NHL (2021-2022) v. Congrats Avs. Jack Johnson is a Stanley Cup Champion.

[KevShmev]

Incredible game to go to last night.  The Blues rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the 3rd period and then won it in OT with a bullet from Robert Thomas. 

Crowd was loud most of the night, the 2nd period notwithstanding when the Blues looked like they were sleepwalking, and it's always fun high-fiving with strangers when you team scores a goal.     Husso was money.   

[gmillerdrake]

No kidding great game go to! 

At this point Armstrong has to find a way to re- sign Husso and deal Binnington. No question now of why Husso was two slots ahead of Binnington on the depth chart. Kid is super talented.

[jingle.boy]

I was *not* pleased to see the Bs/Bolts game go to OT.  Would've liked at least one of them to get 0 points.

Here's hoping the Leafs don't down-play to their competition tonight.  They better wipe the ice with the Habs.  Matthews going for 50-in-50.

[KevShmev]

No kidding great game go to! 

At this point Armstrong has to find a way to re- sign Husso and deal Binnington. No question now of why Husso was two slots ahead of Binnington on the depth chart. Kid is super talented.

Agreed.

Awesome moment too when on the big screen they showed Albert Pujols and Yadi Molina, both of whom were in attendance. Felt like the roof was gonna blow off when we all cheered for Albert. 

And seeing Robert Thomas evolve into the consistent beast we knew he could be has been a thrill to watch. 

[romdrums]

Man, I really wish the Wings had taken Thomas in the 2017 draft.  Either him or Nick Suzuki.  Both skilled, right-handed centers that would have filled a position of need.  Instead, they took Michael Rasmussen, who's playing better of late, but his ceiling is looking like 3rd line checking center with net front PP capabilities.  Man, I'm glad Ken Holland is out of Detroit!

[jingle.boy]

Leafs and Rangers clinch.     Wings eliminated for the 6th straight year.  I know this pleases Kev to no end.  I'm ambivalent.

Four 100-point teams in the East; 1 in the West.

Matthews is the first player to get 50-in-50 (at anytime in the season) since Lemieux in 94/95.  The others in the early 90s to do it were Neely, Selanne, and Hull.  Pretty nice company to be in.  Squeaker of a win for them though.  Montreal played them hard, and had great goaltending once again.  Allen was looking unstoppable until the 1st goal and his injury (Leas had 15 shots in 13.5 minutes), and I was fearing a 50-save night was in store for the Leafs again.

Panthers/Leafs/Bruins are currently cruising along, while the Bolts are in a bit of slump.  I never know if it's good to be on a roll heading in to the playoffs, or slumping.  I'll never forget the 1993 Bruins/Sabres matchup; Boston was on a 16-2 streak, with 8 consecutive wins heading in.  Meanwhile Buffalo has lost 7 straight heading in to the playoffs.  And we all remember how that ended up - maybe the most famous call in Stanley Cup Playoffs.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Playoff bound baby!!! And and Carolina loss tonight would put the Rangers in the driver’s seat for the Metro title.

[KevShmev]

Meanwhile, the Blues kicked the living snot out of the Islanders last night. 

[TheCountOfNYC]

Meanwhile, the Blues kicked the living snot out of the Islanders last night. 

Always love seeing the Islanders get embarrassed. Very few things bring me more joy.

[TAC]

Anyone ready to call the season right now and just start the playoffs right away?

[Anguyen92]

Anyone ready to call the season right now and just start the playoffs right away?

I would love nothing more to have that.  But, there are still like 10 games to go and a few teams in the West trying to squeeze into the last few playoff spots.

[jingle.boy]

Yay!  Bruins lost in regulation.

[King Postwhore]

I know!  Lol

[jingle.boy]

I just noticed that the Knights probably have a better shot at catching the Kings for 3rd in the Pacific, vs the final wildcard spot. LVK actually has a game in hand over the Kings.

[pg1067]

I just noticed that the Knights probably have a better shot at catching the Kings for 3rd in the Pacific, vs the final wildcard spot. LVK actually has a game in hand over the Kings.

Yesterday was not a good sports day.

