Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl skates after the puck against the Montreal Canadians in the second period at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, on April 8.Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
As I sit waiting for Easter dinner I have a little time to chew on a few things hockey.
The National Hockey League’s regular season concludes on Friday and with six days to go, two Canadian teams have clinched positions in the playoffs and two are still fighting for a spot.
One of them – most likely Winnipeg – will lock down a wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
But before we get to that, let’s consider the success and failures that occurred on an action-packed Saturday where all 32 teams took to the ice.
Connor McDavid continued his rampage with two more goals and three points as Edmonton gutted the Sharks in San Jose.
The Oilers captain now has 64 goals and 151 points and is within striking distance of two milestones – the 65 goals scored in 2007-08 by Alex Ovechkin and the 155 points accrued in 1988-89 by Steve Yzerman.
McDavid scored from in close and on a breakaway as Edmonton drew within two points of Vegas in the race for first in both the Western Conference and the Pacific Division. Both have two contests left: The Oilers in Denver on Tuesday against the Colorado Avalanche and back home on Thursday against the Sharks; The Golden Knights meet the Kraken on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena and again on Thursday in Seattle.
There is no doubt that McDavid will easily win the goals championship, the points title and be selected as the league’s most valuable player. The last guy to have a campaign like this was Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 when he had 161 points for Pittsburgh.
The naysayers still found a way to pick at McDavid online on Sunday – the same rubbish as always about how he will be but a footnote in history unless he wins a Stanley Cup and that his career has been wasted in Edmonton. One critic said he will never reach the top until he is traded. To where, I wondered, exactly? Ah, if only he was in Toronto he would be happy.
The Maple Leafs beat up on the Canadiens on Saturday in a romp in which Mitch Marner had a pair of a goals and an assist. The fleet winger has scored 30 times and is just two points shy of reaching 100 for the first time.
Toronto has three games left – in Sunrise, Fla., on Monday against the Panthers, in Tampa on Tuesday against the Lightning and at New York on Thursday against the Rangers.
They are all tough opponents but the outcome won’t change anything. The Maple Leafs will open the postseason at Scotiabank Arena on April 17 or 18 against Tampa Bay.
Winnipeg won in a shutout at home on Saturday over the Nashville Predators. The Jets head into the final week with a one-point lead over the Flames for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference.
This has turned into an unexpected battle because Winnipeg has slumped badly and is 13-16-2 over its past 31 games. It has three outings this week: What should be an easy one at home on Monday versus San Jose, at Minnesota on Tuesday and at Colorado on Thursday.
Most likely two victories will be needed to clinch a spot but perhaps not owing to Calgary’s foibles.
The Flames, who have had to rally to get into the race, lost in a shootout to Vancouver on Saturday and now have only two more chances to catch and pass the Jets. It’s actually amazing that they are still alive – at this point they have six more losses than wins, are 7-16 in overtime and have 29 one-goal defeats.
Calgary plays at home against Nashville on Monday in what should be a close contest. If the Predators lose, they are finished. The Flames finish the regular season at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday against the poor Sharks, who aren’t very good and find themselves facing one desperate club after another.
Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver are already eliminated. The Senators had some good moments before they hit the skids, the Canadiens are next to last in the Eastern Conference and the Canucks pretty well did what they always do – occasionally show the promise of a playoff team and then fade away into irrelevance.
There is not much time left but there are still some important things to be decided.
Can Edmonton catch Vegas and win home ice through the conference finals? Can the Jets hold on? Can the Flames do what is seemingly impossible?