STUMBLING INTO 2010 PLAYOFFS

With the Red Sox starting their 2010 campaign later tonight, the Celtics and Bruins wrap up their respective seasons over the next week or so. The Celtics will be in, but continue to struggle. This week, for instance, they lost 3 straight games at the Garden! The got blown out in the 2nd half against the Spurs in front of a nationally audience, blew a late lead and fell to the Thunder at the buzzer and then blew a 3 point lead at the buzzer to the Rockets, who scored 9 straight points in OT to shock the green. Can you imagine that? 0-3 this week? Fortunately, the team beat the Cavs today on national television. They did blow a 22 point lead in the 2nd half but came back and won. They are 48-28 and play the Knicks and Raptors on the road next week.
The Bruins are inconsistent. They are struggling a bit, especially to score goals. They are dead last, 30th in scoring, yet are 2nd in defense. Hence, low scoring games. The team has been in 8th for weeks now, about even with the Habs' and Flyers for 6th and 7th. The Rangers are hot and the Thrashers are hanging around too. It's evident it may come down to the final weekend. Unless of course, the Bruins win at least 2 of their last 4 games next week. As for this past week, they lost 3-2 to the Sabres, pulled out a gutsy win in New Jersey 1-0, got booed off the ice in a 1-0 loss to the pathetic Panthers then got another tremendously gutsy win 2-1 OT in Toronto. The team was without Seidenberg, Ference and Stuart last night and Savvy is done for the season. Yet, with Rask and his #1 goals against average and #1 save percentage, the team looks stout, they just need to find ways to score. This week is the final week of the regular season. The Bruins go to Washington twice, with games at home versus the Sabres and Canes' sandwiched between. Most likely, they win 2 games they sneak in. They win 3 they will be in, or 2 wins and an OT point. Win all 4 and they will be the #6 and go to Buffalo. The Bruins will lose most tiebreakers due to lack of wins, so every point this week is valuable. None of the 3 opponents have much to play for, so if the black-and-gold get desperate they will collect points and next week we will be talking about the post-season!

NHL STANDINGS EAST

1. WASHINGTON 114
2. NEW JERSEY 97
3. BUFFALO 96
4. PITTSBURGH 97
5. OTTAWA 91
6. MONTREAL 86
7. BOSTON 84
8. PHILADELPHIA 84
9. NEW YORK 82
10. ATLANTA 81
11. NEW YORK 76
12. CAROLINA 76
13. FLORIDA 74
14. TAMPA BAY 74
15. TORONTO 72

NBA STANDINGS EAST

1. CLEVELAND 60-17
2. ORLANDO 53-23
3. ATLANTA 49-27
4. BOSTON 48-28
5. MIAMI 43-34
6. MILWAUKEE 42-34
7. CHARLOTTE 40-36
8. TORONTO 38-37
9. CHICAGO 37-39
10. INDIANA 28-48
11. NEW YORK 26-49
12. PHILADELPHIA 26-50
13. DETROIT 23-53
14. WASHINGTON 22-53
15. NEW JERSEY 11-65