Dodgers sucked against the Rockies, so I turned that game off early to find that the Kings were up 3-0 halfway through the first period.  Yay!  They then proceeded to surrender 2 goals in less than a minute before the end of the period, 3 goals in the second, and an "add insult to injury" goal about 3 minutes into the third period.  Just awful.  I hope they stuck the team on a crappy school bus to go from MIN to CHI for tomorrow's game.

[SchecterShredder]

I just noticed that the Knights probably have a better shot at catching the Kings for 3rd in the Pacific, vs the final wildcard spot. LVK actually has a game in hand over the Kings.

I think it's their only path to the playoffs. It's the Oil, Kings, and Vegas fighting for 2 spots in the Pacific. Dallas and Nashville are likely winning the wildcard spots. Kings and Vegas have slightly easier schedules down the stretch, so the Oil are going to need to play some good hockey to close out the regular season if they hope to hang on to 2nd or 3rd. Opponent winning % for LA and VGK is around .500 or slightly above. For the Oil it's above .600

[jingle.boy]

I just noticed that the Knights probably have a better shot at catching the Kings for 3rd in the Pacific, vs the final wildcard spot. LVK actually has a game in hand over the Kings.

I think it's their only path to the playoffs. It's the Oil, Kings, and Vegas fighting for 2 spots in the Pacific. Dallas and Nashville are likely winning the wildcard spots. Kings and Vegas have slightly easier schedules down the stretch, so the Oil are going to need to play some good hockey to close out the regular season if they hope to hang on to 2nd or 3rd. Opponent winning % for LA and VGK is around .500 or slightly above. For the Oil it's above .600

According to this site, the Oil have the 9th most difficult strength-of-schedule left; Knights are 15th, Kings are 27th!.  Preds are 3rd though.  And (yay me!), Bruins are 4th!

Oh, ffs.... Owen Power is going to debut tomorrow night against the Leafs.  Make sense, since he's from the area.  Should be a special night for the kid.

[pg1067]

I'm not sure why everyone thinks the wild card spots are virtual locks for Nashville and Dallas.  Vegas is only 2 points behind Dallas and 3 behind Nashville (just as they're 2 points behind the Kings).  Seems to me it's the Kings and Vegas playing for 3rd in the Pacific and all four of them playing for the two wild card spots.  I can't see the Oilers dropping out of second place.

According to this site, the Oil have the 9th most difficult strength-of-schedule left; Knights are 15th, Kings are 27th!.  Preds are 3rd though.  And (yay me!), Bruins are 4th!

The problem with that is that the Kings are still well under .500 against the Western Conference (16-20-7), the Central Division (7-10-4) and the Pacific Division (9-10-3).  The Kings have one game against Columbus, two against Chicago, one against Colorado, two against Anaheim, and one each against Seattle and Vancouver.  I'd set the over/under at 9.5 points in the last 8 games.

[SchecterShredder]

I'm not sure why everyone thinks the wild card spots are virtual locks for Nashville and Dallas.  Vegas is only 2 points behind Dallas and 3 behind Nashville (just as they're 2 points behind the Kings).  Seems to me it's the Kings and Vegas playing for 3rd in the Pacific and all four of them playing for the two wild card spots.  I can't see the Oilers dropping out of second place.

Looking at the standings again, I can understand your take. The games in hand, and Dallas' recent play, suggest they'll make it. Nashville on the other hand is looking a bit shaky lately. For some reason I thought both those teams had 3 games on Vegas and LA. It'll definitely be an exciting race to the finish for fans of these teams.

[jingle.boy]

I agree with everything you said up there, Paul.  I think Alberta is a lock for 1-2 in the Pac.  And of the four bottom teams, they'll be fighting for those last 3 playoff spots.  Though, I personally think that the Central will send 5 to the show.  I think the only race is Kings/Knights.  Given the teams the Kings' remaining games are against, it looks like it's their spot to lose.

[pg1067]

I agree with everything you said up there, Paul.  I think Alberta is a lock for 1-2 in the Pac.  And of the four bottom teams, they'll be fighting for those last 3 playoff spots.  Though, I personally think that the Central will send 5 to the show.  I think the only race is Kings/Knights.  Given the teams the Kings' remaining games are against, it looks like it's their spot to lose.

