NY Rangers lose to Sabres, Carolina wins as race gets tighter

NHL East Conference 7th and 8th Place both up for grabs

With the New York Rangers dropping 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres tonight, and Carolina winning 2-1 over Florida Panthers, here's how the NHL East playoff race is shaping up:

NHL Eastern Conference, standings as of March 1st, 2011

EASTERN DIV GP W L OT PTS

7. NY RANGERS ATL 65 33 28 4 70

8. CAROLINA SE SE 64 30 25 9 69

9. BUFFALO NE 62 30 25 7 67

10. TORONTO NE 63 27 27 9 63

11. ATLANTA SE 64 26 27 11 63

The Toronto Maple Leafs are now 6 points out of 8th, 7 points back of 7th. With Montreal defeating Atlanta 3-1, the Canadiens have likely made the playoffs, and Atlanta faces an uphill battle as the worst-positioned of the five teams above that are battling for the final two playoff spots in the NHL East Conference.

The Leafs face Penguins Wednesday, followed by Philadelphia and Chicago. It would be very helpful if they can get three points out of these three games, and the deuce may need to come tomorrow night.

Go Buds!