Couldn't watch the game due to a 3 hour lecture I have Monday nights, but San Jose defeated Calgary 2-1 from goals by Jonathan Cheechoo and Dan Boyle's 5-on-3 power play marker. Jarome Iginla scored the lone goal for Calgary. With the win, San Jose now holds a 4 point lead over Detroit for the highest point total in the league with 6 games left in the regular season for both teams. It was San Jose's first road win since defeating Anaheim 1-0 on March 15th.
Here are the highlights:
No power rankings for this Sunday.
Totally blanked my mind last afternoon because school is starting and I already got assigned homework. Disgusting.
So hopefully I'll remember it this coming up Sunday for a two week edition.
With 7 games left in the season, the San Jose Sharks had one game in hand over the Detroit Red Wings for a shot at a two point lead in the league and Western Conference. But they were facing a team that handed them a heartbreaking loss one week ago: the Phoenix Coyotes. But in a game where most of the scoring came from the unlikeliest of skaters, the Sharks held on to win 3-2, setting a franchise record in points with 109, and taking a 2 point lead in the race for the President's Trophy.
After a first period with multiple turnovers and very few offensive chances, the game opened up offensively. A little over two minutes into the second period, defenseman Kurt Sauer snapped a 109 game goal scoring drought after he pinched in behind San Jose's net, and quickly swung the puck past Evgeni Nabokov on a wrap-around shot to give the Coyotes the 1-0 lead. But under a minute later, Jody Shelley scored his second career goal , blocking a clearing attempt with his body, then quickly shooting the puck under Ilya Bryzgalov's pads to tie the game 1-1. Then just two minutes later, Devin Setoguchi threw a puck from the side boards towards the Phoenix net. The pass hit Tom Cavanagh's stick, and deflected over Bryzgalov, who went down low to stop the initial shot by Setoguchi, and Cavanagh scored his first career National Hockey League goal and gave San Jose the 2-1 lead. But Matthew Lombardi continued the scoring frenzy a minute later, taking advantage of a 2-on-1 break for the Coyotes. He tried to pass the puck across the crease to Shane Doan, but Brad Lukowich brought his stick down to block. That actually helped Lombardi, as Nabokov was playing the pass and the puck slid underneath his arm and the game was tied once again 2-2. The offensive pace did not slow down, but the only goal to be scored after was on an early power play opportunity for the San Jose Sharks. Joe Pavelski received a centering pass from Christian Ehrhoff, and wristed a hard shot past Bryzgalov on the far side to give the Sharks the game winning 3rd goal.
The win gives San Jose 49 on the regular season, and improved on the league's best home record, bringing it up to 31-3-4. San Jose now holds a 2 point lead over Detroit for the league's highest point total, with both teams having 7 games remaining in the season. The Phoenix Coyotes, who are last in the Pacific Division, are already out of the playoff picture, but continue to impact the postseason as they defeated Vancouver two nights ago. The power play goal by San Jose extended their scoring streak with the man advantage to seven games in a row. After losing the last two road games, Nabokov made 25 saves in the win. The Sharks were mostly without their captain Patrick Marleau, as he left midway through the second period with an undisclosed injury and never returned from the locker room. After the quick homestand, San Jose will head back on the road for a two game road trip, playing in Calgary on Monday night.
The San Jose Sharks entered Thursday night hoping for a point, as they were playing their game in hand over Detroit. Nashville needed the full 2 points to put themselves back in a tie for 8th place in the air tight playoff race in the West. In a game where the Sharks looked to be rolling to get a 2 point lead in the NHL, the Nashville Predators changed the outcome in a hurry, scoring 3 unanswered goals in a span of 2:38 in the second period, and held off a late San Jose power play to win the game 3-2.
San Jose got off to a great start thanks to their specialty teams. Christian Ehrhoff took the puck on the point and passed it to Joe Pavelski in the high slot, who turned around and wristed it past Pekka Rinne on the power play to give the Sharks the 1-0 lead. Then a little over 3 minutes into the second period, Devin Setoguchi added a power play marker of his own, scoring his 30th goal of the season as a Dan Boyle shot bounced off Rinne and across the other side of the crease to Setoguchi's stick for a wide open shot. But after a Jody Shelley penalty gave Nashville their 3rd power play of the night, the momentum shifted in a hurry. Radek Bonk scored on the power play, as Shea Weber and Bonk drove the net on opposite sides, and Weber slid a hard pass across the front of Evgeni Nabokov for a tap in goal by Bonk. Then two minutes later, Steve Sullivan took the puck behind San Jose's net, faked a wrap around, and instead centered a pass to Martin Erat who squeezed the puck under Nabokov's arm to tie the game. Just over 30 seconds later, Greg Zanon blasted a shot from the point that Nabokov never saw due to a screen set up by Nashville, and the Predators completely turned the game around, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to lead 3-2. Rinne then took over the game, making 13 of his 29 saves in the third period, including several good chances on a late power play in the final 3 minutes of the game, and the Predators defeated the Sharks.
In their last 10 road games, the Sharks are 3-4-3. After a road shutout in Anaheim, San Jose has allowed at least 3 goals in their last 3 road games: all of which were losses. With the win, the Predators snapped a 3 game overtime losing streak. San Jose killed off 12 straight power plays before allowing in Radek Bonk's power play goal. Nashville went 1-4 with the man advantage while San Jose scored on their first two opportunities but failed to capitalize on the last two. With the loss, the Sharks remain tied with the Red Wings for first place in the league at 107 points, with 8 games remaining in the season for both teams. The win puts Nashville back in a tie with Anaheim for 7th place in the West, bumping down Edmonton to 9th, but the Oilers play the Coyotes late Thursday night. The Predators were playing without David Legwand, who took a puck to the face in their last practice and could not skate due to swelling. The Sharks were still full of injuries, but they welcome backed Patrick Marleau, who missed Wednesday's game due to the birth of his second child. San Jose's next game will be a one game home stand against the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday night. The season series between the two teams is tied at 3 wins each, with the Coyotes the most recent victors on a 4-3 win at home off a late Shane Doan power play goal.
The last time the San Jose Sharks visited the Chicago Blackhawks in the United Center, it was an 11 goal game where the Sharks scored 2 late power play goals to come back from behind to win 6-5. In the final meeting between these two franchises in what could be a second round matchup in the Western Conference playoffs, the Sharks and the Blackhawks lived up to the expectations set back in November, scoring 10 goals in 65 minutes of play before Chicago won in the shootout.
The Blackhawks dominated the Sharks offensively in the first period, spending most of the time in the San Jose end of the ice. Martin Havlat scored his 25th goal a little over a minute into the first period to give Chicago the early lead 1-0, as a shot off the far post bounced right onto his stick for a redirected shot into a wide open net. But San Jose took full advantage of a Chicago penalty a few minutes later, as they spent almost the entire 2 minutes in the offensive zone on the power play, before Devin Setoguchi blasted a shot from the point to tie the game 1-1. But a couple of San Jose turnovers cost them, as the Blackhawks scored 2 more goals in the first half of the opening period. Dustin Byfuglien capitalized off a neutral zone turnover, and wristed a shot that went off of Evgeni Nabokov's glove and over the San Jose goalie into the net for the 2-1 lead. Then a minute later, Havlat intercepted a pass in front of the San Jose net, and dropped it off for Andrew Ladd who rifled a shot past Nabokov for a 3-1 lead.
But San Jose got help from their young forwards in the second period, and began to chip away. Cam Barker assisted on the first goal of the second period, blasting a puck from the side boards that bounced off Nabokov's pads and off of Jonathan Toews's skate, which redirected the puck into the net to give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. But the Sharks went back to basics, as they began throwing pucks towards the net from all angles to try and score goals. Jamie McGinn tried to feed Ryan Vesce, who was in front of Nikolai Khabibulin, from a sharp angle, but the puck bounced off a Chicago defender's skate and into the net to bring San Jose within 2 goals. Then, strong forechecking by Jonathan Cheechoo caused the puck to bounce towards Joe Thorton, who passed the puck backhanded to Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who pinched in from the blue line and fired a slapshot past Khabibulin to cut the deficit to 1 goal. Chicago also had several opportunities to extend their lead near the end of the second, including a great centering pass that left Byfuglien alone in front of Nabokov, but the San Jose goaltender robbed him of a sure goal with the glove.
Again, the Blackhawks got off to a great start, scoring the first goal of the third period. Andrew Ladd had a nice give-and-go play with David Bolland, passing the puck to Bolland who threw a hard pass right back to Ladd's stick for a redirect into the net to give the Blackhawks a 5-3 lead. But two great individual efforts by San Jose's top point producers tied the game late in the third. Joe Pavelski intercepted a pass in the Sharks's defensive zone, and threw a long pass to Setoguchi, who was already skating behind the Chicago defense. Setoguchi went on the breakaway, skated in close to Khabibulin, then lifted the puck high and over the netminder to once again bring San Jose within 1 goal. Then with a little over 2 minutes left in the period, Thorton skated wide around Chicago's defense, got body position around one of the defenders, and quickly shot the puck between Khabibulin's pads to tie the game 5-5. San Jose had several great rebound chances in the final two minutes of the third period that they could not capitalize on, while Chicago ended the overtime period with some great scoring chances of their own, but both defenses made great blocks to send the game to overtime.
