Can you hear the footsteps?

Toronto shellacked Edmonton tonight (quelle surprise) but the Leafs have a three-game winning streak going and are closing in on the Islanders (five points ahead) and Hurricanes (six points ahead).

Edmonton has just mailed it in. Pathetic displays of non-hockey night after night. No way is this team that bad...no way. But, they don't seem to care, and it shows in the results each night.

The Bruins just dropped a tough game in Montreal, getting hammered in the season series, while allowing the Habs to build a four-point lead in the standings. Tuukka Rask's gaffe cost the B's the game tonight, and I'm sure he feels terrible about it. But, no points in the standings is still the result, and it's a shame to let that one in after he was so brilliant against Philly the other night.

Bottom line- it looks like any hopes of the Oilers catching Toronto are officially gone tonight. I've not seen a more pathetic, uninspired joke of a team in quite some time. They seem pretty content to finish last and guarantee themselves one of Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin, so that's life, B's fans. Better hope that if the Islanders or Hurricanes finish 28th, they (or anyone below them) don't win the lottery, otherwise it's going to be the Cam Barker 2004 draft redux for Boston.

I'm out. At least the Isles and Panthers won to keep Toronto at bay, but we've seen too many clubs play the Leafs and just roll over and die, lately. How that AHL-caliber offense can get six goals in any hockey game is beyond me, but the last few weeks of the season could have quite a grueling (and disappointing) finish for B's boosters if we have too many more nights like this one.