That's what I'm worried about!   

[Anguyen92]

Going to be sweating this race to the end.  Well, the expectations for this Kings team for me at the start was to having these games in April mean something and be in the playoff race. Well, they made it to that point, let's see if they make it over the line.  I hope they do.  Could also help if Drew Doughty gets back in the line-up.  His lack of presence, when he's not playing games, does reflect the vibe of the team at times.

Edit: Just when I talked about Doughty, he's done for the season.  They're screwed.  Probably would have gotten their heads kicked in by the Oilers anyway without him if they made it.  Oh well, been a fun ride. 

https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1513663578028523532

Edit x 2:  F, it.  If this team doesn't make it but the Golden Knights do, I'm all in on the Battle of Alberta in the 2nd round.  This is what the people want right?

[jingle.boy]

Going to be sweating this race to the end.  Well, the expectations for this Kings team for me at the start was to having these games in April mean something and be in the playoff race. Well, they made it to that point, let's see if they make it over the line.  I hope they do.  Could also help if Drew Doughty gets back in the line-up.  His lack of presence, when he's not playing games, does reflect the vibe of the team at times.

Edit: Just when I talked about Doughty, he's done for the season.  They're screwed.  Probably would have gotten their heads kicked in by the Oilers anyway without him if they made it.  Oh well, been a fun ride. 

https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1513663578028523532

Edit x 2:  F, it.  If this team doesn't make it but the Golden Knights do, I'm all in on the Battle of Alberta in the 2nd round.  This is what the people want right?

It's what Canadian fans want!

[pg1067]

I'm bummed that we already saw the last game with the core of Brown, Kopitar, Doughty and Quick and we didn't know it at the time.

On the other hand, this season reminds me a little bit of 2010-11.  Kopitar went down in a late season game and missed the playoffs (in large part because of his absence).  After getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs, they increased their depth up the middle by, among other things, bringing in Mike Richards.  At the annual Frozen Fury game in Vegas in September 2011, I ran into Luc Robitaille in the gym at the MGM Grand.  I mentioned that it was nice to see the Kings back in the playoffs the prior two seasons and said something to the effect that the first round loss, while disappointing, wasn't so bad because it was a result of a major injury.  He was having none of it and said that they (the front office) needed to do a better job by making sure that the team was built so that a single injury didn't cripple the team.  He then expressed optimism about the upcoming season.  His attitude got me super pumped for the 2011-12 season and...well...we all know how that worked out.

[KevShmev]

The Blues are losing in Boston.  I am not used to this...

[King Postwhore]

Krug. Ouch. Lol

[KevShmev]

It's crazy to think that the Kracken could have gotten Tarasenko for nothing.  Amazing comeback by him this season.

[King Postwhore]

And again. Glad they didn't trade him now?  Lol

[KevShmev]

Gorgeous passing on that last goal.

[gmillerdrake]

It's crazy to think that the Kracken could have gotten Tarasenko for nothing.  Amazing comeback by him this season.

There are probably a few teams that passed on him that are kicking themselves given Armstrong was shopping him pretty heavily. It’ll be interesting to see if he still wants out after this season

[Anguyen92]

Looking at the other scoreboards.  Whistles.....



Crazy that Ovechkin only got one goal out of that one.  He stands at 775 now.

[jingle.boy]

Goddamn you Leafs.  Stat that flashed up during the game ... among the top four Atl teams, the Leafs have the worst points-% against non-playoff teams, but the BEST points-% against playoff teams.  I guess that bodes well come playoff time, but goddamn... going 1-3 against the Sabres, outscored 15-5 in those losses.   

[pg1067]

Well...you can scratch off Ryan Hartman from the list of Lady Byng candidates.

[jingle.boy]

Oh, and another note on how much I'm hating that this team can't do shit against the Sabres this year, their only win was from the GWG with like 12 seconds to go.  Also, Matthews held pointless ... the last time he was held pointless - a 5-1 loss at the beginning of March to the same fucking Buffalo Sabres!

At least Tampa and Boston both also lost in regulation.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Welp I guess second place is fine…