Chicago only needed two of the three rounds to win in the shootout, as Patrick Kane used multiple quick stick-handling moves to freeze Nabokov before backhanding it over his glove, and Jonathan Toews simply shot the puck hard between Nabokov's pads before the goaltender could drop down to make the save. Joe Pavelski shot first for San Jose, and had Khabibulin beat, but his high wrist shot rang off the crossbar and did not go into the net. Jeremy Roenick, who was playing in his first game back from a shoulder injury, tried to mimic Toews by making a couple of moves and shooting the puck hard between the legs, but Khabibulin read the play and made an easy save, and Chicago won the game 6-5.
San Jose continued to struggle on the road, as their first game of a back-to-back road trip snapped a 3 game winning streak that was started and ended on home ice. The Sharks continued to remain dominant on the penalty kill, stopping both Chicago attempts and limiting the shots on goal with the man advantage. The game was called rather liberally by the referees, as there were only 4 penalties despite several blatant offenses from both teams throughout the course of the game. The Sharks were down 9 skaters, as Patrick Marleau, Marcel Goc, Mike Grier, Rob Blake, Torrey Mitchell, Ryane Clowe, Claude Lemieux, Tomas Plihal, and Kent Huskins were all out of the game. Marleau was the only one not dealing with injuries, as he took the day off to celebrate the birth of his second child. With the win, Chicago holds off Vancouver's bid for fourth place, as they now hold a 2 point lead over the Canucks. The overtime loss ties San Jose with Detroit for first place in the NHL and Western Conference, but the Sharks have 1 more game left in the season than the Red Wings. San Jose's next game will be the second of a back-to-back, as they travel to Nashville to play the Predators, who are currently two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for 8th place in the West, to finish a quick two game road trip.
The San Jose Sharks are now the best team in the National Hockey League. With 11 games left in the regular season, the Sharks finished strong, completing a 3 game sweep of their homestand after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in the second game of a back to back.
After a 5-2 win against Dallas the day before in which San Jose gave up the first goal, Todd McLellon wanted to emphasize a better start to their game. It took a period and a half but the Sharks scored first, as Jamie McGinn scored his 3rd goal of the season on the power play, tipping an Alexei Semenov shot past Andrew Raycroft to give San Jose the 1-0 lead. But under two minutes later, Scott Hannan scored his first goal of the season against his former team, as Wojtek Wolski slid a pass across the ice through two San Jose defenders onto Hannan's stick, who shot the puck through the legs of Evgeni Nabokov. But with 35 seconds left in the game, Semenov made a perfect pass to Milan Michalek on a 2 on 2 rush. Michalek took the pass off his skate and onto his stick to tip it into a practically empty net to give San Jose the 2-1 lead.
The third period was dominated by the Avalanche's offense, who got 17 shots on goal compared to San Jose's 10. But Evgeni Nabokov stopped them all, including a breakaway chance by Ruslan Salei who was behind San Jose's defense as he had just gotten out of the penalty box. The Avalanche pulled Raycroft with a little over a minute to go, and Nabokov made a couple of key saves as several Avalanche were crashing the net, but Devin Setoguchi made a play at his defensive blue line to steal the puck. He brought it into the offensive zone, made a little stutter step to get around the lone Avalanche defender, and rifled the puck down the middle of the empty net to secure the win with 22 seconds to go.
After going 6 games in a row putting up 30 or more shots on goal, San Jose fell short by a couple against the Avalanche, as they were outshot 32 to 28. The goal by Scott Hannan was his first in 85 games. San Jose spent almost half of the first period killing off penalties, as Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo took a combined 7 penalty minutes. Cheechoo took a 5 minute boarding major and was ejected from the game with a 10 minute game misconduct 13 minutes into the first period, as he hit defenseman Lawrence Nycholat from behind, driving him head-first into the boards. Nycholat would not return to the game after the hit. The Sharks killed off both penalties, and after giving up 3 power play goals to the Coyotes on Tuesday, San Jose has been a perfect 8 for 8 on penalty kills through 3 games, and are perfect against the Avalanche this season, killing off all 8 Colorado power plays through 3 meetings with them this season. Alexei Semenov assisted on the first two San Jose goals, giving him his second career multi-assist game. He took the first star award, and during the postgame interview, Jeremy Roenick stuffed a towel full of shaving cream into the face of Semenov. Semenov had missed the previous two games because San Jose had too many defensemen. With the win, San Jose now has 106 points, good enough for first place in the league with a 1 point lead over Detroit. The loss is another of many for the Avalanche, who are suffering one of their worst seasons in franchise history as they are last place in the Western Conference with 64 points. San Jose's next game will be on the road in Chicago, as they play their first game of a back to back against the Blackhawks who are battling for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Here are the power rankings for last week. A bit late, but I just started spring break so things have been a bit hectic as of late. With around 10 games left in the season for the majority of the teams in the NHL, we look at where teams are in the standings and how they are playing after turning the last corner of the season and racing down the playoff stretch.
Note: due to the lateness of this post, I am taking into account all games played on Sunday, March 22nd. Normally I only consider games up to Saturday, as I usually post by early Sunday afternoon.
1 (4). San Jose Sharks (106 points) - The phrase "home sweet home" has never meant more to a team than the San Jose Sharks. After losing 6 of 9 with 6 of those games on the road, the Sharks came back home and have seemingly righted the "fragile" ship, winning 5 of 6. Offense has continued to be the struggle of San Jose's game, but they have strung together several wins on the back of solid penalty killing, killing of 15 straight before giving up 3 to Phoenix in their one loss of the past 6 games, and then continuing to blank the opposition's power play. With a 3-1 win over the Avalanche Sunday, the Sharks have now taken advantage of their 2 game advantage over Detroit and are now the sole leaders of the league's highest point total with 106, 1 ahead of the Red Wings. With 10 games left in the season and San Jose getting hot at the right time, the Sharks look to finish strong while overcoming several injuries to their key players.
2 (1). Detroit Red Wings (105 points) - The Red Wings have finally made a decision in goaltending, and it has paid off. Chris Osgood 4 straight games, and the Red Wings have come out on top on all of them. Although not spectacular in goal, allowing a little under 2 goals per game during that stretch, the Red Wings offense, which has carried them all season, continues to score more than enough goals to relieve Osgood of some pressure. The goal now is for Detroit to win the President's trophy for the second time in a row, but both they and the Sharks have 10 games left in the season, and neither of them look to be losing anytime soon. A key game that may determine who comes out on top at the end will be on Monday when the Red Wings travel to Calgary to take on the 3rd place Flames. The last game they have placed against the Flames ended in a 6-5 overtime loss on home ice, but that was also the last game Ty Conklin has played in net for the Wings.
3 (2). Boston Bruins (102 points) - After the Bruins couldn't put together a winning streak and the race for the top spot of the Eastern Conference got tighter and tighter, the Bruins won the biggest game of the year in convincing fashion. Sunday morning Boston hosted the New Jersey Devils, who were only 3 points behind the B's for the lead in the East. But Boston delivered a rare loss to Martin Brodeur, scoring 4 goals and only allowing 1 off a 40 save effort from Tim Thomas, and Boston clinched their division. We'll see how the momentum shifts for the Bruins after a huge win, and if the Wings and Sharks end up losing a couple in the last few games, Boston has a good chance at the President's trophy as well.
4 (3). New Jersey Devils (97 points) - Martin Brodeur has gone 9-2-0 since returning from injury, and his 8th win gave him sole possession of the career win record for goaltenders in the NHL. But his second loss may be just as big as the record win, as he gave up 4 goals against the Boston Bruins. But he was just coming off a 35 save shutout effort against Minnesota and the Boston goals had some crazy deflections that Brodeur could not be fully faulted for. New Jersey still has a shot at the lead in the Eastern Conference as they are only 5 points behind the Bruins. And even if they don't get home ice for the conference finals, as long as they can rebound from this loss they still look to be favorites to win the East.
5 (5). Washington Capitals (96 points) - Washington is right in the mix of things in the upper echilon of the Eastern Conference, but Alexander Ovechkin is making all the headlines after his controversial planned celebration after scoring his 50th goal of the season, the only Capitals player to do so 3 years in a row. Media attention on Ovi could be good news for the rest of the team, as diverted attention could relieve some of the pressure that the Caps are facing as they try to make a bid for first place in the East. Their offense is the centerpiece of the game, and if the Capitals aren't putting up 30 to 40 shots on goal, that means Jose Theodore has to face more shots, and he is prone to let in goals. The Capitals, once a dominant team earlier in the season, are now being shadowed by New Jersey and Boston, and we will see how the team reacts to that in the final stretch.
6 (7). Philadelphia Flyers (88 points) - The Flyers haven't really gotten a huge winning streak going, but they are doing enough to maintain 4th place in the Eastern Conference. It is unlikely that they will catch the Devils for the division lead and home ice in the second round, but the Devils haven't clinched the division yet. Similarly to the Capitals, the Flyers win game through offense by relieving pressure off of Martin Biron and their defense. Biron has been playing well as of late, so that puts a lot less pressure on the forwards. Finding the balance between scoring and good goaltending is the key for the Flyers, and if they can become consistant at both ends of the ice, the Flyers may make the second round of the playoffs interesting for one of the teams in the East.
