Smashville VS. Hockeytown!
I want to start this post off with a over view of the Detroit Red Wings regular season for 2011- 2012.
The Detroit Red Wings 2011-2012 regular season had its fair share of highs and lows. The biggest high of the 2011-12 season was the 23 consecutive home winning streak the Wings were on through most of the year. This was a new record for the NHL. The Red Wings broke the record February 19th when they hosted the San Jose Sharks at the Joe. This was a big high for most of the fans in Detroit, but everything must come to an end. This high was followed very shortly by the biggest low of the season when the Wings won only seven of their last twenty games after the Vancouver Canucks stopped the streak at 23 on February 23rd. The Detroit Red Wings finished the season with 48 wins, 28 losses and 6 overtime losses. With this record the Wings were able to hang onto the 5th spot in the West for their 21st consecutive playoff appearance, another piece of history the Red Wings have made.
The first round of the 2011-2012 playoffs has the Nashville Predators facing off against the Detroit Red Wings. This match up is going to be in my opinion one of the best playoff series in round one next to the Pens and Flyers series in the East. The last time these two teams met in the post season was in 2008 when the Wings would go on to win the cup three rounds later. The series in 2008 was a tough series for the Wings seeing their goaltender Dominik Hasek get pulled and Goaltender Chris Osgood come in as his relief. The Preds almost pushed the Wings out of the playoffs until the point when Osgood came up big, like he always did in the playoffs, to take the series.
This year in the regular season the Red Wings and Predators split the season series 3-3 and both teams have some key star players on their side. Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Howard for the Wings and Rinne, Weber and Legwand for Preds. With all these awesome players on both teams you can bet that this series will be great for any hockey fan!
This series will come down to the goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Jimmy Howard. Both Goaltenders were great for their teams this year and are both going to show everything they’ve got in this round. Pekka Rinne’s stats for the season were SV%.923 GAA 2.39 SO 5 and Jimmy Howards stats were SV%.920 GAA 2.12 SO 6. Both goaltenders have great stats and it will be
Well that was a season
With the season wrapping up and the Oilers trailing from early season proposed projections of coaching, management, and fans, lets look at what we can take away from the season, what needs to improve, and this year’s most baffling stories.
The Holy Trinity
Our saviour.
So by now, every media outlet has touched on Eberle. What a year. 33 goals and 42 assists put him in the same point production company as Gaborik, Thorton, Kopitar, and Hossa. At such a young age, Eberle is a bright star poised to go super nova (in a good way) in years to come.
The Nuge.
Exceeding everyone’s expectations, the Nuge is nothing short of a wizard that has the potential to be the Oiler’s best player in the years to come. An early runaway for the Calder, his injury limited him to 51 points in 60 games, good enough for third on the team behind Hall and Eberle. There have also been extensive articles written on just how good the Nuge is. Two things are important from these articles. First, other than Crosby, for his age during his rookie season, the Nuge is in the top three category for points per game since 2000. That puts him in a class alongside Kane and Toews, well above other prominent stars like Stamkos, Getzlaf, and Nash. It’s important to note this looked at players 18 and 19 making Ovechkin and Malkin ineligible. The second important point is how well the Nuge progressed through the year, taking a much higher percentage of defensive zone starts without dropping in point production, or goals against percentage. In short, in his first year, the Nuge became nothing but better at two way play while still maintaining a high level of production.
Hall.
Despite also garnering some weird injuries, Hall managed to produce, usually paired without the help of Eberle and the Nuge. The best thing about Hall is his insane competition level. He competes literally every shift. Moreover, his desire to return to the game even after said injuries was noticeable. How many players could be stepped on by Corry Potter and think, ‘I’ll just go get my entire face stitched up, then hop on the bike and see if I can return next period?’ Watching opposing defense gum up the Oilers in the neutral zone, it’s always a blast to see them backing off as Hall blasts up ice. He’s criticized for his fearlessness, but without it he couldn’t create as much space for other players as he currently does. Though there are many, my favorite Hall moment this year was the game he returned from his face injury, he went down to try and block a shot on an empty net with seconds left, even though the Oilers were down two goals. The kid just doesn’t know how to give up and that’s something we haven’t had in a long time.
