By: Rod Pedersen
1 – R-E-L-I-E-F: The Florida Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak with an emphatic 3-1 home victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. It made an incredibly tight race atop the NHL’s Atlantic Division even tighter, and got some antsy Cats fans off the team’s back! Eetu Luostarinen scored the game-winner at 1:04 of the third period and Sergei Bobrovsky made 17 saves to net the win. John Tavares scored Toronto’s lone goal and Joseph Woll took the loss in net for the Buds.
2 – THE RACE: At the time of this writing, the Toronto Maple Leafs (47-26-3) lead the division with 98 points, but hot on their heels are the Tampa Bay Lightning (45-26-6) with 96 points. The two teams meet Wednesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Just two points back at 94 are the Panthers (45-29-4), who have just four games remaining. Tuesday’s Cats win over the Leafs was massive, as the Ottawa Senators clinched a playoff spot that same night, and have crept to 90 points and were/are breathing down the Panthers neck.
3 – PLAYOFF TICKET PUNCHING: Speaking of the Senators clinching, they’ve done so for the first time since 2017 and it comes in the first season under head coach Travis Green, who’d previously been fired in New Jersey and Vancouver. As for the Sunshine State teams, both the Lightning and Panthers clinched playoff berths on Saturday afternoon, just hours apart, and it came by virtue of results in other games, not by wins of their own. Crazy! It’s the sixth straight postseason berth for Florida, and eighth for Tampa Bay.
4 – PLAYOFF PAIRINGS: I’m loathe to do this because so much in the standings can shift over this final week of the regular season however the first round match-ups look an awful lot in the Eastern Conference like: Toronto/Ottawa, Tampa Bay/Florida, Washington/Montreal and Carolina/New Jersey. That’s a major boon for fans of the Battle of Ontario and Battle of Florida however it’s a major gut punch for ESPN as it appears the Red Wings, Rangers, Bruins and the West’s Chicago Blackhawks will all miss the postseason. That’s four Original Six teams skipping the playoffs, and four habitual TV ratings winners.
5 – THE GREAT 8: The chase is over. Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record of 894 with a pair of goals Friday versus Chicago, then set the record on Sunday, scoring the Caps’ lone marker in a 4-1 loss to the NY Islanders. The record-breaker came on Ovechkin’s patented snipe from the left circle, and he promptly raced down the ice and did a swan dive! The game was halted, Ovechkin was appropriately honored for achieving NHL greatness, and The Great One Wayne Gretzky was in attendance to se it all happen. It’s been a heckuva fun ride.
6 – WAIT A MINUTE: Not to be a party pooper but the actual list of Goals Per Game in NHL history looks a lot different than the actual career goals scored list (i.e. some players were on pace to set the iconic NHL mark but had their careers cut short due to injury). The G.P.G. list consists of Mike Bossy (0.76 Goals Per Game), Mario Lemieux (0.75), Auston Matthews (0.63), Pavel Bure (0.62), Alex Ovechkin (0.60), and Wayne Gretzky (0.60). Meanwhile the top six actual all-time NHL goal scorers are Ovechkin, Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Brett Hull and Marcel Dionne. Can you see the difference? I can see the difference.
7 – R.I.P. MILSY: The hockey world was rocked this week when the NHL Alumni Association announced popular broadcaster and former goaltender Greg Millen suddenly passed at age 67. The cause of death wasn’t revealed, nor does it matter. The Toronto product played Junior Hockey in Toronto, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie before an NHL career which spanned 1978-1992 with stints in Pittsburgh, Hartford, St. Louis, Quebec, Chicago and Detroit. Upon retirement he immediately jumped to the broadcast booth where he appeared on Hockey Night In Canada until this season. Fun Fact: the first NHL game I ever attended was in Edmonton in 1984 and the two goalies were Andy Moog (Oilers) and Greg Millen (Blues). I’ve been a longtime fan! Condolences to Greg’s family, friends and fans.
8 – UNFAIR: The playoff race in the Western Conference is just as wild, if not wilder, than the East. However one story we’re following closely due to my close personal ties to Calgary is the fate of the Flames. In Year 2 under GM Craig Conroy and Head Coach Ryan Huska, and in Year 1 of a rebuild, the Flames currently stand at 37-27-13. That has them four points out of playoff spot with five games to go but under the old (pre-wildcard) playoff format, they’d be IN a playoff spot! Unfair for sure, but the wildcard berths were introduced in 2014 to ensure the correct (most points) teams achieved the postseason.
9 – OUTLOOK: Beware Fake News. A Canadian-based fan site accused the Panthers of deliberately tanking games over the past week in order to draw a more favorable playoff match-up. (We’re not even sure what that is). However with a playoff spot secured over the weekend, head coach Paul Maurice’s focus clearly is on getting healthy for the playoffs. On Tuesday, he announced rugged forward Sam Bennett will be sat for the remainder of the regular season in order to get healthy. Last week captain Aleksander Barkov missed games, all losses, due to an undisclosed injury. Meanwhile MVP Matthew Tkachuk remains on Long Term Injured Reserve however we’re assured he’ll be ready for the postseason. It’s evident Maurice cares more about postseason health than regular season standings, despite what some fan site is suggesting.
10 – STANLEY CUP FAVES — TOP 5/BOTTOM 5: Previously I mentioned the standings could shift a lot in the final week of the regular season. The Stanley Cup Favorite betting odds have shifted mightily in the last week as well. At Fanduel Sportsbook, they now are Dallas (+600), Florida (+650), Vegas (+750), Winnipeg (+900), and Carolina/Colorado (+900). … Meanwhile here is our popular weekly listing of the teams at opposite ends of the NHL spectrum: 1) Winnipeg, 2) Dallas, 3) Vegas, 4) Florida, 5) Washington and, 28) Buffalo, 29) Nashville, 30) Philadelphia, 31) San Jose, 32) Chicago.
See you at the rink!
(Rod Pedersen covers the NHL for the South Florida Tribune. He also hosts the award-winning Cats N Bolts Podcast and the daily Rod Pedersen Show on Game+TV, YouTube Live & Podcast)
