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The Tampa Bay Lightning lost last year's Stanley Cup Finals, so vying for their first division title in 12 years was among their minimum expectations for 2015-16. Tied atop the Atlantic Division with the Lightning has the Florida Panthers far exceeding theirs. The Panthers and Lightning meet for the final time this season Saturday night in a matchup with major implications on the division race. Continue to Article

March 26, 2016 12:17:am EST

Teams are flipping spots seemingly on a nightly basis in a muddled Eastern Conference playoff race that appears to be going down to the season's final day. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings aren't immune to the confusion, as each club has just as realistic of a chance for home-ice advantage in the first round as it does of missing the postseason altogether. Pittsburgh's six-game winning streak helped it pull within two points of the second-place Rangers in the Metropolitan earlier in the week, but New York's lead doubled with a victory Wednesday and the Penguins' 3-0 loss to New Jersey the following night. Continue to Article

March 25, 2016 3:53:pm EST

“What is that black thing?”  Jack Edwards, the play-by-play voice of the Boston Bruins, watched the replay of Patrice Bergeron’s shot. Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo slid to his right in attempt to save it. It appeared he didn’t. It appeared, via that replay, that the puck was sitting well behind the goal line, between his pad and the bottom of the goal cage. “The puck,” said Andy Brickley, the color commentator for the Boston Bruins, incredulously. “Watch it, here it comes,” said Brickley, as Luongo moved his pad and “the black thing” rolled out from inside of the net. “That is a joke.” No one was laughing. The NHL War Room in Toronto – defying logic, defying optics, denying the Bruins of a critical goal in what ended up being a critical loss to a division rival on Thursday night – declared that “video review was inconclusive in determining whether the puck completely crossed the Florida goal line. Therefore the referee's call on the ice stands - no goal Boston.” "Video review was inconclusive, no goal" pic.twitter.com/unpq5vgMju — dafoomie (@dafoomie) March 25, 2016 What the hell else do you need for “conclusive?” A sworn affidavit from Luongo’s pad that it witnessed the puck behind the goal line? "I'm as baffled as you are,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien . Look, there are reasons why the Bruins lost to the Panthers on Thursday night that go beyond a blown call from the referee and the War Room, but good lord does this game change at 2-2 at 8:03 of the third period. No wonder Bruins fans are sick of video reviews: NESN viewers throw flag on NHL coach's challenge pic.twitter.com/KtOfafRhjp — Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 25, 2016 So put more cameras on the nets. Pay for that puck tracking. Draw that baby goal line behind the big goal line that was going to act as a guide in situations just like this. Do whatever you need to do, because clearly the system is flawed.  Or, you know, just call a goal “a goal,” and leave the slavish obsession with reasonable doubt to criminal law. -- Greg Wyshynski  is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at  puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com  or  find him on Twitter.  His book,  TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK , is  available on Amazon  and wherever books are sold. MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY   Continue to Article

March 24, 2016 10:46:pm EST