After a lengthy respite, the Battle of Ontario is a thing again, as the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs are in the Nation’s capital to continue their spat with the Senators. It’s been decidedly one-sided in favour of the visitors over the past few years (and Leafs’ fans are well-represented in the arena). Still, Ottawa shut out the Maple Leafs 3-0 in Toronto on November 12th. The Senators have designs on one of the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots.
A Tale of Two Seasons for Two Teams. The Rangers got off to an impressive start (12-4-1), only to nosedive a few months ago. They’re in a real dogfight in the Eastern Conference, as teams fight tooth-and-nail for one of the two wildcard invites. New York has played better hockey as of late. They host an Avalanche team with an impressive lineup but were tethered to the ground by substandard goaltending. Colorado recognized the problem, addressed the problem, and now their netminding is steady, which is all they need to be a legitimate Cup contender. Which they are.
It’s been a trip through the desert on a horse with no name for the Devils recently, as they can’t generate the offence needed to keep winning games at the pace they set in the first third of the season. Tonight, they visit a Flyers’ team again involved in the Great Eastern Wildcard Rat Race. Translation…even though New Jersey is one of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division, this most likely will not be an easy two points this evening.
Have the real Dallas Stars finally stood up? Have the real Vegas Golden Knights decided to take a load off their feet for a spell, explaining their recent mid-season mini swoon? No panic in either city, as this could easily be the 2025 Western Conference Final.
Is there a garage sale forthcoming in Pittsburgh? Two-for-one deals? Free balloons for the kids? Everything (except Sid and Evgeni) must go? The Penguins win juuuust enough to stay within spitting distance of the Eastern wildcard logjam, but I’ve done the research. Penguins apparently can spit long distances. This means they are a long way from actually playing past mid-April. Utah is happy to have hockey, but they’re also staying close in their wildcard hunt, so the two points tonight are imperative to both clubs.
Are the Bruins a playoff team this spring? The bottom half of the Eastern Conference is underwhelming enough to keep the B’s in the picture. A different scenario for the Jets, who got out of the gate at a dizzying pace and, since then, have fended off the Minnesota Wild and the up-and-coming Stars and Avalanche in the tough Central Division.
We know the Avalanche will likely be a playoff team this spring; the question is where they finish? First, second, third in the Central Division, or a Western wildcard entry? What about the Blues? They’ve seemingly been a point or two back of a Western wildcard spot for the past couple of months, and it’s high time to begin to make their move to solidify a playoff spot over the next two-and-a-half months.
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