Under the radar
For a team on the rebuild, questions for goal loom large. However, since the Oilers were left out of the playoff race, Dubnyk finally got his shot. It was expected at the beginning of the year he’d challenge Habby for the number one spot. That didn’t go as planned. But since being put out night after night, Dubnyk has developed into a consistent tender. His save percentage is .915. That’s better than Nabokov, better than Varlomov, better than Bryzgalov, better Hiller, Brodeur, Pavelec, and even better than Fleury. Not bad considering Dubnyk is ‘still developing’. His consistency has always been questioned, but since being thrown into the role after the Allstar break, he’s been great and is deserving of becoming Edmonton’s number one. I don’t think Dubnyk is going to steal many games throughout the season, but he’ll certainly give the team in front of him chances to win on a consistent basis. It’s also worth noting he’s doing this on a team known for having one of the worst defense ranks in the league.
WTF
Our vets, what did you expect? By far the biggest disappointment has been the veterans, but have they really? Ryan Jones started off the year on maybe my favorite line to watch, Smyth, Horcoff, Jones. Not the most skilled line but damn if they didn’t get the job done. Since then, both Ryans have been criticized for poor play. However, Ryan Jones makes 1.5 million dollars a year and has scored 17 goals, has 15 assists, and has done it with limited play time on various lines throughout the year. Honestly, I still consider this Tambellinie’s best acquisition since becoming GM. What more can you expect from a guy getting paid 1.5 million a year? I can name ten players off the top of my head who make triple his money, and produce three times less points.
Smyth as well has been criticized. Obviously he comes with a huge price tag and as we all know when he was traded in the first place, he isn’t worth that amount of money. But, there are very few players like him in the entire league. What you get is an immovable object in front of the net, a great presence in the locker room, an unparalleled mullet and twenty goals a year. Sure he has nineteen this year but really that’s splitting hairs. He is the heart and soul of the Oilers, is invaluable on the powerplay, and scores twenty goals a year. Even with his ridiculous contract, which of course won’t be the same next year, he gets paid less per goal than a host of other ‘top end’ players. He doesn’t take nights off, and other than only Hall, he is the hardest competing player on the team and indicative of the type of heart the Oilers used to display.
Hemsky. I’ve written enough on the subject of Hemsky. Simply put someone needs to beat him over the head. I am sick of him and I look forward to seeing what injury will shelf him next year, making room for someone like Paajarvi or Hartikainen. Also his injury will finally prompt management, media, and fans to at last give up waiting for him to become the ‘elite level talent’ we’ve all been sold on for too many years.
Was it really that bad?
I look at other teams around the league with better goal tending, better defense, top level talent, years of consistently making the playoffs, great coaching, and high paid rosters, then I look at how they too are going to miss the playoffs. Teams like Washington and San Jose fighting for a spot. Teams like Buffalo built from the net out who for one reason or another just couldn’t put it together. Then I look at teams that by all accounts shouldn’t make the playoffs. Teams like Pheonix and St. Louis. These teams play a system, are well coached and have consistent goal tending, but outside of that really should not be as good as they are. And yet, they are that good. It goes to show that for whatever reason, elite teams can be below average, and mediocre teams can be great. A lot has been said about what Edmonton needs going forward and much of that is true. Personally, I think outside of a few holes here and there, we have the pieces to be a deep, skilled, contending team. Those pieces just need to somehow fit. Just look who we have down in Oklahoma. Magnus, Lander, Omark, Tuebert, and Hartikinen. Talk about depth. Again, the pieces are there, somehow, we just need to make them fit and play up to their demonstrated levels night in and night out. Once again I look forward to next year and can at the very least take away some great moments from this year. Other than Kipper and Iginla, that’s a hell of a lot more than Flames fans can say. See you on the passing escalator Calgary.
San Jose Sharks Once Again in Driver’s Seat for NHL Pacific Division Title
As the San Jose Sharks travel Wednesday to Anaheim they hold the division lead. But a loss could drop them to eighth if the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars win that night. Another loss on the next night to a Phoenix Coyotes team ready and waiting for them and they are right back out of the playoffs.
The Sharks are unlikely to possess any tiebreaks advantages in the division, so they have to hold their one-point lead to win the division. So how exactly is San Jose in the driver’s seat?
Simple—schedule.
