Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch….

We all know what’s going on here with the Florida Panthers. The first relevant pennant chase since Bill Clinton was in office, and a bothersome late season swoon where not even the dregs of the NHL can be safely discounted. Hey, we could be Blue Jackets fans. Let’s see what the other guys are saying.

29 links after the jump.

• Over at Anaheim Calling, a frustrated blogger reflects back and looks ahead, contemplating Angels baseball and the unlucky number seven.
• Stanley Cup of Chowder goes back in history to pay homage to the great PJ Axelsson.
• Don’t count the Sabres out…they very nearly have their destiny in their own hands. If the Panthers can’t pick things up, this is the team we’ll be fighting for eighth place, over at Die By the Blade.
• At Matchsticks and Gasoline, Arik James explores how rookie deputy of hand slapping Brendan Shanahan isn’t cutting it as advertised.
• Brian LeBlanc at Canes Country notices that Jeff Skinner has shown a marked (some would say Bergenheimien) increase in penalties as the Canes approached respectability.
• Over at Second City Hockey, a concerned blogger speaks out against rooting for the sixth seed in the playoffs.
• Mike at Mile High Hockey breaks down the anatomy of a goal in Colorado’s recent loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.
• A scintillating look at the numbers that went into the fall of the Columbus Blue Jackets, over on The Cannon.
• Over on Defending Big D, a very nice tribute to Karlis Skrastins.
• In commemoration of an unforgettable matchup between the Red Wings and the Avalanche on the 26th of March, 1997.
• The Copper and Blue look at the Oilers recent win over our Florida Panthers.
• Jewels from the Crown take a look at what a Coyotes move would mean to the rest of the NHL, including Florida.
• How to make the Wild home a more intimidating place for visiting teams, by Hockey Wilderness.
• A pretty good read over at Habs Eyes on the Prize about the Canadians’ alleged prowess at drafting future NHL level talent.
• On the Forecheck previews possible first round matchups for the Predators.
• A few of the more bizarre New Jersey Devils items I’ve seen on the internet at In Lou We Trust.
• A Lighthouse Hockey breakdown of Dale Tallon’s splurge, and it’s effects both intended and unintended. Note: they wrote this before the win last night.
• Blueshirt Banter goes on a diatrebe on the evils of whining when your team is, um, spectacular.
• Here is the latest in a Silver Seven’s production. A remarkable breakdown of…the alphabet?
• A series of eight Haiku’s that speak of a strange and wonderous place…the playoffs. Over on Broad Street Hockey.
• A quick shot on the status and possible playoff contribution by one Radim Vrbata.
• Pensburgh takes a quick break from their 24-hour Crosby worship to talk about Sid Crosby.
• Some statistical analysis on the possible inclusion of overtime matches in future playoff tiebreakers, over on Fear the Fin.
• Brian Elliott has eight shutouts this year for the St. Louis Blues, and he is still their backup goaltender. Not just another game recap, over at St. Louis Game Time.
• Cassie over on Raw Charge polls other bloggers about which teams should really be up for discussion whenever the subject of relocation comes up.
• Hey! Look! The Toronto Maple Leafs even have people jumping off the bandwagon to pursue other interests, even during the game! From Pension Plan Puppets.
• Yankee Canuck on the current state of the Vancouver Canucks, somewhere between a rant and a diatrebe.
• Jay Beagle is out-ice-timing Capitals messiah Alex Ovechkin at even strength, a quick study, with pictures, over at Japers Rink.
• Arctic Ice Hockey on the impact of Jets fans chanting opposing players during games. How I wish this was not a “thing”…

Who is your second favorite NHL Team?