Game recaps, the Canucks clinch a playoff spot, the Oilers play spoilers, plus updates on Max Pacioretty and David Booth.
Game Recaps.
Mark Stone celebrates his overtime goal against the Penguins.
OTTAWA CITIZEN: The Senators kept their playoff hopes alive with 4-3 comeback win over the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. Mark Stone scored twice (including the game winner in overtime) while goalie Andrew Hammond stretched his record to 18-1-2 this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators are tied with the Boston Bruins with 95 points, but the Bruins hold a game in hand and still hold the final wild-card berth. The Penguins remain one point ahead of both clubs and hold the first wild-card berth, but with only two games remaining in their schedule and their recent decline they’re no longer certain of securing a postseason spot.
CALGARY SUN: Sean Monahan broke a 2-2 deadlock to lift the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes. The Flames can secure a playoff spot with a win on Thursday against the now-struggling Los Angeles Kings.
WINNIPEG SUN: Ondrej Pavelec collected his second straight shutout and Chris Thorburn scored the only goal as the Winnipeg Jets nipped the St. Louis Blues 1-0. The Jets now have control of the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference with two games to play.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: The Oilers made the most of their opportunity to play postseason spoiler and avenge a recent lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Kings, upsetting the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-2. The Kings are now in danger of missing the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames, Jets and Kings all have two games remaining in the schedule. The Flames (95 points) are two points up on the Kings for third in the Pacific Division, while the Jets hold 96 points. If the Flames beat the Kings on Thursday night, they and the Jets will clinch playoff berths.
Notable Headlines.
THE VANCOUVER SUN: Thanks to the Oilers beating the Kings, the Canucks have secured a playoff spot only one year after missing the postseason.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: While the Canucks got some help from the Oilers, it’s a tribute to their management and coaching changes, as well as the roster moves made since last summer, which turned them back into a playoff team. The rebuilding process is already off to a great start. While the Canucks aren’t Cup contenders, there’s now reason for optimism that the club is finally back on the right path after several years in decline.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty will be evaluated by team doctors to determine the status of his recent head injury. It’s suspected Pacioretty suffered a concussion during a recent game against the Florida Panthers. He will not be in the lineup for the Habs game against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
TORONTO SUN: Forward David Booth’s improvement over the second half of this season could earn him a new contract with the Leafs or another club after this season.
Looking forward to my copy of the Hockey News with Crosby and Malkins mug shots on the cover in the “Coach Killers” series…I am trying to collect the set.
LOL That’s funny.
However I do not understand how Crosby is getting all this flak. He socred 10 Seconds into the game and a believe got an assist. What more does a team want from a single player. I would suggest the Pens surrounding cast and the injuries on their back end is the cause not Crosby. I would also suggest they could trade Malkin to add the support I talk off.
Could be the result of too much of the salary cap going to too few players leaving insufficient cap space to adequately fill out the roster. Chicago may be in the same situation next year when Kane and Toews $10+ million contracts kick in. There must be a reason Willie Desjardins turned down Pittsburgh.
My Sens do not do a single thing the easy way. They get NYR next the president trophy winners. Here is hoping now that the Rangers have the trophy and secure in their playoff position they will relax a bit and not push to hard as they may wish to avoid any injuries pre playoffs. Hopefully this gives the Sens the slight edge. The Sens still need help.
However can you imagine if it comes down to their last games between the Sens and Pens and the Pens lose to Buffalo of all teams and the Sens defeat the Pens state rivals in Philly. What a storm that would create in Pennsylvania.
It may benefit the Leafs and the Oilers to follow Vancouver and hire a well-respected President who in turn will hire an experienced GM who have no ties to the current rosters and can do an unbiased assessment of the talent and needs of their respective clubs. Linden and Benning overhauled the rosters of both the Canucks and Utica, hired an excellent coach, picked up a couple of UFA’s and started the season with 6 or 7 new layers on their roster. They have the Canucks back in the playoffs and the Comets are one of the top teams in the AHL.
It has been great hockey out here down the stretch – a taste of playoff atmosphere in all three cities – Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver – and the Canucks have been overlooked a bit because of the great stories with the Flames and Jets, but Vancouver just keeps finding a way and they deserve a ton of credit. It would be fantastic to have all three Canadian teams make it to the dance and even better if the Sens ran the table in the east and joined Montreal. The playoffs could be really special this year.
It’s not Crosby and Malkin that are coach killers, it’s the coaches themselves. I’ve watched a lot of their games, and when it’s tied or they are losing, hard on the forecheck and non stop pressure. They start winning, switch to “protect the lead guys” and then the wheels fall off.
I don’t understand why nhl coaches try this, I’ve only ever seen it fail, and is the worst tactic. I hope the fire Johnston
So true. I has bitten Ottawa as well. Up 3-1 on the Leafs and they sat back to protect and lost in OT. Up 3-1 on Washington and sat back and lost the lead thankfully they won it in a shootout.
Sitting back and dieing on your heals is never better than dieing on your toes in my opinion.