The Calgary Flames are the only team they are fighting for position with not on their docket over the final two weeks of the season. Two games a piece were against their top two contenders and one a piece over their next two. Calgary and the Colorado Avalanche (who the Sharks beat 5-1 in their final meeting Monday) are the furthest back in the standings.
The more of those games you win, the better your standing would be. No other team can do as much damage with its own success and no team has as much control over its fate as they do.
The San Jose Sharks need to win their fifth straight Pacific Division to play into late May
Thus, the Northwest Division winner, top three teams in the Pacific Division and the top four of the Central almost certainly reach the playoffs. No NHL Pacific team is going to finish anywhere but third, seventh or eighth. That means the non-division winner will play the St. Louis Blues or Vancouver Canucks…the Sharks have two wins against them combined in 13 games over the past 12 months, one of which was a shootout unavailable in the playoffs.
This is not to say they cannot win a series against one of the teams. But those struggles are no fluke, either.
The Sharks game starts with puck possession. Offensively, they get a lot of pucks to the net (second in the league in shots per game) to generate rebounds. Defensively, they are not physical but block shots and clear rebounds to hold opponent chances down.
The Blues clog passing and shooting lanes to limit those chances, and are very physical to prevent clean entries and rebounds. They wait for opponent mistakes—something San Jose yields often, especially when being frustrated on the scoreboard—to get quality scoring chances.
The Canucks have better speed than the Sharks and are one of the few teams that can best them on draws. Their high-level forwards are at least as good and they are deeper among all their skaters. They will have home ice and more gas in the tank because no team has had as brutal a stretch over the final two months of the season as San Jose.
San Jose is not in the playoffs to lose in the first round. They have done that just once in the seven prior seasons under Doug Wilson’s watch. If they are not going to win in the first round, there is no point in making it.
The best chance the Sharks have to get back to the Western Conference Finals (an accomplishment considering the way the season has gone) is to win a first-round matchup early and get some much needed rest. Then they can hope for an upset to avoid either team in the second round or produce that upset themselves.
It is not as if the fourth place team in the Central Division will not be tough, but the Sharks are closer in talent and match up better against the Chicago Blackhawks. Better yet, if hobbled the Detroit Red Wings fall further, the Sharks get their dream matchup—the team against whom they have 14 wins over the last 20 games.
The Sharks have struggled against the Ducks (1-4) and Coyotes (2-3), but play them only once each. They play the Stars (3-0-1) and Kings (2-2) twice each in succession, like mini-playoff series. Whoever comes out with the most points in those games probably wins the division.
For the sake of the division, that team had better be San Jose or Los Angeles. They are the only teams with enough talent to beat the Western Conference elite Canucks, Predators or Blues.
I did not say they could not win the series, just that they could not beat them. Teams like the Stars and Coyotes are in the playoff hunt because they take advantage of teams not playing their best. That does not work well in the playoffs because those other teams have to let a game go to lose more than they win, and more than one for the three elite.
The Kings or Sharks could actually beat them. When they are playing their best—which has been far too seldom this season, the reason they are having to fight their way into the playoffs—they are true contenders. Only they have a real chance to advance beyond the second round.
Red Wings Injury Woes Dampen Playoff Hopes
By Toni Simovski
About a month ago, the Detroit Red Wings were starting to really roll through the season. They were in the midst of a 23 game home winning streak and were on top of the overall league standings in the NHL. Many felt that the Wings were one the favorites to win the Stanley Cup with their stellar play- especially at home. Then the injury bug started to decimate the team creating a growing concern among Red Wing fans that a long playoff run now looks doubtful. First, it was goaltender Jimmy Howard who suffered a broken pinky finger during the Vancouver Canucks game on February 2nd. Howard was leading the league in wins by several games over Nashville Predator goalie Pekka Rinne and was even being discussed as a Vezina Trophy candidate at the time. But the Wings withstood his injury because of the stellar play of Joey Macdonald who replaced Ty Conklin as the backup goalie after Conklin’s dreadful play. Then came the first real major injury to the Red Wings everyday lineup- Pavel Datsyuk. The current streak of poor play can be traced back Pavel’s knee injury after a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on February 19th that extended their NHL record for home consecutive victories to 23. The home winning streak would come to an end in the very next home game against the Vancouver Canucks on February 23rd in a 4-3 shootout loss.
