carpandean

That was in reference to a post the other night that got a bit of a response. I (somewhat) jokingly said that I was still nervous about Carolina (eliminated later that night) and Toronto passing us. I will be nervous about the remaining two right up until they or we are eliminated.

OK, I'm not nervous about the Maple Leafs (other than the lottery, of course) anymore. We now have a maximum points of 62 with a max ROW of 19, below Toronto's current 62 points and 24 ROW. Bottom three finish guaranteed.

I'll admit it, I was firmly clenched for the whole last half of that period. Now that it's over, I can say that I liked the push back and the whole effort by the boys, but only now that it's over. ;)

Yup.

Man, I clicked on the Yotes game and it was 1-0 Arizona with 12 minutes left. Less than three minutes later, it's 1-3. And the replay showed that Crosby pushed it in with his skate, but they still allowed it under review.

We have 8 games left and 48 points, so right now our max is 64. Arizona has 54 points (with a game going on right now.) If they win this one and the one against us, then they would have 58 points. If we lose tonight and the head-to-head, both in regulation, then we would have 48 with 6 games left for a max of 60. The soonest that we can clinch in April Fools Day against the Leafs (a loss would take us to 58 max and one less ROW than the Yotes could get.) What could go wrong there? ;) Now, want to know when the earliest that Arizona could clinch is? :P

Douchiest move by a prospect ever.

This year is exceedingly rare. The best prospect in 10 years is coming out in combination with another one of the top prospects in the same generation (if not 2nd best, close to it.) The closest thing to that before was 2004 when Malkin and Ovechkin came out. Despite all of that, only two teams - Sabres and Coyotes - really made an effort to degrade their on-ice performance through player moves. The Oilers did a little, but not nearly as much (their best players were much too young), and the Maple Leafs' players have checked out, but I wouldn't accuse their front office of purposefully tanking. We haven't seen anything approaching what just those two teams have done since pre-2004-05 lockout, despite higher odds than what they have now. This is a perfect (s**t) storm that is unlikely to be repeated even without any changes to the system.

We know that the players won't do it. We can't even get our players under long-term contracts (Ennis, Moulson, etc.) to do it and they would stand to benefit far more from a successful tank than another teams' players would stand to benefit from derailing it. Too many players on that team would not be in comfortable positions (long-term contracts), themselves, so they will play hard for their own best interests. Losing a game on purpose (not just thinning the roster, but actually playing on the ice to lose) is morally reprehensible and no GM/Coach is going to walk into the dressing room and say, "let's teach these tankers a lesson tonight, boys; go out there and lose one for the moral high ground." Team-wise, the only exception seems to be Toronto, whose "stars" are mailing in every game. As for roster manipulation, it can be done when rebuilding by trading off players for future assets (even that takes time, not to mention an open trading season), but there's not much that can be done in the short-run to affect one game. They are limited in call-ups and there would certainly be outrage from the players if some of them are sat in favor of lesser players just to prove a point. I don't see any of them doing much more than playing the backup goaltender. Not to mention one heck of a "playoff" beard.

Data has to be a little thin for high-end NCAA players (compared to CHL players). Not that there aren't any (Toews, Heatley, Vanek, etc.), but Eichel's producing (point-wise) at a higher level than even those few data points. Tough to infer what he's going to be capable of.

Depends on who gets 'em. I'm not worried about Carolina anymore. The Maple Leafs are 12 ahead with a guaranteed tie breaker and if the Sabres get 13+, they'd likely be passing us for 27th, anyway. I'd just prefer that they not be sticking around. Now, if I were an Oilers fan (and maybe a Yotes fan), I'd definitely be concerned about them. And, on some real, "Around the NHL" news: the Hamburglar got flame-broiled by the Rangers tonight.

Not bad (the outcome, not the game, itself.) I'll take it.

It won't be. Kane is coming, Reinhart is coming, etc. Some of the best players on the team are still kids. Plus, we have a lot to trade with.

As I said earlier, that's why I couldn't watch this game in person. I can't change how I feel about the outcome, but it's not fair to the players to cheer against them in their own building.

I say yes, but I'm watching the NHL scoreboard, so my only basis is the number changing to a 3.

I was thinking that if you put these teams together, you could make a nice AHL team.

If they win tonight, I'm going to break my computer screen repeatedly smashing my face onto that.

That's good to know.

They are. They have a (9 - game-in-hand) lead on Boston and (13 - game-in-hand) lead on Florida with 8 games left. They may be playing poorly, but neither team behind them is playing really well, either. Ottawa is playing well, but they are currently the 8th-place team.

I'm still worried about Carolina (could be eliminated tonight) and Toronto falling below us, so ...

Nolan was rewarding him for showing up early by trying to get him the hat trick. Did I mention the hat trick? Yeah, he got one.

Unfortunately, 99% of casual fans won't know that and will think it a misogynistic term, on par with the "Peaches" and "Belles" in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League.

Down by 1 with under a minute left, the Sabres pull Hackett and score. On the faceoff, Matt Ellis pressures the Coyotes' D-man, who then falls, creating a 2-on-1 with Ellis and Hodgson. Cody goes top shelf for the shocking, come-from-behind regulation win.

I couldn't possibly go to this game in person. It's an extension of the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" rule. Very few of these players are guaranteed a spot with the team in the long-run, so cheering against them in person wouldn't be fair. Most fan who actually go, likewise, probably won't boo them or cheer for the Coyotes, so I don't expect a lot of that, but I imagine that there will be a larger-than-normal number of empty seats.