7 (11). Pittsburgh Penguins (86 points) - A few wins go a long way in a tight conference race, and in the case of the Penguins, a lot of wins go a really long way. In the past 5 weeks, the Penguins went from 9th place and a team hurting in all kinds of ways to a team threatening to take 4th place from the Flyers. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were already tough enough to defend against, but now teams have to account for the likes of Bill Guerin, a revitalized Sergei Gonchar, Chris Kunitz, and Jordan Staal. Fleury hasn't exactly been an outstanding goaltender, but he makes just enough saves to keep the Pens alive long enough for a game winning goal by one of the Penguin superstars. Although the favorites are still New Jersey, Boston, and Washington to go to the conference finals, the Penguins are starting to look like the team that went to the Stanley Cup finals last year.
8 (6). Calgary Flames (88 points) - Exact same problem as last week. In the last 10 games, Calgary has dropped 6. In 4 of those losses, the Flames have given up 5 or more goals. The Flames looked to be the scariest offensive team in the West after the trade deadline and they still are, but it has been offset by the lackluster play of Mikka Kiprusoff as of late. The poster boy of the Flames may be Jarome Iginla, but the success of the team in the postseason rides on Kipper. And with the top two teams in the West offense oriented, they will need him to get his game back in the final weeks of the regular season, or they may be eliminated in the first round for the second year in a row.
9 (13). Carolina Hurricanes (85 points) - A week after they were trying to simply get into the playoffs, the Hurricanes are now 6th place in the East. 5 points is the difference between a long summer and a playoff appearance, but the recent play of Cam Ward and the acquisition of Erik Cole has done wonders for their team. They won all 3 games this past week, including wins over New Jersey (against Kevin Weekes), and Washington. The Canes, like the Pens, are looking like the biggest winners from the trade deadline, and if Cam Ward can continue to play like he did his rookie season in the playoffs, the Hurricanes may upset someone in the first round.
10 (9). Vancouver Canucks (85 points) - The Canucks are 2 points behind the Chicago Blackhawks for 4th place in the West but are looking like the favorites to get home ice in the ifrst round. Sundin and Burrows have become the Nucks' leading scorers during their huge stretch of wins, and Luongo is as solid as ever. The Canucks don't look to go past the second round, but a strong first series can do wonders in terms of momentum and the play of a team. And if any goalie can carry a team through the playoffs, it is Roberto Luongo.
11 (8). Chicago Blackhawks (87 points) - The Blackhawks have lost 7 of their last 10 games. Surprisingly, they are still 4th place in the Western Conference, but the recent surge by Vancouver makes their position seem very vulnerable. Home ice advantage may be huge if those two teams face in the first round of the playoffs, and that match-up is becoming more and more likely as the season ends. Nikolai Khabibulin has come back from injury, but has let in several soft goals since his return. He has a few more weeks to set up his "Bulin Wall" once again, but unless he becomes the star goaltender that carried the team earlier this season, the Blackhawks will end their successful season on a sour note.
12 (14). New York Rangers (84 points) - After a tough month of February, the return of Sean Avery, the acquisition of Nik Antropov, and the new coach have all put together a successful month of March. This was especially important for the Rangers as they faced a ton of Eastern Conference bubble teams all trying to steal playoff spots from teams that aren't Boston, New Jersey, and Washington. But the past week had the Rangers beating Philly, Montreal, and Buffalo before losing to Ottawa on Sunday. There is no guarantee of a playoff spot for the Rangers, and it may come down to the last game of the season. But key wins and what looks to be the start of a hot streak may be enough to put them into the playoffs and past the first round.
13 (10). Columbus Blue Jackets (82 points) - The Blue Jackets didn't drop down in rank because of bad play, but rather the rest of the league is starting to feel the pressure of the playoffs and have stepped up as well. But Columbus has won 7 of their last 10, defeating Chicago twice, Boston, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. The Columbus have all but secured their first franchise playoff berth, and with Antoine Vermette meshing with his new team nicely and Steve Mason almost a sure lock for rookie of the year, things are looking pretty good for the Blue Jackets, who look to face a very vulnerable Kiprusoff in the first round.
14 (12). Montreal Canadiens (81 points) - The Canadiens just haven't been able to put wins together. Price has gone soft again, and Halak isn't responding well. Luckily for the Canadiens, none of the bubble teams in the East have been able to win as of late either, but the fact is it is only a 1 point differential between the Canadiens making the playoffs or being sent home early. The team that had the league's top power play for the past two years has died, and it shows in the record. The Canadiens need to find a way to win elsewhere, because it doesn't seem like anyone, including Mathieu Schneider, can fill the void that Mark Streit left in the offseason.
15 (15). Florida Panthers (80 points) - Two weeks ago the Panthers looked like they would be what the Penguins are today: surging out of 9th place and into the middle of the playoff seeding. But instead, they have gone into a slump and find themselves still out of a playoff spot. Luckily for them the East is still an extremely tight race and 3 point games can still go a long way. They still need to find a consistant goaltender, and it doesn't help that their offense has been on and off. Some of this could be attributed to the injury of Bryan McCabe, the line partner of Jay Bouwmeester. He used to be a half-a-point a game scorer, but since his return from injury, he has 0 points and is a -5 in 1 win and 2 losses by the Panthers. Something needs to happen for the Panthers, and they have a big game coming up against Carolina on Monday. A win there could be a good start to a successful end of the season run for a playoff berth.
16 (18). Edmonton Oilers (79 points) - A 3 win week accompanied by recent struggles from other bubble teams has the Oilers finding themselves in 7th place in the West. 3 points seperate them from 9th place, but they have been winning while everyone below them has not. Their line up fluctuates a lot as the coach is trying to find the players on the team who want to win the most rather than just their top point scorers. The strategy seems to be working, especially with Dwayne Roloson's hot streak, but at some point he needs to put his playoff lines together and get them working if he doesn't want to go 0-4 in the first round.
17 (19). Nashville Predators (77 points) - Nashville has points in 4 of their last 5 games, but they are in 8th place more because of struggles by Minnesota, St. Louis, Anaheim, and Dallas than their ability to win games or send them to overtime. Pekka Rinne has had a good 2 month stretch and will be a key part of the Predators getting into the postseason in the final stretch, but their offense has been suffering from injuries and it cannot be relied upon at the end of the season, so the Preds will need some continued help from the bubble teams as well.
18 (20). Minnesota Wild (76 points) - Minnesota improved on their league's worst goals for, and now are out of last place in that category and for the first time all season have more goals than goals against. All this has been done without their superstar Marion Gaborik, who is trying to come back to the team in the final weeks of the regular season. Unfortunately for the Wild, most of the goal scoring has come when the Wild dug themselves in huge holes at the start of games, so they have not been able to convert most of their offensive surges into wins. They are still only 1 point out of a playoff spot, but they will need better play from their recently resigned goaltender if they want to extend their season.
19 (21). St. Louis Blues (75 points) - Only 2 points out of a playoff spot, the Blues need to put together some consistant offense fast. Chris Mason has kept them in most of their recent games, but in the past two weeks, each time the Blues have failed to score more than 2 goals, they have lost. The playoffs are still up for grabs and with each team around them struggling, the Blues have the ability to get the offense going and steal the 8th spot in the West.
20 (17). Buffalo Sabres (76 points) - The Sabres are succumbing to the pressure of the playoff race. Their coach publicly apologized for his team's recent play, saying it was embarrassing. The Sabres have no answer at goaltending, and the loss of Ryan Miller is looking like the key reason why the Sabres are going to miss the postseason this year.
21 (22). Anaheim Ducks (74 points) - The Ducks have been able to beat teams worse than them but not teams better. They find themselves the beneficiaries of two recent games against the Phoenix Coyotes, but have also dropped two games in the past two weeks against the Wild and Sharks. Unfortunately for the Ducks, the schedule remains tough, as they have 2 games against the Predators, Oilers, and Sharks, as well as an away game against the Canucks. The Ducks made it clear at the deadline that they were transitioning into a rebuilding phase, but have managed to stay in the playoff picture, and still have the roster to make a late season push into the 8th spot.
22 (16). Dallas Stars (74 points) - Injuries and a struggling Marty Turco have been the story all season for the Stars. The Stars had a tough road trip this week, losing at Vancouver, Calgary, and then San Jose, and failing to pick up any points in the 3 games. They have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch with a couple of games against top Western Conference teams, but with the way Turco has been playing and Brad Richards out indefinitely after returning from injury for 1 game, nothing will be a given for the Stars.
23 (25). Ottawa Senators (72 points) - The Senators are 9-2-0 in the month of March, with their 2 losses coming from Boston and Calgary. The Sens wish this had happened in the beginning of the season, but bad goaltending had negated the point scoring machine that is the "pizza line" early on. Luckily, they have found Brian Elliot, and they are all probably looking forward to a promising season next year.
24 (24). Toronto Maple Leafs (73 points) - The Maple Leafs have a very slim chance at making the playoffs mathematically, but they don't have the roster or talent to do so. Luckily, they have plenty of opportunities to play spoiler for their Eastern Conference rivals, with 2 games against the Sabres, two games against the Flyers, and a game against the Canadiens coming up.