The Red Wings then suffered their second big injury to their captain and legendary defensemen Nick Lidstrom (who suffered a deep bone bruise) after a loss to the Colorado Avalanche on February 25th. Since their win against San Jose on February 19th , the Red Wings have gone 3-8-3 since and have plummeted to the 5th seed in the West. It also appears with eight games remaining that they will not catch the St. Louis Blues who look poised to take the number 1 overall seed in the West going into the playoffs. The poor play was highlighted with a dreadful 0-32 streak on their anemic power play which continues to struggle without Nick Lidstrom. In addition to Datsuyk and Lidstrom, the Wings have also lost the following players during this period: Todd Bertuzzi, Jonathan Ericsson, Jakub Kindle, Johan Franzen, Darren Helm and Joey MacDonald. MacDonald’s recent injury couldn’t have come at a worse time as starting goaltender Jimmy Howard has had to miss a few games due to a nagging groin injury which forced the Red Wings to call up Ty Conklin from Grand Rapids to play against the New York Rangers (a 2-1 overtime loss). It also appears that Daniel Cleary is playing hurt and simply cannot get a rest as the team awaits the return of their injured players. The injuries have shown that even the mighty Red Wings, who have been able to avoid such stretches in the past because of their depth and farm system, are not immune to the attrition that the NHL season has caused to other teams over the years.
There could be a silver lining with all these injuries though. Many of the players have slowly stared to return such as Pavel Datsuyk and Todd Bertuzzi. Jimmy Howard and Nick Lidstrom are expected to be back for Saturday’s game with the Carolina Hurricanes. The rest of the players should return for the 2012 playoff run with one lone exception- Darren Helm. However, the speedy Helm is expected to return at some point during the first round of the playoffs. Some fans are hoping to see a tremendous push as there was 2 years ago during the 2009/2010 season when a decimated Red Wings team made it into the playoffs (after some fears that they could miss the playoffs for the first time in 20 years) and ended up with the 5th seed and knocking out the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round before losing in 5 to the San Jose Sharks in the second round. Will they be able to catch lightning-in-a-bottle and take off in the playoffs as some fans are hoping? That remains to be seen. But as we’ve seen over the years, the NHL playoffs seem to be the most unpredictable of all the major sports so anything is possible… as long as the injured Red Wings come back.
2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Pacific Division Odds by Round
Right now, the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues are almost locks to win their divisions. The Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks are fighting for fourth to sixth.
Finishing sixth might be the best route to a deep playoff run. The other teams will have to play each other while the “loser” plays a team with a worse record. That team will be whichever one of the following wins the Pacific Division: Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks.
The other three teams will fight with the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames for the last two spots and play the powerhouse division champs. It is quite likely that the spread between the four Pacific Division teams will be no more than one game two points, and the teams that miss the playoffs should reach 90 points.
The Stars have the best chance of making the playoffs because of their current position, followed by the Kings, Coyotes and Sharks. According to 95.7 “The Game” in the Bay Area, an odds calculator gave the Sharks a 37 percent chance.
The clock malfunction that gave Drew Doughty this goal Feb 1 could be the difference in them winning the division vs. missing the playoffs
However, that is probably too low given six teams fighting for three spots indicates an average 50 percent chance: Because of the limited number of games remaining, the Avs are less likely than any Pacific Division team to make the top-eight; the Flames chances are even lower as they play the toughest schedule and are currently in the worst position.
Meanwhile, the Stars and Sharks could flip places on the basis of their two remaining games alone. If San Jose wins both in regulation (and they are 3-1-0 against Dallas this season), they pass the Stars. So any team’s advantage in odds over another should be slim. Likewise, the division winner will be one of four teams, giving an average chance at 25 percent and with thin margins between them.
With the help of their schedules adjusting their current standing, I give the following chances at the playoffs and division by team:
- Kings: four in five to make playoffs and one in three to win their division
- Stars: three in four and one in four (P)
- Coyotes: two in three and one in five (P)
- Sharks: one in two and one in six (P)
- Avs: one in three and one in 100 (Northwest)
- Flames: one in 20 and one in 200 (N)
That gives the Pacific Division just over a 75 percent chance of grabbing all three playoff spots and about 20 percent to grab exactly two. The division winner would have home ice and have the advantage of the battle to get into the playoffs. That might be enough to propel them past the weakest of the four Central Division teams. But anyone that cannot win that battle cannot handle the Blues or Canucks in the first round.
