HOCKEY

The final quarter of the NHL promises hugely entertaining playoff races on both sides of the league.

But the Western Conference is especially frantic. The Kings are rebuilding, again, and the young Oilers are beset by serious injuries. The other 13 teams are in the Mixmaster, though, and fortunes seem to change on a daily basis.

Blues coach Andy Murray expects 96 points to become the magic cut-off for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. “We’re not chasing teams, we’re chasing a total,” he reminds reporters at each turn.

Here are some factors to consider while handicapping the postseason push:

THE NET GAINS: Hot goaltenders will have a lot to say about the conference outcome. Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo underscored this during a 3-2 victory in Nashville.

Luongo made 49 saves as the Canucks held off the Predators in regular play, survived overtime and won in the shootout.  He is just one of several conference goaltenders capable of carrying his team the distance.

“This game was all Roberto,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault observed. “And we’re not going to apologize for it because so many times this year we outplayed the opposition and got on the wrong side of it.”

Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere can be that sort of performer. So could Evgeni Nabokov or Marty Turco. On the other hand, 900-year-old Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek is out with his typical hip/groin injuries.

Could Detroit really win another Cup with Chris Osgood in goal?

BUY VS. SELL: The Predators dumped a lot of salary before this season, owing to the franchise’s uncertain future. But with new ownership and a renewed commitment to Nashville, this team appears positioned to add players before next week’s trade deadline.

On the other hand, Columbus appears poised to sell. The current ownership has no particular affinity for Sergei Fedorov, who could become a useful stretch-run addition for Ottawa or Montreal.

Many teams, like the Blues, sit in the middle. They are still within range of the playoffs, but they are on Year 2 of a major rebuilding process – and they could fetch a couple of draft picks or prospects by dealing a few veterans.

WELCOME MATS SUNDIN: Peter Forsberg remains coy about his comeback potential for the stretch run. He is still struggling with chronic feet/ankle problems.

But it appears Detroit isn’t one of his possible destinations, so the Red Wings want to add Maple Leafs icon Mats Sundin to their Swede-centric team.

(Too bad Mats can’t play defense. The simultaneous loss of Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Niklas Kronwall on the Motown blue line really hurt, although Kronwall is close to returning.)

THE LIFE OF BRIAN: Ducks general manager Brian Burke is looking for another big move. Burke was thrilled to get Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne back from hiatus, but he isn’t standing pat with his championship-caliber lineup. There is no “off” switch on this guy.

“As a general manager, you’ve got a window on your team when you can say, ‘In this period of time, we’ve got a shot at winning.’ Realistically, there are never more than three or four teams that have that window,” he told the Toronto Globe and Mail. “When you are in that window, it’s your responsibility to try and win. You may not have that window for another 10 years.”

GOING WILD IN MINNESOTA: It’s interesting to see the Wild tied to Forsberg rumors and Olli Jokinen speculation. This is another conference team aiming to make a big play at the trade deadline.

Clearly the new ownership sees this franchise in the Cup contention window Burke speaks of.

AVALANCHE OF INJURIES: Colorado managed to go 5-4-2 with Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny and Ryan Smyth sidelined at the same time. Stastny missed 15 games after undergoing an appendectomy and Sakic has missed 37 games (and counting) with a sports hernia.

But one by one, the Avalanche stars are returning – setting coach Joel Quenneville’s team up for a big finish. Naturally, Coach Q is only cautiously optimistic.

“As a group, when you have a couple of players of that stature coming into your lineup, you have to guard against thinking that they’re going to be back and it’s going to be easy,” Quenneville told the Denver Post.

ROAD TRIP FROM HELL: The Blues put together a nice little six-game points streak, only to see it end abruptly during a 5-1 loss to Los Angeles. This was the first of 15 road games lurking in the final 23 games of their schedule.

In March, the Blues zig-zag across North America on a nine-game road trip. Nine games! And this team owns its own arena!

John Davidson needs to look at the issue going forward.  Serious contenders can’t play nine-game road trips in March.