faces detroit and tampa bay squares off with montreal. out west, in the pacific, anaheim plays dallas and san jose plays los angeles. in the central it is colorado vs minnesota while st. louis faces chicago. these division semi final match-ups should be good. playoffs start on wednesday night.