Top games to watch as season comes to exciting end

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If you were one of the smart ones who laid out the $159 for the NHL's Center Ice package, this is the week your investment pays off. With seven teams contending for three playoff spots in the East, and with crucial seeding battles going down to the wire in the West, it's time send the wife and kids to the in-laws, set the TiVo to record your other favorite shows, settle onto the couch and see who wants it the most.

The season's final week features 48 games, just four of which have no playoff implications. With so much critical action on the docket, we've chosen the seven tilts you need to clear your schedule for this week.

Saturday: Montreal at Toronto

Any time the Habs and Leafs tangle on Hockey Night In Canada, you've got a game that stopx most of the country. Put the final playoff berth in the East on the line, and the streets should be deserted from Kenora to St. John's.

The Habs enter the week with 88 points, one ahead of the ninth-place Leafs. More important, they're playing some of their best hockey of the year. Despite the loss of All-Star goalie Cristobal Huet on Valentine's Day, the Habs are soldiering along, finally getting the timely offense that deserted them in February along with some solid work in the nets from 21-year-old rookie Jaroslav Halak.

The Leafs, on the other hand, are struggling with the inconsistency that's left them on the outside looking in most of the season. Blowing a late three-goal lead at home Saturday night against Pittsburgh (although they pulled out a win in OT) and the 7-2 shellacking at the hands of the Rangers last night suggests they might not have the heart -- or the talent -- for the fight.

But Toronto has two winnable games against playoff outsiders before Saturday's tilt -- at home to Philly and then a trip to Long Island. Win 'em both, and they have a chance to clinch a spot on home ice where they've won seven in a row.

Saturday: Tampa Bay at Atlanta

After years of futility, the Thrashers have sealed up their first playoff berth. The key now is to hold on for their first-ever Southeast Division title and the first-round home-ice advantage that comes with it.

Atlanta enters the week with a three-point bulge over Tampa Bay. The Thrashers look to be the better balanced squad since the trade deadline acquisitions of Keith Tkachuk, Alexei Zhitnik and Eric Belanger salvaged what looked to be a rapidly sinking ship.

Despite having two of the league's top four scorers, the Lightning have struggled in their own end. They've been submarined by a woeful penalty kill all season, but the Thrashers are almost as bad. The ability to stay out of the box may play a deciding role in this race.

Sunday: Islanders at New Jersey

Assuming the Flames have taken care of business by winning at least one of their first three games this week, this contest could have the greatest meaning of the season's final day. Not only are the Devils -- and new/old head coach Lou Lamoriello, who's taken over for the fired Claude Julien -- hoping to stave off a last-minute charge by the Penguins, but the NHL's single-season wins record for a goalie could be on the line.

New Jersey's Martin Brodeur enters the week with 46, just one off the mark of 47 set in 1973-74 by Bernie Parent. With the Atlantic title on the line, Brodeur should start all of the team's remaining games. He's owned the Islanders this season, going 6-1 with three shutouts. He also faces the Senators (Tuesday) and Flyers (Thursday), giving him two shots to tie the record earlier in the week.