Skip to main content

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

Image result for toronto maple leafs

The Lightning won last night against division leader Montreal (Even though they had nothing to play for and were without captain Shea Weber, Jordie Benn, and Alexi Emelin, Tampa Bay was missing Tyler Johnson, J.T. Brown, Jason Garrison, and Steven Stamkos-still.) They pulled out a 4-2 win with two goals from Yanni Gourde and a goal and assist coming from Nikita Kucherov. With the Lightning win, they kept themselves in the playoff race. So have the Islanders, who have won four in a row and need to make it six to get themselves in. 

 The Toronto Maple Leafs are hanging on to the final spot in the East. A loss for the two teams or a Maple Leafs win puts Toronto in the playoffs. The Leafs have an 88 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to HockeyViz.com. They are on a two-game skid, where at the start of the week they were in a divisional slot and looked close to clinching. There is no panic in Toronto, with the answer to the pressure being that the Leafs can lose both of their games and still make the playoffs. The real pressure is on Tampa Bay and New York, the majority of that pressure shifting to the Islanders because they have two games remaining to Tampa's one. Rookie Auston Matthews said "I don't know why we wouldn't" when he was asked if the Maple Leafs were still confident about their playoff chances. 

 They can clinch tonight.

Comments

Post a Comment

Double Shifted Top 5

Recap: April 2

Sunday night was an interesting one. Stars shined, players were injured, and rising heroes emerged. So, just your average NHL game day. The Bruins kicked off Sunday with a big win against the conference-clinching Blackhawks. Anton Khudobin had a night, outperforming the Blackhawks with only two goals against and stopping a flurry of great chances in the waning seconds as the Blackhawks pulled their goalie. I'd like to see him play in a playoff series and discover if he can become  the next Devan Dubnyk story. Final: Bruins 3, Blackhawks 2 The Islanders and the Sabres met in Buffalo, New York not having been eliminated yet. The Islanders got an early lead on a Cal Clutterbuck goal, his fifth of the year. Evander Kane tied it up but the Isles answered back quickly on a Joshua Ho-Sang goal. They never looked back, as Anders Lee would score twice in the third. Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves to put the Islanders five points out of a playoff spot. Final: Islanders 4, Sabres 2 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recap: April 4

Only six teams were active last night-the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Florida Panthers. Let's take a quick look at how those games went. Maple Leafs at Sabres There was no score with under five minutes to go in Buffalo, but the Maple Leafs changed that, getting three goals from Leo Komarov, Auston Matthews, and James Van Riemsdyk in 43 seconds to give the Leafs a 3-0 lead heading into the second. Matthews' goal was his 39th of the year, which gave him his 67th point and the new Maple Leafs rookie scoring record. In the second period, Ryan O'Reilly scored to cut the lead to two, but Nazem Kadri would score his 31st in the third to put the game away. Jack Eichel scored at 19:04 of the third period, but it wasn't enough as Frederick Andersen hung on and made 20 saves. Final: Maple Leafs 4, Sabres 2 Senators at Red Wings No goals were scored through the first period. In the second, Frans Nie...
Post a Comment
Read more

Brad Marchand Does Another Stupid Thing

Somehow still complains about the call.  Well, Brad Marchand , you've done it again. Marchand is having a career year right now, with a career-high 85 points, career-high 39 goals and a career-high 46 assists. He ranks second in goal-scoring to only Sidney Crosby, and is fourth in points. Before the season began, Marchand was selected to go to the World Cup of Hockey to represent Canada, no small honor. He helped Canada place first, and during this season could have jumped to superstar status. Instead, he started looking like a dirty player. Marchand slew-footed Niklas Kronwall late January of this year. He got away without a suspension, and only had to pay the maximum fine ($10,000). And that wasn't the first time. Marchand had a dirty hit in 2012 that cost him a five-game suspension. He then got suspended in 2014-15 for slew-footing Derick Brassard for two games. He got suspended in 2015 for three games for another dirty hit that cost him the opportunity to play in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Western Conference Playoff Picture

Western Conference Playoff Picture With the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues clinching their playoff spots, there is only one remaining spot left for Western Conference teams, the second wild card spot. The Nashville Predators look like they have the spot locked up. They can clinch with a win against the Minnesota Wild today and a Los Angeles Kings loss tomorrow. The Kings are at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to face the Arizona Coyotes. The Kings are the only team out of a playoff spot that hasn't been mathematically eliminated yet. The Colorado Avalanche, Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, and Winnipeg Jets have all fallen out of playoff contention. With the teams set, let's look at the probable seedings for the first round of the playoffs. Central Division First Seed- Chicago Blackhawks  The Blackhawks have been on a roll in their last eleven games, losing only one contest in regulation and beating top-tier teams such as Pittsburgh ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Struggles in San Jose: The Free Agency Problem

IMPORTANT DECISIONS LAY AHEAD FOR DOUG WILSON AND THE SAN JOSE SHARKS The Sharks made waves last offseason, first pursuing top free agent John Tavares, and following him signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, they went out and traded for superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson. Now, Karlsson received a monster 8-year, 11.5 million extension, leaving the Sharks with just $14 million in cap space and free agents such as Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Kevin LaBanc, Gustav Nyquist, Timo Meier, and Joonas Donskoi all needing new deals. Extensions given out to players like Logan Couture, Evander Kane, and Brent Burns needed to be given out, but it leaves the Sharks in a rough position. If I’m Sharks GM Doug Wilson, I’m happy with what I’ve done. It’s all but official that captain Joe Pavelski won’t be a Shark anymore. It’s a sad story after all Pavelski has done for the franchise, and the fan favorite will be missed in San Jose, but it’s time to move on. The Sharks can not afford a long term, e...
Post a Comment
Read more