Nice night for the tank

Bruins beat Atlanta, 4-0 (Tuukka Rask's 4th shutout of the season) and the Leafs lose at home to the Florida Panthers 4-1, who got a great game in net from old BC stalwart Scott Clemmensen. By beating Toronto, they extend a seven-point lead over the Leafs in the standings, a pretty significant road win with big ramifications in Boston's draft pick standings watch.

Also- best case scenario for Boston happened in the Carolina-Tampa game, as the Lightning overcame a 2-0 deficit to tie the game late and win it in overtime. The 'Bolts get two points to extend their lead over Toronto to six points, while Carolina gets one to move up five (Leafs get none, so they lose ground tonight). The Islanders are now the closest team within striking distance, four points ahead but they have a game in hand on Toronto who has just nine games left to make up the distance to get out of 29th.

In the west, the putrid Columbus Blue Jackets got housed in Jersey tonight en route to Marty Brodeur's 40th win of the season in a 6-3 loss (check out Zach Parise's second goal of the night if you can- a spinaround, forehand-to-backhand topshelf beauty that defies logic for No. 35- he reeeeeeally should've been picked by the Bruins at 16 in '03), the eighth season in which he's posted 40 Ws or more. Crazy. Terry Sawchuk and Miikka Kiprusoff are next on the all-time list with three apiece. The BJ's loss means they are only six points ahead of Toronto. Everyone else is likely out of reach at 12 points or more.

So, for one night at least, that top-two selection is still looking good. There's still the lottery on April 13th to decide it all, but Toronto lost two more points it could ill afford at this stage, and to a team that needed them to keep the Leafs in the rearview.

Speaking of tanks, there was a band in the early 90's called Life, Sex & Death (LSD- imagine that!) and they had a song and video featured on Beavis & Butthead called "Tank" and some of the lyrics are perfect for tonight:

This is the time
This is the place
Get inside your tank
You're a tank
You're in the game
You're in the race
Get inside your tank
You're a tank
Go, go, go, go, go, goooo- mow 'em over

I'm a tank, I'm a tank...I'm a tank

OK, well- you get the picture. Let's not get so carried away, there.