I would put the chances of the division winner beating what is likely to be the Chicago Blackhawks—probably with Jonathan Toews—at about even not knowing which team they will face. The Blues might be vulnerable since they are without playoff experience, but they will likely face the worst of the playoff teams. Thus, whichever two teams are in those spots have at best a one in eight chance of advancing, putting the chances of either advancing at under one in four.
What does this mean for the Pacific chances of making it beyond the first round? I include the equations for those who care…
- Under a 70 percent chance at least one team makes it to the second round = .5 (chances division winner advances) + .75 (chances the division lands three teams in playoffs) x .25 (chances one of the non-division winners advance) + .2 (chance that only two teams make the playoffs) x .12 (chance that one team advances)
- About a 10 percent chance two teams advance = .5 x .75 x .25 (chance division winner and one of two other teams advance) + .5 x .2 x .12 (chance division winner and only other Pacific Division team advance) + .5 x .75 x .016 (chance only both non-division winners advance)
- Less than a one percent chance three teams advance—assuming the division is limited to the third, seventh and eighth seeds, this is the only result that avoids matching up against a non-division team in the second round and the only way any team from the Pacific Division would get home ice once they are there.
Without home ice, no Pacific Division team has better than a one in five chance against any non-division team that advances. That means the chance of one of them making the conference finals is about 20 percent. The chance they represent the conference in the Stanley Cup Finals is about four percent. The chance they win it all is less than one percent.
‘Elite’
Ales Hemsky records his first career hat trick. This is Hemsky’s eight season in the NHL. For a guy who has been herald as an ‘elite’ level talent, why did it take so long to record his first hat trick?
I don’t want to take anything away from the guy, and there are lot worse contracts out there; I’m looking at you Gomez. However, eight years and this is his first career hat trick? My criticism falls squarely on any of the media that has ever used the word ‘elite’ in the same breath as ‘Hemsky.’ I am sick of hearing it. It’s simply not true and here are the definitive numbers to back it up.
Now, when someone says ‘elite’ I think top five players in the entire league, that is what elite means, the best of the best. Hell, it’s such a deep league, I’ll even concede to top 20. But, have other players outside the elite range scored hat tricks any time in eight years of the NHL?
Lets start with a team close to home, the Oilers, in the eight years Hemsky has been an Oiler, who else has gotten a hat trick? Well there’s Taylor Hall ( 2nd season) Ryan Jones (6th season) RNH (1st season) Sam Gagner (5th season) Ryan Smyth (5th hat trick in his 10th season). Hell, even Raffi Torres as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets scored a hat trick against the Oilers (on a side note, the guy has 14 goals and 8 assists this year and gets paid 1.75 mill on the Coyotes. Compared to Ales’ 8 goals and 5 mill a year, I think we’re getting screwed).
Ah, but you say Hemsky is a set up man, and therefore shouldn’t be bothered with hat trick goal scoring. What about other ‘elite’ set up men? In 12 seasons Martin St. Louis has had six hat tricks. Henrick Sedin has had five in 11 seasons. Even Danny Brier who only has 14 goals and 26 assists got a hat trick this year. Now that’s not to say how easy this feat is, it’s just that in eight seasons the true ‘elite’ level talent get hat tricks a lot more than the one Ales has mustered during his time in the NHL.
Again, no slight on Hemsky, good on him for producing and playing hard lately. But, shame on the media pumping up this player into something he’s not, something he’s never been, and something he’ll never be, elite. Just because you’ve had two 70 point plus seasons does not make you elite, it makes you accountable. So keep playing hard, prove me wrong, but so far all that you’ve proven is that you’re overhyped by the media and overpaid by the Oilers.
Here’s hoping you can make our second line a legitimate producer next year, and thanks for showing up tonight in a game that meant nothing.
San Jose Sharks, L.A. Kings Give NHL Pacific Sweep Over Central
At least for one night, the NHL Pacific was better than the NHL Central. Their teams with the second- and third-best point percentages in the division took down their counterpart’s third- and second-best, respectively.
