The good news is that after Montréal scored first, Ottawa tied it 51 seconds later and never looked back. The bad news is that the Maple Leafs couldn't similarly hold off the Panthers. Overall, I'm actually okay with this - two bubble teams were playing opponents 10 points their inferior, out of the running for the season, and we went 1-1-0. I'll take it. Standings again stay in the same order, with numerical changes.
4. Philadelphia, 84 pts, 13 GR
5. Pittsburgh, 84 pts, 10 GR
6. NEW YORK RANGERS, 82 pts, 11 GR
7. Montréal, 81 pts, 11 GR
8. Carolina, 81 pts, 10 GR
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9. Florida, 80 pts, 11 GR
10. Buffalo, 76 pts, 12 GR
See how Buffalo is slowly fading away? Their 2 games-in-hand over 8th are now looking pretty vital, since winning them both still puts them a point behind, while the Panthers, with their win last night, have a win in their game-in-hand putting them in the playoffs again.
Tonight, we have 3 games of interest, and our prospects are not good for any of them.
First of all, at 7:00, the Islanders are in Carolina. Jesus, if Carolina can't get their shit together to beat this embarrassment of a hockey team, at home, to scrape themselves off the bottom of the playoff bin, I can't say as they deserve a playoff run. Expect 2 points gained for the 'Canes here, but Let's Go Isles anyway.
At 7:30, the Kings are in Pittsburgh. This is like the Isles-'Canes game, but both teams are slightly better than their 7:00 counterparts. It would be a huge boon for us if the Kings can come into Pittsburgh and beat the Pens on home ice, but it doesn't seem terribly likely. I hate the idea of the Pens, infuriatingly 11-1-3 since former LA King Dan Bylsma took the helm, sitting at 86 points more than I can possibly convey in words, and my prayers are really with Bylsma's former team tonight. I'm trying to get comfortable with the Pens winning again, and it just isn't working, so I'm gonna try denial for a while and see how that goes.
Also at 7:30, Flyers in Buffalo. Yeah, that game. Obviously, priority one is no overtimes. With that out of the way, I really think I'm backing Buffalo here. I still don't think they're making it, and I'd love the Flyers to drop an easy two to make it easier for us to catch them. There are some caveats to that, of course: the obvious one is that if Buffalo loses, and then we beat them tomorrow night, they really are out of the running, which makes it that much more likely that we'll make it. More pressing on my mind, however, is that if the Sabres and Pens both win tonight, the Pens find themselves in 4th, with the Flyers in 5th. Gross. Also, if the Flyers lose a couple, and the Rangers AND Pens keep winning, we could see a round 1 playoff series of Rangers-Pens, with the Pens having home ice advantage. The Igloo is cursed for us, and I don't like that. Also, I live in Pittsburgh. I don't want the playoffs this year to once again leave me contemplating offing myself. Seriously, Fuck Sidney Crosby!
Realistically, though, the Flyers ought to win this game. Might as well concentrate on the positives - we'd have the chance to deliver Lindy Ruff a finishing blow tomorrow night. As usual, we can only win our own games. And if any of the 3 lesser teams in these games could step up for us tonight, all the better. Our eyes should be on tomorrow night - let the scoreboards do what they will.
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