25 (23). Los Angeles Kings (70 points) - Recent struggles have cost the Kings their bid at a playoff spot, and although they still have a mathematical chance at the 8th seed, the toughest games are still ahead for the Kings, with Calgary, Vancouver, and San Jose waiting at the end of the season. Still, Jonathan Quick has been a surprise for the Kings, and next season may be the year where they finally phase out of rebuilding and start trying to win playoff games.
26 (27). Atlanta Thrashers (66 points) - The Thrashers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games, and are trying to get the most out of all their players in a meaningless end of the season. Still, you have to respect the coaching staff continuing to work on the small details of their forwards as they look ahead towards what looks to be a long offseason for the franchise. They have the scoring talent without a doubt, but they will have to make a decision regarding the future of their goaltending.
27 (28). Phoenix Coyotes (67 points) - Shane Doan vowed that his team would play better, and they had a couple of wins to show for it, including a last second thriller against San Jose. But they have not found a way to defeat the Ducks, and remain dead last in the Pacific Division. The future is there for the Coyotes, but at the same time the future has been the only thing that looked good for the Yotes in the past decade. Needless to say, the postseason will be interesting for the franchise who have been struggling to try and transition out of the rebuilding process.
28 (29). Tampa Bay Lightning (62 points) - Steven Stamkos has been on a scoring tear in the last half of the season. Lecavalier and St. Louis haven't lost their offensive game, so the Lightning will be a scary team next year if they can secure a star goaltender in the offseason.
29 (26). Colorado Avalanche (64 points) - The Avalanche GM started the season saying he expected his team to be contenders for one of the two spots in the Stanley Cup Finals. Instead, the Avalanche find themselves dead last in the Western Conference. Injuries to Sakic and Statsny has killed their offense, and to say their goaltenders have been a disappointment would be the biggest understatement of the year. The Avs will be looking to rebuild during the offseason around their key offensive players who have huge contracts and no-trade clauses. The first area they will look at will be goaltending, but with a lower salary cap expected to be implimented by the league next season, it will be difficult to maneuver around all those contracts.
30 (30). New York Islanders (56 points) - Jonathan Tavares should already be buying a house in Long Island.
Some final thoughts: The Eastern Conference is looking more and more interesting as the West is becoming clearer in terms of playoff seeding. The thing I will be looking at is the play of the Washington Capitals, who have slowed down since the halfway point of the season. Of course, it could be argued that the Caps only had a shot at first place in the conference earlier this year because New Jersey took a couple of weeks deciding between Kevin Weekes and Scott Clemmensen. But needless to say, Washington does not look to be a dominant team anymore, and with all the controversy surrounding their star player, they are ripening themselves up to be prime candidates for a first round upset in the playoffs.
2 days and 2 games after the 90 minute closed door meeting between the entire San Jose Sharks franchise, the Sharks have started to look like the offensive team that brought them up to first place in the league in the first half of the season. The Sharks scored 4 unanswered goals after giving up the first goal of the game against the Dallas Stars, and San Jose would not give up another 3 goal lead as they held on to win at home 5-2.
Loui Eriksson got the scoring started for the Stars, as San Jose spent the first 10 minutes of the first period in their own zone. Eriksson skated behind the net and scored on a wraparound shot that Evgeni Nabokov could not stop in time, and Dallas was off with a 1-0 lead. But the goal seemed to have awakened the offensive game of the Sharks that had been missing for the past month and a half. On the first power play attempt of the night, Joe Thorton shot the puck from the faceoff circle past Marty Turco's shoulder to tie the game 1-1. 29 seconds later, after the San Jose PA announcer finished calling the scoring play of Thorton's goal, Brad Lukowich found himself with the puck right in front of Turco. The shot rebounded off Turco's pads to the side of the net, where Devin Setoguchi was stationed to push the puck into the corner of the net for a 2-1 San Jose lead.
The second period was dominated by the Sharks. After an icing call brought the Stars back into their zone, Joe Pavelski won the faceoff, but the puck bounced off a Stars skater and back in front of Pavelski, who quickly wristed the shot past Turco, similarly to Thorton's goal, to give San Jose the 3-1 lead. Then, just like in the first period, the Sharks struck on the very next shift. 19 seconds after Pavelski scored, Milan Michalek tried to center a pass to Setoguchi who was in front of the net. But the puck bounced off a Dallas skate and into the net for a 4-1 lead. Dallas did have a scoring opportunity, when Nabokov dived for a loose puck to try and freeze it but could not. Instead, the puck was taken by Dallas, who fed Eriksson at the side to try and score a goal while the goaltender was down. But Nabokov made the save sitting up on the ice, and the rebound was cleared away.
Dallas had a chance to come back into the game thanks to an early 3rd period goal. A little over 5 minutes in, Stephan Robidas blasted a puck from the blue line. Nabokov saw the puck too late, as it slided under his pads before he could close them in time. With a little over a minute to go, San Jose took a penalty and Dallas pulled Turco for a 6 on 4 situation. But as the Stars tried to get set up on the blue line, the puck took a bad bounce and Patrick Marleau intercepted the D to D pass, and scored in the empty net with a minute remaining to secure the win 5-2.
San Jose improved on their league-best home record to bring it up to 29-3-4. In his second game on the second line after spending the entire season with Joe Thorton, Setoguchi ended his 12 game scoreless drought while Pavelski ended his 7 game scoreless drought. The second line was the most dominant line of the game, as they put up 6 points on 3 goals and all three forwards took the 3 stars awards at the end. The game was only the second time in 15 games where San Jose scored more than 3 goals, but the Sharks have now won 4 of their last 5. Despite the win, the Sharks still find themselves 1 point behind Detroit for the lead in the Western Conference and the President's trophy. The loss put Dallas in a 3 way tie for 10th place in the West, and 3 points behind Nashville for 8th place. The Stars, who had been dealing with injuries to their top scorers all season in their fight for a playoff spot, welcomed the return of Brad Richards, only to have him injure his hand in the game, which will put him out indefinitely. Rob Blake and Marcel Goc were injured for the Sharks, as Blake left midway through the second period and Goc limped off the ice in the third. Both injuries were described, interestingly, as "owees" rather than serious injuries by coach Todd McLellon. San Jose's next game will be a back to back home game Sunday night against the Colorado Avalanche.
After a 4 goal explosion in the first period, neither team scored again for 45 minutes. But that did not cool down the San Jose Sharks, as Jonathan Cheechoo scored the winning goal in the shootout and Evgeni Nabokov stopped 2 out of 3 attempts against the Nashville Predators and the Sharks remain dominant on home ice, defeating the Predators 3-2.
After a strong first half of the first period defensively, both teams got into their offensive stride. The Sharks struck first, as they were beneficiaries of a 5 on 3 power play. With 3 seconds left with the 2 man advantage, Rob Blake blasted the puck from the high slot over the glove of Pekka Rinne to give the Sharks the 1-0 lead. But a little over 2 minutes later, J.P. Dumont shot the puck from the point, which deflected off two Nashville predators, touching Joel Ward last, and Evgeni Nabokov could not adjust fast enough to the change of direction and the Predators tied the game. Then, in under 2 minutes after the tying goal, Vernon Fiddler took a bouncing puck that jumped over Joe Pavelski's stick from his blue line and went on a break away. He faked a low forehand shot, and went to his backhand to flip the puck over Nabokov's glove to score a shorthanded goal to give Nashville the 2-1 lead. But with 3 seconds left, Milan Michalek found a loose puck at the side of the Nashville net, and pushed the puck off Rinne's elbow and over the goal line to tie the game 2-2 at the end of the first.
The last two periods and the overtime provided no goals, but that did not hinder the fact that there was a lot of action. The Sharks came out hitting, and it prompted Jordin Tootoo to challenge Brad Staubitz to a fight. Both players decided to ignore their own safety and come out swinging, but Staubitz was the one who connected all his hits into the face of Tootoo, and Tootoo was sent to the locker room to patch up his nose. He eventually returned late in the third period.
After San Jose's last shootout went to a franchise record 7 rounds, the Sharks wanted to end it in the first 3. Joe Pavelski started things out for both teams, and slowed his skating almost to a complete stop before wristing the shot past Rinne. But Fiddler, who scored on the breakaway shorthanded, did a similar move, faking a forehand shot before lifting a backhand shot over the glove of Nabokov. Dan Boyle shot next, and tried simply to shoot the puck as hard as he can past Rinne, but Rinne brought his glove out and stopped the puck easily. Steve Sullivan shot next for the Predators, and tried to slap the shot underneath Nabokov's pads, but Nabokov shut the door down quickly. Jonathan Cheechoo, who scored the winning goal in the 7 round shootout, faked two forehand shots, dropping Rinne to his knees, and then went backhand and lifted the puck over the blocker to put the Sharks up 2-1. David Legwand had to score on his attempt in order to keep the shootout alive, but shot the puck wide on Nabokov's glove side, and the Sharks won in the shootout.
