W ith one game remaining in the season for most National Hockey League teams, there is a bottleneck at the top of the Atlantic Division. The surging Devils, winners of 10-straight games, have moved from an unsure playoff berth to jostling for position with the top teams in the Eastern Conference Before the conclusion of last night's slate of games, the picture in the East-excluding the bottom two playoff seeds, which are all but locked up by Montreal and Tampa Bay-sat as such: 1. Carolina (112 pts), 2. Ottawa (111 pts), 3. N.Y. Rangers (100 pts), 4. Buffalo (108 pts) and 5. New Jersey and (99 pts), Philadelphia (99 pts). The Hurricanes and Senators are in virtually no danger of losing their grip on seeds one and two since their point totals maintain a sizeable lead over everyone else's The key question is: How will seeds three through six shake out?

For a moment, let's assume the perspective of the Flyers and Devils, both of whom trail the Rangers in the Atlantic Division by only one point. As is the case in the National Basketball Association, the three division winners in each conference automatically earn the top-three playoff seeds in the conference. In other words, the Devils, Rangers or Flyers must occupy the third East seed even though the fourth seed, the Buffalo Sabres (a non-Atlantic Division team) will finish with a far superior record to any of those teams. Now, if you are the Devils, and you are currently tied for the fifth seed, the following is probably your thought process: At five, we will play the fourth seed (Sabres), though we won't have home-ice advantage. If we win the division and capture the number-three seed, we will gain home-ice but be forced to play the sixth seed, which will be either the Rangers or Flyers. Considering the trouble we've had this season and historically against New York and Philadelphia there is little incentive to take the third seed and face a first-round battle against a division rival. The truth is, whatever happens with the playoff seeding, these teams are destined for some special playoff moments this year. It's been the better part of a decade since the Rangers made the playoffs-and since their epic 1990s playoff clashes with the Devils. Having New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia squarely in the playoff picture should help the East do its part in the post-lockout NHL recovery.

The next Great One?

While many have not recognized the emergence of one of the most explosive young players in the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin has constantly dominated highlight reels during his entire rookie campaign, tallying an astounding 100-plus point season. It certainly will be interesting to follow him in the coming seasons and to watch his improvement as a player and playmaker.

NBA playoff system: less than perfect

Speaking of playoff-picture shuffling, why do the NHL and NBA insist that the three division leaders must be seeded one through three in their conference in the playoffs? Why not just let wins and losses determine the playoff seedings? The leagues would likely justify their approach as a means of ensuring participation of all divisions in the conference playoff picture. They don't want an entire division absent from the playoffs, in other words. But their strategy produces too many detriments. For instance, San Antonio and Dallas are the two best teams in the Western Conference. Everyone knows it, and their records illustrate it. They should be seeded one and two in the playoffs, but because they are both Southwest Division teams, rules stipulate that this cannot happen San Antonio will win the Southwest and earn the top seed in the conference, and the two and three seeds will be occupied by the other two division winners Dallas will be relegated to the fourth seed Dallas, as such, has to square off against a tougher first-round opponent (Memphis) than do the top seeds. Moreover, if the top four seeds in the West advance to the second round of the playoffs, then the bottom seed will be forced to play San Antonio, and that bottom seed will be Dallas. The playoff seedings should not set up a premature battle between the conference's best two teams. Either Phoenix or Denver, as result, will enjoy a relatively free ride to the Western Conference Finals, and Dallas, in all likelihood, will be cheated out of a Conference Finals appearance.

And the MVP goes to ...

LeBron James, Steve Nash and others have received much of the focus in discussions of the NBA's 2006 MVP award, but ESPN's Bill Simmons convinced me last week that Kobe Bryant is most deserving of the honor. He argued that the Lakers would be among the doormats of the NBA without Kobe, and that in a pick-up game among all NBA players, Kobe would be chosen first. Because of the remarkable impotence of the Lakers' roster outside number eight (excepting, on occasion, swingman Lamar Odom), it is highly unlikely that L.A. will advance deep into the Western Conference playoffs this year. But their playoff berth itself should be considered a major accomplishment in view of the one-man show. The Lakers (seeded seventh currently) pose a major sleeper upset threat to number-two Phoenix, only because their best player is the best player in the league. It will be a shame if Mitch Kupchak does not surround Kobe with legitimate talent, particularly a formidable inside presence to compensate for the loss of Shaq, in the next several years, because one of the great talents of all-time will not have realized its potential Kobe is good enough to end his career as the best basketball player to have ever lived. Mark Jackson uttered similar words Sunday night on ESPN, and it was the first time I've heard a basketball pundit exhibit the courage and independence to break ranks with the normal perpetual reverence of Michael Jordan as the untouchable best ever. For now, we don't know whether Kobe will surpass Michael. But we do know, considering Shaq's rapid decline (will he play effectively for five more years?), that Kupchak, faced with the decision a year-and-a-half ago to either trade Shaq or let Kobe sign elsewhere, made the right choice after all.