The Central Division has three of the six best teams in the league and four of the top six seeds in the Western Conference all-but-locked up. (The Atlantic Division has four of the top eight teams in the league.) The NHL Pacific is statistically the third-strongest division, but has no team with a top-five record in the conference.
Maybe it was the home ice. Maybe there was a California vibe. Or maybe two struggling teams were finding their form.
The L.A. Kings have gone from a defensive team to a scoring one the last three weeks
After losing in a shootout to the San Jose Sharks Thursday, the Nashville Predators took their best shot at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Kings scored first, but Nashville tied it up in the second.
But an early third period goal seemed to break the Preds. The game went from 1-1 to 4-1 in a period of 8:15. Nashville’s Mike Fisher responded with a late goal, but he could not stop his team from falling behind the Detroit Red Wings not only in the standings, but in actual record because of the results in the far more interesting inter-division matchup.
The Sharks scored in the first two minutes for the third time in four games, eschewing their previous problem with slow starts. Joe Pavelski scored on the first shift with a roof-shot of the loose puck in the crease. Things tightened up and both goalies turned away quality chances until the final two minutes of the period.
That is when the Sharks really found out how much they had been missing Martin Havlat. He ripped a wrist-shot from the high slot to the top corner.
Unfortunately, scoring was once again an Achilles Heel for the defence. As happens much more frequently to the Sharks than their opponents, the very next shift saw the Detroit Red Wings on the attack for an extended period of time. Pavel Datsyuk threw in a sharp-angle goal 23 seconds after Havlat’s score to draw within one.
There was no scoring in a second period when both teams had their highest shots count. But Valtteri Filpula tied the score with 11:48 remaining in the third, and San Jose had to be hoping for a shootout. Even though the wins do not count for tiebreaks, at least they were 7-5 in the skills competition—they were just 1-5 in the five minutes preceding it. That win came four-on-three, and they have been terrible in four-on-four in regulation, as well.
However, Havlat put home a rebound with 97 seconds left. Some Detroit fans may be blaming the officials for the loss, but they should be thanking them. Interference often gets called for similar contact, but Justin Braun was sent into Jimmie Howard by the opposition and pinned atop him. Conversely, the pick that should have been called on Detroit resulted directly in their second goal and got them a point in the standings.
The reality is the game was called loosely all game. There were only two penalties called on San Jose and three on Detroit, with no power play goals resulting. There could easily have been twice that many penalties.
The two skilled teams were more physical than usual, with the Wings out-hitting the Sharks 23-20. But despite having the puck less (even on faceoffs, minus-four in turnover differential), the Sharks not only out-attempted (70-59) and out-shot (35-28) Detroit, but blocked more shots (19-18).
The wins gave the Sharks the best record in the division (.577 to the Dallas Stars .576) and put the Kings in the top-eight.
Dallas Stars NHL Pacific Lead Down to One Game
Wednesday night, the Dallas Stars lost to the Winnipeg Jets. It was the end of their six-game winning streak and nine-game point streak. But it meant much more in the ever-tightening Pacific Division standings.
With the San Jose Sharks shootout victory over the Nashville Predators Thursday, they drew within one game of the leaders. In fact, because of Wednesday’s win by the Anaheim Ducks, fewer than five games separates first and last place.
San Jose could take the division lead with a win over Detroit Saturday
The Sharks are officially listed in ninth place with 80 points. That is one point behind the Phoenix Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, but the Sharks have two and three games in hand over them, respectively.
They have one game in hand over Dallas, who has 83 points. The Stars have a chance to widen their margin with a win at home over the Chicago Blackhawks, who actually are a half-game better than Dallas but almost locked into the sixth seed.
Phoenix earned a split on back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday to stay in the playoff picture, though they now have slipped behind the Calgary Flames for the eighth-best point percentage in the Western Conference. A win by the Los Angeles Kings in Anaheim Friday can move them into the actual top-eight if Calgary loses to the Edmonton Oilers.
With most teams having between 10 and 12 game remaining, a two-game lead between first and fourth place gives four Pacific Division teams a realistic chance to take the title. Keep an eye on the home-and-home games that end the season for L.A. and San Jose. Both teams might well enter those games with a chance to take the division or miss the playoffs entirely.