The win came to the Sharks after a 3-4 loss to Phoenix Tuesday night prompted Todd McLellon, a normally positive coach, to question the work ethic of his skaters. Although not directly because of that loss, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson stopped the Sharks afternoon skate before the game against the Predators to hold a 90 minute closed door meeting with his entire organization, from the players to the management. Although no specifics were discussed openly by anyone, several Sharks members said that players got things off their chest, and the team was able to reflect on where they were now. Rob Blake's power play goal gave him 10 on the season, setting a franchise first for the Sharks as San Jose now has two defenseman with at least 10 goals (Dan Boyle currently owns 14). The win for the Sharks improved their league best home record to 28-3-4, and puts them 1 point behind Detroit for the President's trophy, with San Jose benefitting from having one game still in hand over the Red Wings. A win for Edmonton and an overtime loss for Nashville resulted in a tie for 8th place in the Western Conference at 78 points each, but Edmonton has 1 more game than Nashville left in the season. San Jose's next game will be the first of a back to back homestand on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars.
The postseason may be out of reach for the Phoenix Coyotes, but that did not deter them from playing spoilers against the San Jose Sharks, who were in a race for the President's trophy. Shane Doan had 3 first period assists on 3 goals by the Coyotes, and with 30 seconds left scored the game winning goal to break a ferocious comeback attempt by the Sharks.
The first period was summed up for the Sharks in the first 30 seconds. On the first shift of the game, Doan drove the puck to the net but had his shot blocked and deflected in the air. But before Evgeni Nabokov could see where the puck was, Kyle Turris hit the puck out of the air and into the net to give Phoenix the early 1-0 lead. The Coyotes ended the period with 2 power play attempts, and scoring on every one. Doan once again shot the puck to the net from the side, but the puck deflected off Dan Boyle's stick right on to Turris's who was stationed in front to tip the puck in for the 2-0 lead. Then with 15 seconds left in the first period, Turris found Dmitri Kalinin, who rifled a shot off the post and into the net for a dominating 3-0 lead.
But Joe Thorton and the Sharks were not about to go down without a fight, or three to be exact. After a hard hit on Dan Boyle by Daniel Winnik, Rob Blake came out and challenged him to a fight. In the second period, Jody Shelley and Brad Staubitz had fights 3 minutes apart to try to get the Sharks going. It worked, as a power play was given to the Sharks 2 minutes later, and Thorton skated around the net, turned around, and shot it past Ilya Bryzgalov to put the Sharks on the board and cut the lead to two.
Thorton once again led the Sharks, and San Jose almost mounted a come back in the third. Rob Blake found a loose puck in front of Bryzgalov and poked it right onto Thorton's stick on the other side of the crease, and Thorton slapped it in easily to cut the deficit to 1 goal. Then 4 minutes later, Thorton found himself in Blake's situation, grabbing a loose puck in front of Phoenix's goaltender, and backhanding a pass to Patrick Marleau, who was in front of the net for a wide open game tying goal. The Sharks were rolling over Phoenix, outshooting them 16-4 late in the third, but off the faceoff Jonathan Cheechoo took an interference penalty with a little over 30 seconds left in the period. It was all the time the Coyotes needed, as Shane Doan stole a puck from San Jose off the faceoff, skated across Brian Boucher, and backhanded it under the pads to seal the win 4-3 with under 30 seconds to go.
Six seperate players had a multi-point night. Thorton and Blake registered points on all 3 San Jose goals while Doan and Turris had points on all 4 goals for Phoenix. Nabokov was pulled at the end of the first period after allowing 3 goals on 9 shots. Brian Boucher had 10 saves, but let in Shane Doan's game winning goal. Bryzgalov made 33 saves on 36 shots by the Sharks, who outshot Phoenix in every period. After killing off 15 straight penalties, San Jose's penalty kill looked horrendous, as the Coyotes were 3 for 4 on their power play. San Jose went 1 for 3 with the man advantage. With a Dallas loss, San Jose clinched the Pacific Division, but fell to 3 points behind Detroit for the lead in the Western Conference and the NHL, as Detroit defeated Philadelphia. Detroit and San Jose are still the only teams in the NHL who have at least 100 points. San Jose's next game is Thursday night, where they host the Nashville Predators in a potential preview of the first round of the playoffs.
It was a night of breaking records and setting career milestones for the New Jersey Devils. Travis Zajac scored his 20th goal of the season. Patrick Elias, in breathtaking fashion, scored his 702nd career point to put him atop the Devils' franchise all-time scoring list. But the biggest hallmark that everyone in the hockey world was looking at on St. Patrick's Day of 2009, was Martin Brodeur's 552nd career victory in the National Hockey League, putting him 1 above Patrick Roy as the league's all-time winningest goaltender in the 92 year history.
It was easy to tell that the Devils wanted this game more badly than any other win in the regular season. New Jersey jumped out offensively, and in just over 30 seconds, the captain Jamie Langenbrunner one-timed a soft backhand pass from Zach Parise to put the Devils up 1-0. Then, a second after their first power play expired, Parise once again passed a puck in front of the net, but this time it was Zajac scoring his 20th goal of the 2009 season to give New Jersey and Brodeur a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Chicago opened up things offensively in the second period, but it was New Jersey who took advantage of the open ice. On a late power play for Chicago, New Jersey broke out on a 3-1 rush, but Elias was robbed by Nikolai Khabibulin's blocker. Chicago then proceeded to go on a 3-1 rush of their own, but Brodeur stuffed Brian Campbell's shot into his chest. Then, after the ensuing faceoff, Patrick Elias skated the puck threw the neutral zone, drew three Blackhawk defenders, and made a perfect backhand pass at the last second to Brian Gionta, who one timed it past the leg of Khabibulin to score shorthanded and give Elias his 702nd career point, and the Devils the 3-0 lead. But Chicago was determined not to let Brodeur get his win easily, as 30 seconds later, still on the power play, Cam Barker blasted a puck that Brodeur never saw through a crowd and into the net to put the Blackhawks right back in the game. The crowd didn't seem to mind, as they were still on their feet celebrating Elias's milestone while the Blackhawks celebrated on the ice.
Both teams went on defense in the third period, as each team only had 5 shots on goal. Emotions ran high as the clock ran down and the crowd began chanting Brodeur's name. But with a little over 2 minutes left, Dustin Byfuglien got the puck, spun in a circle, and rifled the shot past Brodeur's blocker to put the Blackhawks in a position to play spoiler. With Chicago's goalie out and an extra skater on, the faceoff was to the left of Brodeur with a little over 8 seconds to go. Then, out of his 30 saves of the night, Brodeur possibly made his finest, sticking his right leg out just in time to turn away a deflected shot that would've tied the game with 4 seconds left. Instead, the puck was redirected into the corner, and the clock wound down as Brodeur was able to celebrate his record-breaking win.
After the game, Brodeur's teammates all gathered around him on the ice as he cut the netting off his goal to commemorate the victory and the record, while receiving a standing ovation from a sold out crowd at Prudential Center. The net was also the recipient of the puck that gave Elias's franchise record setting assist. During the game, Brodeur also passed the 29,000 total career saves mark. Fittingly, Elias and Brodeur took the second and first star awards, respectively. Brodeur's win broke the record that his childhood idol and longtime rival Patrick Roy set, while Elias's assist broke the record his now assistant coach John MacLean set for the Devils franchise. Despite the loss, Chicago still has a 2 point lead over Vancouver in the standings for 4th place. The Devils now have moved to within 4 points of taking first place overall in the Eastern Conference from Boston.
Ties him with Patrick Roy for the all time career wins category.
After a shootout win the night before against the Kings, the San Jose Sharks had to hop on the next flight down to southern California to face their other interstate rival: the Anaheim Ducks. The back to back schedule had no effect on the outcome, however, as the Sharks scored the only goal of the game and Evgeni Nabokov stopped all 34 shots for his sixth shutout of the season and second win in two games since coming back from injury.
The game had wide open action throughout, as both teams registered 30 shots on goal. There was no scoring in the first period, but everyone expected Jody Shelley and George Parros to drop the gloves, and the two fighters did just that. Parros won the match decisively, but both teams drew energy from the fight and began skating. Anaheim was controlling most of the offensive flow, however, and outshot the Sharks 12 to 7 in the first.
In the second period, there were several quality chances on both sides of the ice, including two near misses by San Jose that could have scored the game's first goal. But finally, with a little over a minute left in the period, Travis Moen deflected a Jamie McGinn shot over the shoulder of Jonas Hiller and into the back of the net to give the Sharks the 1-0 lead and eventual win. San Jose had put together several good offensive shifts beforehand, and eventually the Sharks were able to capitalize.
The third period was a much more open hockey game, as both teams had multiple chances and odd-man rushes, and were constantly skating up and down the ice. The Ducks pulled Hiller for the extra skater with a minute left in the game, but the Ducks did not register a shot on goal. Teemu Selanne, the former Shark, had the best chance to tie the game in the third period, as he rang a shot off the crossbar during a power play opportunity.
Travis Moen's second period goal came after 17,000 fans gave him a standing ovation as the Anaheim Ducks gave him a tribute video on the big screen for his services to the franchise that traded him to the Sharks at the deadline. Nabokov and Hiller took the first and second star awards respectively, as they combined for a total of 63 saves on 64 shots. The referees were liberal with their calls, but each team had 4 power play opportunities, all of which were killed off. In the last 3 games, the Sharks have gone 1-19 with the man advantage. With the win, San Jose moved ahead of Boston in the overall NHL standings, but still remained in second place in the West and the league as Detroit also got a shutout win against Columbus. St. Louis defeated Minnesota, so the Ducks dropped to 12th place in the Western Conference standings, 3 points out of the 8th seed. San Jose's next game is Tuesday night against the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona.
