Back in December, the Devils appeared to be as good as done. Patrik Elias’s return from Hepatitis A was still in doubt and Martin Brodeur was struggling mightily with the NHL’s new rules and a nagging knee injury. But when Elias made his return to the lineup in January, the Devils made a spectacular 180* turn, winning nine straight games and wedging their way back into playoff contention. Not satisfied with a low seed in the playoffs, the Devils kept moving up in the standings, and the torrid 10-game winning streak they’re currently riding has now given them an opportunity to win the Atlantic Division on the final day of the regular season.

For the Rangers and Flyers, who have been engaged in a season-long dogfight for the division lead, this is bad news indeed. Not only are the rival Devils peaking at exactly the right time, but both the Rangers and Flyers have hobbled to the finish line, robbed of their firepower and momentum by various injuries. Now both teams, who were once considered bona fide Cup contenders, are in serious danger of opening the postseason on the road.

It took until last night, when the Atlanta Thrashers fell 6-4 to the Washington Capitals, for all eight Eastern Conference playoff teams to finally be determined. But of them, only the fourth place Buffalo Sabres know their seed. The rest, from the no. 1 Carolina Hurricanes to the no. 8 Tampa Bay Lightning, won’t know where they stand until tonight’s games have been played.

The Rangers hold a one-point lead over the Devils and Flyers, so they control their own destiny. A victory over Ottawa at the Garden tonight will clinch the Atlantic Division championship and the third seed when the playoffs begin on Friday. But the Rangers shouldn’t expect to have an easy time of things tonight because the Senators are locked in a battle of their own (with the Carolina Hurricanes) for first place overall in the Eastern Conference. If the Rangers fall to Ottawa, they’ll need both the Flyers and Devils to lose in order to clinch the division.

It cannot be overstated how important home ice will be for the Rangers. The Blueshirts have won 25 of 40 games played at Madison Square Garden this season, but just 19 of 41 on the road. Perhaps it’s because rookie sensation Henrik Lundqvist – back between the pipes tonight after missing seven games with a hip flexor – is more comfortable playing in front of the “Garden Faithful.” Or perhaps it’s because head coach Tom Renney has evolved into one of the NHL’s better tacticians with regard to line-matching and taking advantage of the home team’s opportunity to make the final line change. Either way, the Blueshirts will need to make the most of that advantage tonight in order to make their route through the playoffs easier.

Meanwhile, the Flyers have actually been one of the NHL’s better road teams, compiling identical records both at and away from the Wachovia Center. Rather than depending on home ice, the Flyers’ success is instead been tethered predominantly to the presence of Peter Forsberg. When Forsberg is in the lineup and playing at full strength, the Flyers are one of the NHL’s best teams. But groin injuries have taken their toll on Forsberg this season, and Flyers fans still bitter over the failed Eric Lindros era could again watch the team’s Cup hopes evaporate due to their dependency on an injury-prone superstar.

Tonight, the Flyers visit Long Island for their final game, and it’s highly unlikely that the Isles will be looking to do the Rangers any favors. The Flyers have won five of seven games against the Islanders, and should be expected to emerge victorious tonight as well.

Meanwhile, tonight the Devils will be in Montreal, Brodeur’s hometown, going up against a Habs team in need of a victory (or a Tampa Bay Lightning loss to Washington) in order to lock up the seventh seed. Of course, whether the Habs play the Carolina Hurricanes (112 points) or the Senators (111 points) will also depend on the Rangers’ result, and on whether the Hurricanes top fourthplace Buffalo in their final game.

The playoff races have been incredibly dramatic, leading up to tonight’s spellbinding finale. Moreover, the level of competition has been extremely high all around the league, with only a couple of rebuilding teams (the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals) and three injury-riddled underachievers (the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the St. Louis Blues) out of the playoff picture on April 1.

Indeed, in all of this madness, one thing is abundantly clear: The rule changes made last summer have enabled the NHL to make an unquestionably successful recovery from last year’s lockout. The game might still have its flaws, but on the whole, the new edition of the NHL is far superior to the one that preceded it. And considering the ugliness of last year’s labor dispute, that news couldn’t possibly be better.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.