Actually Ottawa is just barely better than Pittsburgh defensively, ranking 19th in the NHL in shots allowed while Pittsburgh is 22nd. Goals allowed is about the same. Ottawa is 11th and Pittsburgh is 14th.
I’d say their both in that same great forward/weak defense/questionable goaltending boat. You could probably say that about every team in the east with the exception of New Jersey and Buffalo.
In terms of goals allowed, Ottawa’s third in the East. I’m rather suspicious of the shots allowed stat – it doesn’t tell you how good the shots were.
ETA: Pittsburgh may only be a couple steps below Ottawa in terms of the rankings, but Ottawa’s allowed 2.65 GPG as compared to 2.96 for Pittsburgh. That’s not an insignificant drop off.
Hubby is at the game tonight at ACC…I hope they’re winning - otherwise they’re out!
I haven’t watched much since Domi retired. But my hubby, every Saturday night. And every night, when they lose, he gets frustrated and yells at the tv. And every night, when they win, he says “I knew they could!”.
What a fan!
You mean, what a typical Leafs fan.
That about wraps it up for the Canes playoff hopes this year.
By my calculations, the Canes are mathematically eliminated. They can tie 8th place Montreal in points, but Montreal will hold the tie breaker(wins).
Well, after today I gotta say, I am really liking Bertuzzi on the Wings. This was like the 4th straight game where someone tried to hit him, and ended up falling on the ice like a little girl after runing into him when while he wasn’t even trying to deliver a hit. That’s something we have been missing.
On the bright side, that means we’re in – GO BOLTS!!
I thought for a minute there you were going to say something really ugly.
Like “Go Sens”
I know years past have no influence on this year, yet Ottawa will not win the cup. I don’t see them getting past the 2nd round. Their leaders just stink in the playoffs, and have since Yashin. Yes, Alfredsson may get some points, but that is not what makes a leader in the playoffs.
The PIT D is not that good, no, but really who in the East has a solid D 1 through 6? No one. So it might come down to outscoring the other, and while Ottawa is talented I think we see the further blossoming of Crosby. That guy is just sick. Couple him with Malkin, Roberts and Staal and that is a deadly forward corps.
I hope NJ dies a quick playoff death too. They are just boring to watch. Lousy trap.
People forget it now, but Alfredsson has actually turned in some very good playoff performances. Trouble is, he hasn’t done that since 2002. He really is the key for Ottawa. If he’s scoring, Ottawa can make some noise. If he’s his usual invisible self, they’re out by the second round. Leaf fans will roll their eyes at the idea that Alfredsson could ever turn it around, but Steve Yzerman was widely considered to be a playoff choker too prior to 1997.
You mean the year he delivered a cheapshot to Tucker and then scored the game winner?
Yeah, the Sens lost then too.
(I could be wrong, I think that was the year, and yes I fucking hate the sens)
If by “cheap shot”, you mean “shoulder check”, then yes, that was the year. We would have had you that year if Tie Domi hadn’t have been lucky enough to have his face bloodied after being boarded.
If by shoulder check you mean hit from behind, then we are in agreement.
Yeah, and the Leafs would have won the cup if Gretzky had been called for that high stick.
Ok, here are the playoff scenarios in the East. It’s basically going to come down to Toronto vs. Montreal on Saturday. The Islanders still have an outside chance. To make it, they must win all 3 of their remaining games, they must beat the Leafs in regulation, Montreal must loses both of their remaining games and at least one of Montreal’s loses must be in regulation. If all of that doesn’t happen for New York, then it’s the Leafs or the Habs
Here are the playoff scenarios for the Leafs. If the Leafs don’t meet the criteria(and the Isles aren’t it), Montreal takes the 8th spot.
Toronto must beat Montreal in regulation if
[ul][li]Montreal wins against NYR, Toronto wins against NYI[/li][li]Montreal loses(in OT), Toronto loses(in OT)[/li][li]Montreal loses(in reg), Toronto loses(in reg)[/li][/ul]
Toronto must win
[ul][li]Montreal loses(in OT), Toronto wins[/li][li]Montreal loses(in reg), Toronto loses(in OT)[/li][li]Montreal loses(in reg), Toronto wins[/li][/ul]
Toronto eliminated
[ul][li]Montreal wins, Toronto loses(OT or reg)[/li][li]Montreal loses(in OT), Toronto loses(in reg)[/li][/ul]
I’ve just realized that neither the Rangers nor the Lightning have clinched. The Lightning need one point to clinch a playoff berth; the Rangers need two. So the above is just the most likely scenarios – neither the Rangers nor the Lightning are safe yet(although one of them will make the playoffs).
Anybody think either the leafs or the habs have any sort of shot against Buffalo?
The optimist in me thinks that Leafs handled themselves pretty well against the Sabres in 5 of the last 6 periods and might have a chance at stealing the series.
The pessimist (and realist) says that the series could be over in 4 or 5 since Buffalo will play every period like they played that third period when they scored four straight in just under 10 minutes to steal the win.
Beauchemin is a very strong #3. Would be a #2 or even 1 on a lot of clubs. Highly underrated.
Lightning have a magic number of 1. They need to earn 1 point in their next two games -OR- have one of the teams behind them drop a point.
I’m going to try to suspend my hatred of both the Sabres and the Leafs here for a minute to answer that. I do think that the Leafs could pull it off. First of all, the Sabres look to me like a team that’s primed for a early flameout. They’re cocky as hell, and they’re not quite as good as they think they are(they only lead the East thanks to the shootout, and they won’t be getting any shootouts in the playoffs). Their defence has a real tendency to make mistakes under pressure, and the Leafs have done a pretty good job of exposing them at times with a heavy forecheck.
Now, the Sabres are still a very strong team. Their offense is ridiculous. Shutting them down will be Toronto’s biggest challenge. Their defence corps will have to come up huge. Their forwards have to do a better job backchecking. Toronto must avoid turnovers at all costs – no team is better at converting odd-man rushes than Buffalo. Raycroft has to avoid allowing back-breaking goals, especially on the road. When he allowed the 4-2 goal in that debacle in Buffalo, I knew that the Leafs were in trouble. The crowd was electric after that, and the Sabres rode the momentum to victory. The Leafs have to take the crowd out of the game if at all possible.
Ryan Miller poses another daunting challenge. He’s the second best goaltender in the East behind Brodeur. You can’t beat him on a straight shot, and his rebound control is nearly perfect. Just about the only way to beat him is on a one-timer, and even then, Miller has excellent lateral motion.
The Habs, though? Forget about it. The Habs are merely a poor imitation of the Sabres; inferior in virtually all aspects of the game.
Is exhibition over yet. The NHL and NBA have practically eliminated the season as relevant. Just make the playoffs and everything changes. The referees change calls and the games are suddenly different.
Goalie makes all the difference. One player can change hockey more than any other sport. I am a Wing fan and have seen then eliminated by weaker teams with a hot goalie way too often.