During a discussion of who should win what trophy this year, someone mentioned humorously that Sean Avery should take home the Lady Byng. Obviously, nobody took it seriously, but I thought I would try and compile a list of reasons as to why Avery would be a good candidate to at least be nominated for the award. So here I go...
OK I can't think of anything. This week, the topic of discussion will be my early predictions as to who will make the playoffs and which teams will be on the short end of the stick in April. For the teams that have pretty much secured a playoff spot already, I will try and predict which seed they will be.
1 (3). Detroit Red Wings (99 points) - After a blowout loss to Columbus, Detroit came roaring back offensively. They went 2-0-1 this past week, dropping in overtime to Calgary. But they're averaging over 4 goals a game since last Saturday. The main question is still goaltending, as Ty Conklin and Chris Osgood continue to swap good and bad starts. Detroit is pretty much thought of as a guarantee to go to the Western Conference finals, and the deciding factor as to whether they make it to the Stanley Cup finals might end up being if they're the first or second seed in the West.
2 (1). Boston Bruins (99 points) - After grabbing sole possession of first place last week, losses to the Rangers and the Blue Jackets allowed the Red Wings to close the 1 point gap. They went 2-2-0, but their 2 wins were to the bottom-feeding Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders. Tim Thomas continues to be strong, however, and they'll go as far as their young offense goes. Washington is starting to slide, and they're even losing at home, which is good news for Boston, but now they have the red hot New Jersey Devils coming right at them. Boston may even end up giving up their first place in the Eastern Conference. If that happens, and they end up facing the Capitals in the semifinals, the Bruins may not contend for the conference championship this year.
3 (4). New Jersey Devils (93 points) - The Devils are 7-1-0 with the injury-free Martin Brodeur, and their future hall-of-famer tied Patrick Roy's all time win record Saturday afternoon. He is pretty much guaranteed to break the record, and has a very good chance at breaking the all time shutout record this season as well. Their top two lines continue to put up points at a ridiculous pace, and with Broduer playing this well, the Devils may end up being top contenders for the Stanley Cup when the regular season ends.
4 (2). San Jose Sharks (98 points) - The slump continues for the Sharks. Two blown 3 goal leads led to an overtime loss and an overtime win, and on Saturday they barely beat the Kings, going 7 rounds into the shootout before finally getting the extra point. Some may point fingers at Brian Boucher for their recent slide, and they may have a point with Nabokov's strong return Saturday. But the coaching staff probably would blame their offense, which hasn't found much success in the past month and a half. If San Jose can't shake off this slump going into the playoffs, they may end up suffering another early exit.
5 (6). Washington Capitals (92 points) - After losing all 3 games last week, the Capitals finally broke out of their slump, with a record of 3-0-1 this week. Ovechkin's goal scoring pace has slowed down, but their offense has been coming from other parts of their lineup, which may be both a blessing and a curse. Theodore has been steady, so if he continues to play and Ovechkin gets hot going into the playoffs, the three way showdown in the Eastern Conference will be a very exciting thing to watch. If not, then the Capitals will end up being a stepping stone for a Devils vs Bruins matchup in the finals.
6 (5). Calgary Flames (86 points) - After acquiring Olli Jokinen, all things seemed right for the Flames. But the Flames dropped 3 out of their 4 games this week, and the win over the Red Wings took an overtime effort. The problem, surprisingly, was in their goaltending. Kiprusoff has given up some soft goals, and the Flames are averaging over 5 goals allowed their last 5 games. Offense is still not a problem, as they are scoring a lot of goals, and Jokinen is racking up his point totals, but something needs to change defensively. If it continues, the Flames may once again be one and done in the playoffs.
7 (8). Philadelphia Flyers (84 points) - In a turn of tables from earlier in the season, it is now the offense that is inconsistant. Biron has carried the team the past 2 weeks, but the scoring only happens every other game. The Flyers are in 4th place, but they may drastically drop in seeding come playoff time if the Rangers, Penguins, and Hurricanes keep getting points. But with the way the regular season matchups have gone, it is difficult to see the Flyers getting out of the second round.
8 (7). Chicago Blackhawks (83 points) - The Blackhawks had a tough week in goaltending, with their biggest loss coming from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks haven't been able to string more than 2 wins in a row since mid-February, but they'll be welcoming back Nikolai Khabibulin, their top goaltender that got them off to a hot start early in the season. If Khabibulin can re-establish himself and keep the Blackhawks in the game, the young team could get ample playoff experience, and may even extend the conference semi-finals to a 6 or 7 game series, although they probably won't get past that.
9 (9). Vancouver Canucks (79 points) - The Canucks have developed a pattern that a lot of sports teams like to build upon: winning at home. Coming off a 4 game home winning streak, the Nucks dropped 2 in a California road trip to the Ducks and Kings. But they ended the week strong, going back home and winning once again. Unfortunately, the last two weeks of March will be spent on the road. If they can't return home with above a .500 winning percentage on their road trip, the Canucks risk dropping below the 8th seed, which they currently are 6 points ahead of. If they do make it in the playoffs, their success will be on their offense. If the top line of the Sedin twins and their second line of Burrows and Sundin can get hot at the same time, the Canucks could be first round spoilers.
10 (15). Columbus Blue Jackets (78 points) - After the shelling of Detroit last Saturday, the Blue Jackets have been unstoppable. They had 3 convincing wins this week against Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. The Jackets are imposing their will on opponents, playing defensive hockey and capitalizing on special teams and turnovers. Steve Mason is looking more and more like the rookie of the year, and some coaches may even be whispering his name in the Vezina discussion. Although the Blue Jackets don't have the offensive depth to win the conference, their first franchise playoff appearance has a good chance of going past the first round.
11 (13). Pittsburgh Penguins (80 points) - The Penguins keep on racking up points. The Pens have gotten at least 1 point in their last 9 games, in a stretch where they went an impressive 7-0-2. Crosby is back, Guerin is putting up points like he is young again, and Fleury has been keeping the Pens alive in each game. With this effort, the Penguins went from outside the playoff picture to right in the middle of things with a tie for 5th place, and if they continue this pace for the rest of the season, they have a shot at kicking the Flyers out of 4th. The best chance for the Penguins to get out of the semifinals would be if they are matched up with the Capitals, but I just don't see the Penguins being able to top the Bruins or Devils with the way those two teams are playing right now.
12 (14). Montreal Canadiens (80 points) - Carey Price has been resurrected from the dead, but it was only good enough to get them 2 wins in the past 2 weeks. Still, the Canadiens will savor every point they can get in the super tight Eastern Conference race. But they are checking the rear view mirror every second, and they are seeing 5 teams waiting to kick them out of the playoffs before it even starts. If the Canadiens continue playing like this, they probably won't make it in. If they improve their game a bit and squeeze into the first round, they won't go farther than that.
13 (12). Carolina Hurricanes (79 points) - Like the Penguins, the Hurricanes are scrapping up the points. They went 1-1-2 this week, totaling 4 points out of a potential 10. Not bad for a team 1 point away from a long summer, but not enough if they truly believe they can make the playoffs. Their offense has been sensational, but Cam Ward has dropped off from last week's performance, posting a shutout on Monday then allowing 3 or more goals the next 3 games of the week, all losses. Still, with the way the Hurricanes have been playing as of late, I like their chances of making the postseason over the other bubble teams in the East.
14 (11). New York Rangers (78 points) - The Rangers have gone 4-2-0 since Sean Avery's return, a similar pattern to last season when you compare the Rangers with and without Avery's services. Avery is also controlling his emotions on the ice, which is only good news for the franchise if they hope to get into the playoffs. Avery has been producing points, putting up 2 goals and an assist in the last 5 games. If their top line guys of Antropov and Drury can get hot, they have the goaltending to play spoiler this playoffs and can fight their way into the semifinals. If they end up being matched up against the Devils, look for a very interesting playoff series where emotions can get the better of either team.
15 (10). Florida Panthers (78 points) - After a dominating performance in February, the Panthers have fallen off the radar. They are putting together some wins, but this past week had them putting up a 0-1-2 record. They are clinging on for dear life in the 8th seed, when a week ago it looked like they would shoot past 6th place. The Eastern Conference battle is tight, so the Panthers still have a bit of time to get things back together, but at the same time one loss can mean the difference for them. Either way, unless the Panthers can find their explosive offense that carried them to several upsets in February, they are not making it out of the first round.
16 (18). Dallas Stars (74 points) - After Turco became the superstar goaltender everyone knew he was in February, March started and he once again became the Turco of earlier this year. Dallas is plagued with injuries, so the only guy they can turn to is Marty Turco. They have been getting good offensive production from their top lines, but the only way they are staying in the playoff race is if their goaltender can find his game back. Still, Dallas is a playoff tested team, and they have the best chance, if given the opportunity, to be a first round spoiler.
