NHL

Difference makers in push for the postseason

Six players who are all-important to their teams coming down the stretch

Chris Carlson / AP file

With Vancouver starved for offense, the Canucks' chances of making the playoffs ride on the play of goalie Roberto Luongo, writes Bill Clement of NBCSports.com.

Jose Theodore
Avalanche
Theodore’s play in goal will decide whether Colorado makes the playoffs. The expectations for the Avalanche tripled with the recent return from injuries of Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny and Ryan Smyth and the news that free agent Peter Forsberg, who wasn’t sure he would play this season, signed with the Avalanche a day before the trading deadline.

Colorado also added some bite on the blue line by dealing for Ruslan Salei. So the Avalanche have a much different look than they did in early January. Colorado is in two tight races – one to win the Northwest Division title and the other to secure a spot in the playoffs. Its fortunes will rest mostly on the play of Theodore, who will feel the most pressure. He has played very well this season and knows the responsibility being placed on him to be rock solid coming down the stretch.

Brad Richards
Stars
Dallas dealt for Richards at the trade deadline. He was the marquee player moved in all the wheeling and dealing. The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner will greatly impact the playoff picture in the Western Conference and expect him to lead Dallas past Detroit for the top playoff seed in the West.

Richards has experienced a below-average season but that may well be due to his not having any other winger of his caliber to play with on his line in Tampa Bay. With the Lightning he wasn’t presented with the opportunity to succeed. What I like most about Richards is he never complains about anything. The Stars are going to love that and they are also going to love Richards’ creativity. He can pass and score. He’s someone who can not only see the big play but also execute it in clutch situations.

Roberto Luongo
Canucks
Vancouver is just screaming for offense. It’s been that way for the Canucks for a couple of seasons. They have a surplus of defensemen on their roster, but they weren’t able to package any of them to obtain a much-needed scorer. So without strengthening the offense, the pressure of getting Vancouver to the playoffs falls squarely on the shoulders of Luongo.

Luongo has to be at his best in every game remaining in the regular season. He has to go out and leave it all on the ice. And he knows given the team’s difficulty in scoring, that his play will have little if any room for error. Recently his play got even better and opposing players are pretty much running into a stone wall when trying to score against him. Run a make on Luongo and it becomes clear he has the talent to put a team on his back and take it to the playoffs – something this season’s Canucks are counting on.

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