Habs Earn Shootout Victory Over Sens
The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens are both teams that have learned a thing or two about expectations. Prior to the beginning of the season experts had the Canadiens beings a comfortable playoff team in the east while picking the Senators to finish near the bottom of the standing. Heading into the final stretch of the season both teams have defied these expectations. It is the Senators who appear to be playoff bound and the Canadiens are the team tied for last place.
Looking back, these two teams have experienced nearly opposite seasons. Outside of Eric Cole
Sens travel to Montreal in style. Alfie's rebound season key to the Sens success
Montreal’s veteran players have had a lackluster year, while Ottawa’s veterans have led the way for the Sens including the resurgence of aging captain Daniel Afredson.
Carey Price has also experienced his share of inconsistency in net for the Habs while Craig Anderson has been a stalwart for the Senators. Even when Anderson went down with a freak hand injury Brian Murray was able to land virtually unknown goaltending prospect Ben Bishop who has filled in nearly seamlessly.
While Paul McLean has received much praise and Jack Adams consideration for the Senators’ success, Jacque Martin lost his job due to the Canadiens’ struggles. Despite their contrasting seasons you never would be able to tell if you watched these teams play.
With last night’s 3-2 overtime victory the Canadiens remained undefeated in regulation against Ottawa this season. Montreal has owned the Sens this year with 3-0-1 record. It’s hard to see why the Senators struggle against Montreal while experiencing success against eastern conference leaders New York Rangers.
Daniel Alfredson is one Ottawa player who has had personal success against the Canadiens throughout his career (102 points in 83 games) but was unable to extend the game last night missing on Ottawa’s final shootout attempt. Cary Price stopped all three of Ottawa’s shootout attempts.
With the consolation point Sens are only one point behind Northeast leading Boston Bruins.
Matt Gilroy had an opportunity to end it for the Senators late in overtime but missed an empty net.
Recently acquired goaltender Ben Bishop had a strong game for the Senators but fell to 0-2 in shootouts since arriving in Ottawa.
Erik Karlsson entered the record books twice last night tying Steve Duechesne for most goals by a defensemen in franchise history with 20. He is also the first defensemen since Brian Leetch to record 71 points in their sophomore season.
Dallas Stars Widen Pacific Division Lead, L.A. Kings Close on Playoff Spot
The Dallas Stars ran their record in March to 6-0-0 in Minnesota Tuesday night. Kari Lehtonen turned away all 25 shots he faced while rookie goalie Matt Hackett allowed on in as many shots for the Wild.
The two teams kept play going despite the low number of shots, with only 43 faceoffs in the game. Dallas won 24 and also did a better job taking care of the puck with just one giveaway and four Minnesota takeaways. The Wild had seven giveaways and Dallas one takeaway to raise the net possessions for Dallas to plus-eight, yet Minnesota had just one more hit and two more blocked shots.
The Stars starting winning before their captain Brenden Morrow returned
The Stars have earned 21 of a possible 22 points in their last 11 games and are up on the four-time division champion San Jose Sharks by two full games after their overtime loss in Calgary. The two teams have one head-to-head game left in each arena and San Jose has a game in hand.
Because the Sharks have five fewer regulation and overtime wins (ROW)—the first tiebreak—they must win both matchups in regulation and take the game in hand or find a way to catch up while they play other teams.
After a convincing home win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings are in a better position with regard to the Sharks. Even in points and ROW, they trail San Jose by just a half-game because they have played one more. They host the Sharks twice and play in San Jose once.
Plus, the Kings have obviously benefited from the trade of Jack Johnson for Jeff Carter. They are 6-3-0 and averaging more than three goals per game since the move, but have held up in their own end with 19 goals against despite two overtimes.
They allowed just 24 shots and two goals to the high-powered Wings while registering 27 of their own, thanks in large part to nine fewer misses and three more blocked shots. The Wings won the puck possession battle with one more draw and a plus-four giveaway/takeaway differential to L.A., but the Kings out-hit the Wings by a massive 49-20 margin.
The Kings next “travel” to Anaheim Friday. They have only three games left outside of the time zone and four more than an hour away. However, eight of those games are against teams currently ahead of them in the standings.