goal Nugent-Hopkins goal McDavid 7-1 now Niemi (worst goalie in the NHL this season) allowed five, and Lehtonen 2.
Oilers and Panthers each scored 7 goals last night. Impressive! Caps ended their 4 game losing streak against the Wild and now the playoffs are starting to take shape. It is an exciting time in the NHL! As for the Metro, I think you would almost rather be the Rangers in that 4th slot than the Caps, Pens, and Blue Jackets who will all have to play each other by Round 2. New York's path is much easier as a Wild Card.
Nice job by the caps to stop the skid, Trotz has been open about cutting back on Alex's time on the ice as he preps for the playoffs. Meanwhile down on the island, Garth Snow still thinks it's 1980 and he is holding a grudge against Halak, so he is keeping him in Bridgeport instead of sending Berube the isles backup down to the minors and calling up Halak to backup Greiss. It's sad to see these guys like Milbury and Snow let the game pass them by as they are stuck in the dark ages.
Isles have been playing pretty good lately though. They could be a tough out if they get in the playoffs.
Most people consider Gary Bettman a joke and feel he has held the league back from being relevant, but I think this playoff format takes the cake. The Capitals lead the NHL with 102 points. The Penguins are second with 101. The Blue Jackets are third with 100 and can tie the Caps tonight. AT LEAST one if not two of these Top 3 teams will not see Round 2 of the NHL playoffs due to the format. It is pretty embarrassing and would happen in literally no other sport. Of course it is worse to me since my team is one of the three, but still. ridiculous. Here is how a proper format would look at the moment: 1. Washington Capitals vs. 8. Toronto Maple Leafs 2. Montreal Canadiens vs. 7. Boston Bruins 3. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 6. Ottawa Senators 4. Columbus BlueJackets vs. 5. New York Rangers Instead it ridiculously looks like this: 1. Washington Capitals vs. WC2. Toronto Maple Leafs 1. Montreal Canadiens vs. WC1: New York Rangers 2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 3. Columbus BlueJackets 2. Ottawa Senators vs. 3. Boston Bruins Then a proper format would include the Highest seed playing the lowest seed for round 2. Instead, they have these ridiculous brackets basically penalizing a team for being in a great division and rewarding a team for being in a weak one. So if 2 of the 3 Top teams in the NHL currently (Caps, Pens, Jackets) do get to Round 2, they will have to face each other. Leading to an Eastern Conference Final that will clearly not feature the two best teams in the conference. Crazy. However, if I was one of the 3 teams I have been talking about, I would embrace the competition and say bring it on. If you are a top team, you should not worry about playing anyone. Having said that, the format is clearly a mess.
I didn't like the switch having grown up watching the 1-8 seed conference set up as well. But this format is actually a return to the previous set up when the conferences were Campbell and Wales. They did it so more rivalries will be played in the playoffs. Pacific division could have a Flames/Oilers round 1, which will be off the fucking charts. Btw thanks for taking care of the Flamers last night for me.
Haha no problem. That was a fun game. Holtby bobblehead night too. As for the playoff format, the best way for it to change would be for Golden Boy Sidney Crosby and the defending champion Penguins to be eliminated Round 1 by the Caps or Jackets. That would definitely make the league change the format.
Edmonton trailed 4-2 after 2 in Denver. 5 third period goals against the hapless Avs (two empty netters).
Did you see the dive by Cindy Crosby? I though he was hit by a snipers bullet. The guy went down like a sack of potatoes that fell off a truck. I thought he had a medical condition it was so extreme.
I wish defenseman would hit like Scott Stevens did, today's defenseman don't make the forwards pay for coming across the zone with speed, if they did, Crosby and some of these other forwards would never come across the middle like it's pick up hockey.
