Welcome to the newest addition to the hockey coverage here at RealGM with our new hockey blog called Hockey Talk. Running on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Hockey Talk will examine player and team trends as well as take a more in-depth look at the game. This is an interactive project, so feel free to email your opinions to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com and your thoughts may just appear in this space. April 4 The race between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals for the Southeast Division crown has been good theater to watch. After beating the Tampa Bay Lighting 6-2 on Wednesday, the Hurricanes were two points up. The Capitals responded by beating Tampa Bay 4-1. Both teams have one game with the Atlanta Thrashers left, and the Capitals moved by idle Philadelphia for the eighth and final spot. This will be great to watch over the last few days. The Minnesota Wild, with a 3-1 home win over Calgary on Thursday night, clinched the ever wild Northwest Division. Winners of four in a row and seven of their last ten, the Wild will be the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and, depending on the match-up, could win a playoff series for only the third time in their history. This in conjunction with their Sunday win over the Colorado Avalanche which marked the first time in their history the Wild have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. It has been a long time, but the San Jose Sharks lost in regulation 4-2 at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. It was the first regulation loss for the Sharks since February 20. This covers 20 games in which the Sharks were 18-0-2 as they almost caught the Detroit Red Wings for the President?s Cup. It isn?t a big limb, but I think the Sharks will represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. March 31 In a competitive Northwest Division, the Minnesota Wild took a big step this weekend by beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Friday and the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Forward Marian Gaborik had two assists against Vancouver and two goals against Colorado, and he is now 40-40 this year. The Wild should win the division and get the No. 3 seed. Nashville Predators? goaltender Dan Ellis has been playing really good hockey lately as the Predators try to hold onto the eighth seed. Prior to losing 1-0 to the Detroit Red Wings, the Predators had won three in a row and had given up just two goals in the last four games. Chris Mason was the opening night starter, but Ellis has secured the job in March by starting 12 of the last 14 games. Behind the Predators are the Chicago Blackhawks, who won two games this past weekend. They won at St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Saturday and 5-4 in a shootout Sunday versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. Four points out of the playoffs, the Blackhawks are most likely out of the playoffs, but this young team hasn?t quit.