17 (16). Buffalo Sabres (76 points) - Despite picking up Tellqvist, the Sabres continue to rely on Lalime to hold the fort until Miller is back for the playoffs. But at the rate they are going, Miller looks to have an extra 6 months to recover from his injury, as they aren't going to make the playoffs. Offensive inconsistancies tied with poor defensive play has killed their chances, to the point where you never know what line combination you will get from the Sabres night in and night out. Some of their top forwards are being demoted to the third line, which is not what you want from players you have signed big contracts with. They are still only 2 points out of the 8th spot, but they have got to put up a lot more wins than losses in the last month of the regular season if they want to have a shot at the first round.
18 (19). Edmonton Oilers (73 points) - The Oilers are currently tied for 8th place in the West, and they are looking at everyone on their roster to get hot and put them into the playoffs. They are generating points, but they have all come from overtime losses this week, going 0-0-3. The Oilers are probably thankful that the teams surrounding them have also been losing, but they know that this type of performance is not good enough for the playoffs. Dwayne Roloson is a good goaltender, but he is bound to let in a couple of goals a game. Thus, it is on the shoulders of the offense to get him 3 or more goals each night.
19 (17). Nashville Predators (73 points) - Partially because they gathered up a couple of wins this week and partially because everyone else at the bottom of the West seems to be losing, the Predators suddenly find themselves tied for 8th place in the Western Conference standings. However, with the way they've been playing, they certainly don't deserve to be there. The story is the same for the Predators: if their offense can get going, they are going to win games. Unfortunately, they spend most of their time in their defensive zone, which ultimately results in a lot of goals against. There are plenty of distractions off the ice for the franchise as well, so we'll see if the Predators can remain headstrong and somehow hold on to the 8th seed.
20 (20). Minnesota Wild (72 points) - The Wild have been finding their offense lately, and suddenly team with the lowest goals scored in the NHL is becoming a serious offensive threat. However, the problem with the Wild has been that they have always come from behind, and the result has been several losses in overtime instead of wins. Since his contract extension, Niklas Backstrom has been letting in several bad goals a game. That is not how the Wild play hockey, and although they welcome the offense, they would probably rather lose 0-1 in overtime than 3-4. If they continue to allow lots of goals in each game, the Wild will be watching the playoffs from home.
21 (22). St. Louis Blues (70 points) - The Blues put together some wins recently, putting them into the playoff picture. Chris Mason has played well and they are using their top forwards to put up the points to win games. However, they just don't have the roster to outplay the teams ahead of them down the stretch. They have a lot of heart and play with a lot of intensity each night, and that may be enough to push them into the playoffs. But it will be more dependent on the other teams ahead of them losing than the Blues winning.
22 (21). Anaheim Ducks (70 points) - The Ducks had a short week, picking up a win and a loss. Still, they've been losing more than winning, which is bad news for a team that is still within reach of the playoffs. Their special teams have been playing well, as always, and that is always an important part of the formula to win games. Their goaltending has improved from earlier in the season, but their offense is being carried by Niedermayer, Selanne, and Pronger. They need their younger stars to rise up and help carry the load, otherwise the Ducks will not be able to put together enough wins to make the playoffs this year.
23 (23). Los Angeles Kings (68 points) - The Kings are only 5 points out of a playoff spot, which is not a lot with 5 weeks left in the regular season. But the Kings have the toughest schedule out of all the bubble teams, spending most of the season away from home and against teams like Boston, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and several other bubble teams in the West. It may come down to the final game of the season for them, where they get to host the San Jose Sharks. Needless to say, the odds are heavily stacked against the Kings. But they have a young roster with a lot of talent, and their goaltending, unlike previous years, has been sensational. They still have a shot at the playoffs, and it will depend on how well they can perform on the road.
24 (24). Toronto Maple Leafs (69 points) - Topping the list of teams that have no chance of making the playoffs this year are the Toronto Maple Leafs. At this point of the season, their role is to play spoiler and stealing wins from teams trying to claw their way into the postseason, which they have been doing with some degree of success as of late. Still, they lost their top goaltender for the rest of the season, and the point differential compared to their recent play indicates no hope for the Maple Leafs until next year.
25 (25). Ottawa Senators (66 points) - Same old story for the Senators: No goaltending and only one offensive line. Brian Elliot looks to be a promising future, but the question is where Leclaire, who has yet to start a game for the team since being traded to them, will fit into the puzzle. The Senators have actually won quite a few games recently, but the hole is too deep for them to climb out of at this time of the season.
26 (27). Colorado Avalanche (63 points) - Surprise surprise. The Avs won 3 games out of 4 this week and are no longer dead last in the Western Conference. Most of their points are being scored on the power play, and that is a very good start for a team that will probably be rebuilding next year. It is unfortunate that Joe Sakic may retire with a season like this, but maybe he'll come back for a 21st year. Who knows?
27 (29). Atlanta Thrashers (62 points) - The Thrashers find themselves on a 5 game winning streak, and they are absolutely enjoying the role of dream crushers in the Eastern Conference. Assuming Kozlov and Kovalchuk stay with the team next season, their offense is one of the more dangerous ones in the East. If they can find a solid starting goaltender (they are looking at Lehtonen but he has a history of injuries), they may be a low seed next year for the playoffs.
28 (26). Phoenix Coyotes (62 points) - Once again the Coyotes are last in the division and last in the conference. Every year people always say give the Coyotes a couple of more years and they will be a deadly team with a lot of talent. The only one who looks to live up to that is their goaltender. They only have two guys who can score points: Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski. If they cannot find at least 3 more players to put up points, this franchise isn't going anywhere for the next decade.
29 (28). Tampa Bay Lightning (60 points) - Tampa Bay's performance as of late does not match up with their second to last standing, but that's what happens when you dig yourself a hole early in the season. The question of next year will be goaltending and some holes to fill on defense. Will they try to rebuild with Ramo still developing in net, or will they make some offseason moves and try to build a winning roster to make the playoffs immediatley next year?
30 (30). New York Islanders (54 points) - With every win, Islanders fans are groaning. They're already looking forward to drafting Jonathan Tavares than the next home game. Of course, the Islanders just keep winning games for some reason, and what an ironic twist of fate it will be if they end up a couple points ahead of last place when the season ends.
Some final thoughts: If the playoffs started today, the matchups would be...
Detroit - Edmonton, San Jose - Dallas, Calgary - Columbus, Chicago - Vancouver for the West.
Boston - New York Rangers, New Jersey - Carolina, Washington - Pittsburgh, Philadelphia - Montreal for the East.
those are some very interesting first round matchups, and I can already see 4 teams for potential first round upsets (Pittsburgh, Columbus, Vancouver, Dallas). This roster actually sets up for a very tight playoff race, despite who the top 4 teams clearly are, which makes the battle for the President's Trophy all more interesting to watch.
After losing their last 2 home games during a 2-4-1 slide without their top goaltender, the San Jose Sharks welcomed back Evgeni Nabokov, who was out with a lower body injury he suffered after missing the first two games with the flu. The Sharks were hosts to another team on the bubble of a playoff spot: the Los Angeles Kings. In a game where there were hardly any stoppages in play, both teams struggled to find their offense despite having a generous amount of power play opportunities. The game went into the shootout, and like the regulation and overtime periods, it became a battle of the goaltenders, as the shootout went 7 rounds before Jonathan Cheechoo scored the winning goal and San Jose won 2-1 in the shootout to win 2-1 in the game.
The Sharks and the Kings both pushed the pace early, and the first period ended almost as quickly as it had started. One of the rare stoppages in play was courtesy of an early first period goal. Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle kept the puck alive in the offensive zone, and Pavelski shot the puck hard off Milan Michalek's stick, which redirected past Erik Ersberg for the 1-0 lead.
But in the first shift of the second period, the Kings immediately brought the puck into the San Jose zone and did not leave until it was in the back of the net. Alexander Frolov found the puck on the back of his skate, and threw it quickly towards Nabokov. Before the San Jose goaltender could get back in position for the rebound, Wayne Simmonds poked the puck through to tie the game 1-1. There was no more scoring after that, despite the Sharks outshooting the Kings 13-4 in the third period. But the biggest chance to break the tie came shorthanded for Los Angeles, when Joe Thorton went to the bench on a line change after breaking his stick, unaware that Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown broke the puck out of their own zone and were skating by. Nobody was back for San Jose, and the Kings had a very rare 2 on 0 opportunity. But Nabokov was patient and well-positioned, Brown could not get the pass to Kopitar in time, and the pair did not even register a shot on goal as Anze was already behind the net by the time the puck reached him. In the last few minutes of the third period and in the first minute of overtime, the Sharks came roaring offensively, trying to end the game. But Rob Blake was robbed twice by Ersberg's glove, and San Jose could not get the puck past the Los Angeles netminder, who made 38 saves on 39 shots.
The shootout was the exclamation mark of a well goaltended game. The Sharks elected to shoot first, and Joe Pavelski scored in the second round to put the Sharks up by a goal after he nearly stopped his forward progress completely before wristing it through the legs of Ersberg. But Jack Johnson came right back on his opportunity, shooting the puck quickly off his stick past Nabokov's right leg to tie the shootout 1-1. The Sharks continuously failed to get the puck behind Ersberg, and the Kings were given 4 chances to end the game. But Nabokov stopped 3 of the shots, 1 shot went wide, and Cheechoo faked a shot to drop Ersberg to his knees before shooting the puck over the glove to put San Jose up 2-1. Teddy Purcell, who only had 1 previous shootout attempt, was given the opportunity to tie it, but could not put the puck past the same leg that Johnson had previously, and San Jose came out the winners in the shootout.
