It's good to be back in the fold after taking an Olympic break myself for the month of March. The NHL is on its final Sunday, and now is as good a time as any to return and analyze. So, let's go around the league this final sunday, starting with the east coast bias that is Ovechkin on NBC, and then on to the showdown of Philly and New York for that final spot in the East. Some of the other games are for seeding (LA/Colorado and Chicago/Detroit), so we'll focus on just 2 games from today's schedule that give an overall feel for the season finale because the rest of the games don't mean a thing (Edmonton/Anaheim, Tampa Bay/Florida, Buffalo/New Jersey, Pittsburgh/New York Islanders).
BOSTON BRUINS (Currently 38-30-18, 6th place in the East) VS. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (54-15-12, best record in hockey, clinched the President's trophy)
- This game, more or less, means nothing to either team than a simple tune up for the playoffs. Boston is a team limping into the playoffs, and if their record is any indication (their 89 points is not even enough to be in 10th place out West), they just want to get healthy, and maybe get some kind of momentum going into the big dance. When Zdeno Chara leads your team in assists (37) and is third on the team in points (44), you know that your offense is struggling, to say the least. This team is aching to get Marc Savard back for the playoffs (his 33 points in 41 games is the closest any Bruin comes to a point-a-game pace). They are not necessarily struggling, going 6-3-1 in their last 10, but when you are locked in with the playoff opponent Boston is (they are locked in to a match up with the Buffalo Sabres and Ryan Miller), you want to be scoring more goals. Their 202 goal total for the year is 30th in the NHL.
For the Caps, this game is again, a tune up. They've been playing these types of games for weeks, like many teams do when they lock up the President's Trophy in early fashion. This is purely a momentum game for them. They're running with a 5 game win streak, seemingly getting hot at the right time with a big 6-3 win over Pittsburgh (the first time in Ovechkin's young career that he has gotten the better of Sidney Crosby and his mates). Conversely, their 315 goals is 1st in the NHL this season, and no other team even comes close on offense this year (Vancouver is 2nd with 272, almost 50 goals less). If I were a Caps fan, I would hope Ovechkin doesn't do something stupid and get himself suspended for the first couple of games, and even that is a long shot as Boudreau surely won't be double-shifting Ovie today. It will be tough for them not to have their eyes on New York and Philly later today, with one of those teams being eliminated from playoff contention with a loss today.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (40-35-6, 8th in the East) VS. NEW YORK RANGERS (38-33-10, 9th in the East)
- It's games like these that make me wish NBC does for the NHL what it does for the NFL: flex scheduling so that important games like this one can be seen nationally. What could be better for the NHL on a season finale day than to have the Flyers and Rangers battling for the final playoff spot? But instead, they picked Washington/Boston at the beginning of the year and are stuck with that snooze fest of a game. If the Flyers win, and it doesnt matter if it goes to overtime or not, they will be the 7th seed in the East and meet the New Jersey Devils in the first round. If the Rangers win, however, they would meet Ovechkin's Capitals as the number 8 seed. For the Flyers of late, winners of just 3 of their last 10, they are indeed backing in, or perhaps out, of the playoffs. If they want answers, just look the the 3rd best power play unit in hockey this year (21.5%). If this game becomes a slug fest, which it might considering the implications and these teams past history, the Rangers might be able to take that special-teams element out of the game, or at least out of the forefront. The Flyers have, by all accounts, underachieved this season (Richards only 62 points, Carter with 60, and Pronger in 3rd on the team with 55), and if they were to lose this game, many people would question the move earlier in the year to fire then coach John Stevens and replace him with Peter Laviolette. Compound that with the fact that the Flyers are likely starting Brian Boucher today due to the rash of goaltending injuries, and Flyer fans must have already hit the panic button. The Rangers, on the other hand, are red-hot coming into today's game, winning 7 of their last 10, and 9 of their last 13. Other than Marian Gaborik, who has 86 points in 75 games, the Rangers do not immediately boast any kind of offensive advantage over Philly, although the forward did score the winning goal in these teams last meeting on Friday, a 4-3 Rangers win that set up this dramatic showdown.
No comments:
Post a Comment