Current standings as of today:

Eastern

Atlantic
1 Pittsburgh
2 Philadelphia
3 New Jersey
4 NY Islanders
5 NY Rangers

Northeast
1 Toronto
2 Buffalo
3 Boston
4 Ottawa
5 Montréal

Southeast
1 Washington
2 Florida
3 Tampa Bay
4 Carolina
5 Winnipeg

Western

Central
1 Detroit
2 Chicago
3 St Louis
4 Nashville
5 Columbus

Northwest
1 Colorado
2 Vancouver
3 Minnesota
4 Edmonton
5 Calgary

Pacific
1 Dallas
2 Los Angeles
3 Anaheim
4 Phoenix
5 San Jose

Go PENS!!! Though it is bizarre to see San Jose at the bottom of the Pacific list... like, really bizarre.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have the great pleasure to announce that tomorrow nights Penguins game will be the...

RETURN OF SIDNEY CROSBY!

Now let's hope it doesn't throw off the lines too much. Losing to Tampa and Florida sucked.

Elara : "I just hope his first game back isn't the one against the Islanders or they will go for his head and it will be ugly. I'm sure they aren't that stupid though."

Great news that he is finally coming back, lets hope the Islanders don't go for his head!

I pretty much think that the first player to hit him in the head is going to get crucified by the players on the Penguins team and by the league and the fans (who like crosby). You may not like Crosby but he is the face of the NHL right now and with him in the league things are far better than without him.

I figure the first hit on him period is going to result in a brawl. But otherwise I think the game will be great. They've already been saying that he has been best in the practice skates so I'm hoping for at least a goal or two from him tonight.

A 320 game hiatus, and he scores five and a half minutes into the period. Yeah... Sid is back. I know the game is being nationally broadcast here and in Canada, is anyone else watching?

Elara : 320 game? Are you thinking maybe 320 periods? He can't have missed more than 80-100 games....

I'm going off what they were saying... perhaps they misspoke? Ah... 320 DAYS.

And as of the third period Crosby has 2 goals, 2 assists. Is it too much to hope for a hat trick the first game back?

wow. And people question whether or not he's the best player in the game..... who else could you pick?

I'm so glad he's back.

Me, too! The last two games aside, the Pens have been doing pretty damn good this season already... but this game, just having him back we are AMAZING!

 It's 5-0 right now. Everyone is just on their A++++-game, and super excited, and it's just so great to see.

Luckily for the Pens, Malkin plays better without Crosby in the lineup. 

Can't wait for the season to continue after the 2 day Christmas break.  It felt like 2 weeks for me

Who is going to be watching the Winter Classic tomorrow? I don't really care for either team, but I figure it should be a good game.

The downside of inactive geeogree... very little activity in this thread (sadness).

So, I've been sitting here watching the skills contest for the NHL All-Star game, and I was very amused to see that NBC snuck a little physics lesson in there for all the hockey fans. I applaud their craftiness.

It hurts to watch the Flames try and make it into the playoffs....

the penguins on the other hand are awesome to watch. So glad to see Sid back and playing well. He seems to be fitting himself back into the line up without making everything about him. If only the media would get the hint

I'm also watching Washington closely. I'm hoping someone picks up some points and knocks them out early. Although, Rangers vs. Washington would be fun to watch.... Washington doesn't stand a chance this year.

I'm a huge Blackhawks fan and I was worried about them in Janurary but now they have been hot. I'm really hoping that they can keep the momentum up going into the playoffs.

Big game tonight Vs. the Canucks!

yeah, Blackhawks are making a push. I doubt they'll get home ice in the playoffs but you don't always need it if your team is playing well.

Still don't think they are as deep as they were when they won the cup though. Doesn't mean they couldn't get to the finals again.... just think it'll be tough again this year.

I am excited for the playoffs to start next week. I'm not sure how far my Hawks are going to go this year, but it should still be fun.

Aside from watching the Blackhawks, I'm really intersted to see what happens in the Pens Flyers series. Especially after watching that huge fight that happened last week.

yeah, I totally agree with the Pens vs Flyers sentiment. I'm going to watch as many of those games as I can. Should be an awesome series. I wonder if the Pens get out of that series if they'll be healthy enough to actually make a run through the rest of the playoffs or not.

Elara : we're posting in here again

Considering that Niskanen and Vitale are both injured again, I am a bit worried if we take any more injuries. As it stands right now though, I think we have a really good chance of winning the cup.

... ugh, that fight. I am so sick of the Flyer's camp and their bs over that... just because their fourth line is only capable of hitting people doesn't mean all fourth lines are that talentless. And saying that Vitale made a "good hit" but was "intending to hurt" is a logical fallacy. A hit that has intent to hurt is, by definition, not clean... so how can it be clean and not clean?

Oh, and I know that Mike Milbury's comments got several Pens fans out of shape, but I want opinions from other fan bases as well. Personally, I've never liked the man since he seems to have no clue what he's talking about most of the time, but the comments he made show that he truly does have zero respect for the game. I think he's an embarrassment to NBC and the NHL, and he should be fired. That apology he made was so obviously insincere and forced that it makes me laugh.

Playoffs here we come!

We'll start in the Western Conference:

Kings vs. Canucks

- I don't this series lasting long personally. I don't think the Kings have the firepower to keep up with the Canucks. If the Canucks score more than 2 goals per game, which is not tough for them at all, then I see this series being super easy. Canucks in 5

Blues vs. Sharks

- I see this one being pretty quick too honestly. Sharks were fighting to make the playoffs right up until the end and going up against the powerhouse that St. Louis has been.... not going to be a tough series here either. Blues in 5

Phoenix vs. Chicago

- I can see this series going a long way. Phoenix may be the 3rd seed but they haven't played like it. They should match up well defensively against the offensive power of Chicago but if it becomes a run and gun type game Chicago will overwhelm Phoenix. Still think it will go to 7 games but in favor of Chicago. Chicago in 7

Predators vs. Red Wings

- I'm looking forward to this series again. I think the Preds have a good chance of beating the Red Wings and having home ice advantage this year will help them in that. Predators in 7

Eastern Conference

Rangers vs. Senators

- I think this is going to be an interesting series. I think a lot of who wins depends on whose top line can dominate (Richards/Gaborik vs Spezza/Alfredsson) and which goalie does better. I see the Rangers winning this series but I think Ottawa will put up a good fight. Rangers in 6

Bruins vs. Capitals

- This match up makes me smile. I want to watch the Caps get pounded and Boston is the team to do it. I don't think the Capitals stand a chance but I hope they push it to 7 just to wear the Bruins out as much as possible. Bruins in 6 (but hopefully 7)

Florida vs. Devils

- I am happy to see Florida finish as high as they did. It's about time a SE team that wasn't the Capitals or Tampa Bay won the division. I think they can beat the Devils but it won't be easy for them. Might not be the most exciting series to watch but it should be one of the closer ones. I say Florida in 7

Penguins vs. Flyers

- this is the series to watch in my opinion. These 2 teams hate each other and that's even before the puck drops. Give them a game or 2 in a row to get things really going and this series will be the only one being talked about. I hope it goes to 7 only because I think every game will be fantastic. However, I think the Penguins are the better team and it won't go that long. Penguins in 6.