San Jose outshot Los Angeles 39 to 24, courtesy of 8 power play opportunities. But the Sharks could not convert on a single one, putting up 12 shots with the man advantage. The Kings had 4 power play chances of their own, but also could not generate a goal. The Sharks also welcomed back Rob Blake, who missed the last two games after taking a shot off the foot in Vancouver. Both Detroit and Boston won their games on Saturday, so San Jose still remained 1 point behind both of them in the standings, with the Red Wings and Bruins tied for first in the NHL with 99 points, and San Jose in third place with 98. Los Angeles, who was still in the playoff picture coming into the game, gained a much needed point with the shootout loss, but still remain 4 points out of the 8th spot as Dallas, Nashville, and Minnesota all gained at least 1 point as well. San Jose will play their second game in a back to back Sunday evening as they travel down to face the Anaheim Ducks, who are currently 2 points out of a playoff spot.
San Jose just can't seem to defeat the bubble teams. The Sharks, coming off a blown 3 goal lead in their overtime win in Minnesota, wanted to end their road trip on a positive note in St. Louis, hoping to jump a point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. But the Blues had other plans, and wanted the two points for the win, as they were only 3 points out of the 8th seed coming into the Thursday night match-up. Andy McDonald, who knows the Sharks well from his days in Anaheim, registered a goal and an assist, and Chris Mason made 24 saves, including several key saves on two late power play chances in the third period for the Sharks, and the Blues grabbed the important win at home over San Jose 3-1.
The Sharks got off to a good start early, and looked to take this game away. San Jose took advantage of their second power play off a fortunate boarding call, and Patrick Marleau scored his first goal in six games to put the Sharks up 1-0. But the Sharks made a costly turnover on a pass out of their own zone. David Perron intercepted the pass, and Andy McDonald outskated two Sharks trying to get back on defense. Perron drew the lone San Jose defender towards him, and made a pass right on McDonald's stick, who went to his backhand and deked Brian Boucher before going back to his forehand for an easy tap in goal to tie the game late in the first period.
The second period was a wide open game, with both sides getting odd-man rushes against the other teams right on top of each other. But the only goal scored was on a 4 on 4 situation, after off-setting roughing minors were handed out. Andy McDonald shot the puck hard off Boucher's pads, and the puck trickled through. Before Boucher could fall on it to freeze the puck, Brad Boyes got his stick in and tapped the puck across the line to give St. Louis their first lead 2-1.
San Jose started the third period horribly, killing off a minor penalty that carried over from the end of the second, only to take 3 straight minors, each 20 seconds apart. San Jose almost spent a full 2 minutes on the 5 on 3, and then had to spend another minute killing off a 5 on 4. But the Sharks's penalty killers were strong, and Brian Boucher made several key saves, and San Jose was able to come out of the situation unscratched. St. Louis then took 3 penalties, although none of them on top of each other, and San Jose had 3 chances in the second half of the third period to tie the game. But several one timers by the Sharks either missed the net completely or were stopped by strong saves from Chris Mason. The third power play chance came with a minute and a half left in the third, but the Sharks could not win a faceoff with 30 seconds to go and Barret Jackman launched the puck from his own blue line into San Jose's empty net to secure the win for the Blues 3-1.
Chris Mason took first star honors, as he made one more save than Boucher to secure a win that may potentially help the Blues into their first playoff berth in 3 years. San Jose had 7 power play opportunities in the game, but only converted on their second. One power play only lasted 13 seconds, as Joe Pavelski took a slashing penalty to end the power play chance. Dan Boyle, who got an assist on Marleau's power play goal, led all skaters with over 30 minutes of ice time. The Detroit Red Wings lost in overtime, so the extra point gave them the 1 point lead over San Jose in the Western Conference, although San Jose still has 2 games over the Red Wings. The Boston Bruins won Thursday night as well, tying them with Detroit for the best record in the league. San Jose welcomed back Marcel Goc, who missed a month with a lower body injury. San Jose's next game will be at home Saturday night another team hungry for a playoff spot: the Los Angeles Kings. The Sharks hope to get Evgeni Nabokov back, who has missed the last seven games with a lower body injury. During the 7 game stretch, the Sharks went 2-4-1.
Note: apologies for the lack of linking in the game summary. Blogger is being weird and won't show the links.
The third time was the charm for the San Jose Sharks. In the last two meetings this season against the Minnesota Wild, San Jose lost both of them in overtime. Drew Remenda, the broadcaster for CSN Bay Area, stated that their most recent loss last Thursday, was one of the most heartbreaking moments in team history. After what looked to be deja vu all over again, San Jose overcame their impending fate off a great individual effort by Christian Ehrhoff to get their first win over the Wild in overtime this season 5-4.
The game was almost a complete mimic of the Thursday loss where the Sharks blew a 3-0 lead in the third quarter, off a much discussed fluke goal by a Marek Zidlicky dump in that took a funny bounce and went under Brian Boucher's leg to tie the game 3-3. In fact, San Jose's leading scorer in both games shared the same first name, with Pavelski (known as Little Joe in the locker room) scoring 2 goals on Thursday night and Thornton (Jumbo Joe) scoring 2 goals on Tuesday. Thornton got the Sharks started hot once again against the Wild, after a centering pass from the sideboards deflected off a Minnesota defender's stick and over Niklas Backstrom's head into the net to give San Jose the 1-0 lead. Then, Patrick Marleau stole a pass going across the blue line during a Wild power play and went on a breakaway. The shot was poked away by Backstrom, but straight onto the stick of Travis Moen, who was trailing behind. Moen shot the puck through Backstrom's pads and into the net, scoring his first goal as a Shark shorthanded, and putting San Jose up 2-0 in the first period.
In the second, all things were rolling with the Sharks, who were probably thinking they had to keep the pressure on after the upsetting loss on Thursday. Christian Ehrhoff shot the puck on goal, and bodies were all around Backstrom. Backstrom once again poked the puck out with his stick, but only found Thornton who took advantage of the sprawling goaltender and shot the puck on the top corner for a 3-0 lead. But 3 minutes later, the tables turned towards Minnesota. A loose puck came in front of Boucher, who tried to cover it up to get a whistle. But a San Jose skate impeded his path to the puck, and Peter Olvecky took the puck and tapped it in past Boucher who was out of position to cut the lead down to 2 goals.
The third period was all about Minnesota. A minute into the period, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who scored Minnesota's second goal on Thursday, scored the second goal on Tuesday, shooting a hard wrist shot right past Boucher's glove to cut the lead down 3-2. But after a strong shift by the Sharks, Milan Michalek took the puck to Backstrom from a bad angle, but managed to lift the puck right over Backstrom's shoulder and roofed the net to give San Jose a comfortable 4-2 lead. But 3 minutes later, Owen Nolan, former Sharks captain and the ex-franchise leader in all scoring categories for San Jose before Marleau recently broke his records, scored his 400th career goal, deflecting a beautiful pass from Zidlicky past Boucher to put the Wild back into the game with 7 minutes left. Then, with 2 minutes left in the third, Nolan scored again, receiving a pass from Mikko Koivu positioned behind the San Jose net, and shooting it under Boucher's legs to tie the game 4-4.
San Jose was being dominated in their own offensive zone for the remainder of the third period and the beginning of the overtime period. But Ehrhoff caused a turnover off Zidlicky's stick in the neutral zone, outskated a Minnesota defender, and shot the puck softly right over Backstrom's shoulder to win the game in overtime. Backstrom went down early and Ehrhoff just got enough of the puck to put it over the top of the Wild netminder.
The win broke a 4 game losing streak by San Jose, and it was the first win for Brian Boucher since taking over the starting position at goaltender 6 games ago when Evgeni Nabokov went down with injury. Nabokov, who did not make the road trip with the Sharks, is expected to return Saturday night when San Jose hosts the Los Angeles Kings. With the win, San Jose jumped ahead of the Boston Bruins, who lost today, for the top spot in the NHL, but still shared that lead with the Detroit Red Wings, who also won in overtime. With an overtime loss, Minnesota gained a point, which puts them in a tie for 9th place with the Dallas Stars. The Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers both lost in overtime, giving them a 1 point lead ahead of 10th place for a tie for 7th. 3 assists were taken away by the Niklas Backstrom's stick, as both Moen's shorthanded goal and Thornton's power play goal were considered unassisted after Backstrom poke checked the puck. San Jose was a perfect 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. Nolan's 2 goals gave him 20 total for the season, which made it the 10th straight season he's scored at least 20. Thornton's power play goal also gave him 20 for the season, making it the 9th straight he's accomplished the feat. Moen assisted on Thornton's first goal of the game, for a 2 point night in his second game as a San Jose Shark. The Sharks continue their road trip Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, who defeated Dallas Tuesday, giving them a share of the three way tie with Nashville and Edmonton for 7th place.
