We're at a weird point in the season. This isn't the post-All-Star Game lull where everything just feels dreary as teams shift from playing 48 games to 62 before the big home stretch around the trade deadline.

Now, every team has played 30 games or so, but things mostly feel pretty stratified already. 

There are maybe five teams competing for the last two playoff spots in the East and, god, three in the West? So that leaves something like 12 teams mostly out of the playoff picture – let's not get started on St. Louis, either. They have the same number of points as the Canucks and an extra game played. If we're holding the door open for those guys, the Sharks are almost playoff-competitive. At some point we have to be realistic.

Anyway, my point is that at this time of year, people's minds sta