Final Week

We're coming down to the last week of the regular season, with a handful of teams having only two games remaining and most of the others with 3 or 4.  At this point, there are about 4 or 5 teams outside the playoff spot that still have a mathematical chance of making it in.  But they need to win at least 2 out of 3 (if not get points in all 3), and hope that the guys ahead of them lose one.  And there are some teams with an even worse scenario.  But what makes the postseason race this year (and the 3 point overtime system) so great is the fact that the #8 teams in both conferences aren't exactly playing good hockey.  The Rangers are in a losing streak.  Nashville and St. Louis are in a tie for 8th, with Nashvile sporting an advantage because they have 1 more win (vs two overtime losses more for the Blues).  And with the way Marion Gaborik has been playing (15 points in 14 games this season, and more than half of those points coming in the last week and a half of play), Minnesota, who is currently 3 points behind 8th place, has a pretty realistic shot at knocking both those teams out.  And let's not forget Edmonton.  Because it is pretty hard not to.

From the middle of the conference, we take some steps up the ladder to see the tight race at the top.  San Jose has a 3 point lead over Boston for the President's Trophy, but Boston has 4 games remaining in the season versus the Sharks's three.  Detroit is starting to win again, but unless they win all 4 of their remaining games, and San Jose loses all three (of course there could be some weird overtime disparities in that calculation), it is unlikely the Red Wings will win the trophy, let alone clinch the conference (especially since San Jose's last three games will be against the last three teams in the West, and two of them at home with the final being an away game in LA).  Todd McLellon wants to give his injured stars some good ice time in at least the final two games as they are coming back from a decently long injury layoff, but at the same time he is extending ice time to his third and fourth line to give the top guys rest.  This is pretty much a sign that San Jose cares more about the conference than the President's Trophy.  Claude Julien has also been reiterating for the past two weeks that he wants his starting goalie Tim Thomas to get some rest before the playoffs, so Manny Fernandez (who hasn't been sharp as of late) will probably get at least one more start.  Does that mean Boston also isn't prioritizing the trophy?  Who knows.

Speaking of the Sharks, last night's 3-2 win over Anaheim ended in a brawl.  Well it wasn't much of a brawl, but people (mostly Anaheim's top line and Brian Boucher of San Jose) were pissed.  Teemu Selanne got cross-checked by Christian Ehrhoff with no call, Corey Perry beat Marc-Edouard Vlasic's head with his stick before diving into the legs of Brian Boucher in the final seconds to try and open up a Selanne shot as the buzzer sounded.  When Perry realized his mission had failed (or he realized he had a shot to attack both San Jose goaltenders in one season), he proceeded to beat on Brian Boucher with his fists before standing over the downed goaltender and kicking him with his skates.  Ryan Getlzaf and Vlasic were also scrumming in the corner, and it almost looked like Getzlaf was fighting the referee with the way he was skating around with the zebra holding him back.  As it stands now, the Ducks won't be playing San Jose in the first round; San Jose is the 1 seed and Anaheim is 7th.  But if Nashville/St. Louis wins all their remaining games and Anaheim loses one or two, that could be a first round matchup.  Or if San Jose loses all three of their games and Detroit wins all 4, again we'll see an interstate series.  (The Ducks could also upset Detroit first round and be reseeded to face San Jose in the second if both teams advance).  Needless to say, after that brawl and all the crap Perry has been throwing around against San Jose netminders, everyone will be excited to see that.  If that series isn't shown on Versus, the NHL needs to seriously reconsider their plans to attract more fans and improve ratings.

Every team is submitting their nominees for the Bill Masterson's Trophy, a trophy given to a player that exemplifies sportsmanship, dedication to hockey, and perseverance.  Claude Lemieux is the Sharks's nominee, but he's only played in a handful of games this season since coming out of retirement.  Still, 5 years of no hockey and being able to put up a point is pretty impressive.  It would rival the story of Patrick Marleau, who went from a league worst in plus-minus to second best on his team this season.  But I think the award should be given to Marion Gaborik without a doubt.  In 8 years of hockey, he's played a little over half the possible games, with injury issues every single year.  But in the past 4 years, including this season so far, he's had more points than games played.  He is a superstar, and if he can find just one season where he can stay healthy, he can single-handedly keep a team in a playoff race like he is doing with Minnesota right now, scoring 7 goals and 10 points in 8 games since returning from injury.

Ron Wilson was named head coach of the US Winter Olympic Team for 2010.  As if Wilson needs to be given the reigns to another talentless team.  He is a great coach, but even the greatest of coaches need a good core group of players to be successful.

Sidney Crosby initiated another fight, but this time his opponent actually agreed to fight him.  Keith Ballard of the Florida Panthers laid a huge hit on Evgeni Malkin, and Crosby immediately dropped his gloves and went after the defenseman.  Only to take cover and not even throw a punch while Ballard took a few swings at the league's posterboy's head.  The Panthers went on to win 4-2.

Back to the Sharks.  The San Jose Mercury News has been emphasizing the unimportance of the President's Trophy.  One of their writers even came out saying that there is some random statistic, like only 7 out of 22 teams have won both the trophy and the Stanley Cup and thus it is unfavorable for San Jose to even win the thing.  I think 7 out of 22 is far better odds than 1 out of 16, since there will be 16 teams in the postseason competing for the cup.  That's assuming each team has an equal shot, which we all know they don't.  So let's just say Boston, Washington, New Jersey, San Jose, and Detroit are the only teams with a legitimate chance (and there are probably three or four more teams that deserve to be on that list).  That's still 1 out of 5, a lot worse than 7 out of 22 (trust me, I have a calculator).  I like the President's Trophy odds better.  But again, it's risk versus award, and as it seems now, McLellon doesn't want to take the risk of injuring his superstars in an attempt to win the prize.