This weekend there will be opportunities for some teams to make some statements. With the condensed schedule in the shortened season, there are no inter-conference matchups this season. The frequent contests between the same opponents add venom to rivalries that may have already been simmering.

The top of the standings still look a little bit top heavy with Chicago and Anaheim enjoying some breathing room in the standings. Don’t be fooled though. There is plenty of parity from top to bottom and every game between the conference foes seems to get chippy.

The weekend will see some familiar faces square off with one another as east and west begin their approach to the post season. Chicago and Anaheim are pacing the west, while Montreal, Pittsburgh and Boston are ruling the east. The playoff picture is getting tighter with teams like Columbus and Tampa Bay refusing to be mathematically eliminated from the post season.

Here are the top five games that you need to see this weekend:

5. Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets, Friday

The anomaly of Winnipeg being in the Southeast division will come to an end this season but not before the Jets make a run to hang a “Southeast” banner in their building. Despite having one of the loudest arenas in the NHL Winnipeg only plays .500 hockey in front of their fans. Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien lead the first place Jets into a Friday rematch against the division rival Washington Capitals. The Caps just won’t seem to go away. They are led by their captain Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Ribeiro and goalie Braden Holtby. The Capitals are fighting for their playoff lives and will look for a repeat of Thursday’s 4-0 whitewash of the Jets.

4. Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday

This is an Original Six matchup that will be oozing with playoff implications. Toronto is trying to get to the playoffs for the first time since 1843. Well, okay, not that long. The Maple Leafs have been led by Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf. They currently sit in sixth place in the east, eight points behind the fourth place Bruins. Boston has been carried by their defense all year with goalie Tuukka Rask and resident-wookie Zdeno Chara. The Bruins get their scoring from Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. These two teams hate each other so expect a hotly contested contest from the historical rivals.

3. and 2. Detroit Red Wings at Anaheim Ducks (x 2) Friday and Sunday

The Red Wings get to hang in Orange County this weekend, but it will be all business as they look to strengthen their playoff position against arguably the top team in the Western Conference. The Anaheim Ducks have been led by the usual suspects in Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and rookie Viktor Fasth. The Ducks made their case for kings of the west with a dramatic come-from-behind win against first place Chicago on Wednesday night. Detroit enters the weekend fray with Euro twins Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk on offense and Niklas Kronwall and goalie Jimmy Howard on defense. Last weekend Detroit won a pair of big road games, but two games in three days against a Ducks team that is welcoming Perry back from a four game suspension will have a distinct playoff feel to it.

1.Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins, Sunday

There is no better rivalry in hockey right now and with a consecutive winning streak potentially on the line Sunday, the Flyers would love to end it. Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang and James Neal welcome back Evgeni Malkin on Friday after being out two weeks with injury. The Penguins haven’t missed a beat as Crosby has been head and shoulders above the rest of the NHL this season. Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Scott Hartnell and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov will be looking to make up some ground after a slow start. There would be no better way to begin a playoff push of their own with a win against their hated in-state rival.