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NHL: Detroit on top alone as NHL enters second half

Unless you are the Detroit Red Wings, there is plenty of work to be done just to get into the National Hockey League playoffs before thoughts drift to making a run for the Stanley Cup.

After the league's return yesterday from its four-day All-Star Game break, teams will be gearing up for the stretch drive that has a little more than 30 games left per club. Parity is prevailing, and virtually no one is out of the running.

The only team that is truly safe is Detroit, which has a 22-point lead in the Central Division, a 17-point edge in the Western Conference, and a 12-point cushion in the chase for the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

Finishing on top doesn't ensure postseason success, however. Just ask the Buffalo Sabres, who stormed through the Eastern Conference a year ago but were knocked out in the semi-finals by the Ottawa Senators.

"Being first in your conference and playing the eighth seed, you have nothing to win really," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said.

"If you lose in the first round, you're a dog. That's probably the toughest round. Detroit is running away with their conference, for sure, and probably the Presidents' Trophy. Do they have much to play for down the stretch? You can find pros and cons with pretty much everything," he said.

The Red Wings were eliminated a step away from the finals last year by the eventual champions Anaheim after finishing tied with Buffalo for first in the NHL's overall standings.

The Presidents' Trophy winner hasn't captured the Cup since 2002 when Detroit did it. The Red Wings flamed out twice in the previous three seasons after finishing with the best record in the NHL.

"Yeah, there's no guarantees -- having a good regular season to then play well in the playoffs," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.

The next-biggest division lead is in the Northeast, where Ottawa is six points ahead of surprising Montreal. There are two tied divisional races, and another where first and second place are separated by one skinny point. New York's Islanders and Rangers are tied for eighth -- the postseason cutoff -- in the Eastern Conference, 12 points below Ottawa but only nine in front of last-place Tampa Bay.

"It is hectic," Philadelphia forward Mike Richards said. "Every game counts. I looked at our schedule and we play our last five or six games against our division opponents. Coming down the stretch here, every game is going to be so important."

The Hurricanes, two years removed from their only Stanley Cup championship, come out of the break in first place. The Southeast is one of the NHL's most balanced -- some say weak -- divisions where seven points separate first place and fifth.

Carolina is one point ahead of Washington, with player of the year contender Alex Ovechkin, two in front of the Atlanta Thrashers, three above Florida, and seven ahead of Tampa Bay, which at 20 wins is tied for the fewest in the NHL.
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