They’ve won two out of their last three and four of six despite goalie after goalie getting hurt, to the point where forward Artem Anisimov put on the gear during Saturday’s game, just in case. They’ve punched above expectations and in theory could catch the Canucks to get out of the basement. A four-game road trip this week: two in Ottawa, two in Toronto.Įveryone’s favourite also-ran. 676 clip, tops in the North and eighth overall. Since March 1, the Canucks are playing at a. They’re playing pressure-free, since few give them a chance to pull off the improbable. Points-wise they’ve got a long way to go to catch the final playoff spot, but they’ve got a lot of games in hand. They’ve won three out of four coming out of their COVID pause. They get the Oilers at home for two, then visit Montreal. The Jets are the biggest, toughest team in the North, and to hear them whine about the Leafs hitting them seems a bit off brand. Paul Maurice is obviously trying to light a fire under his troops, who sagged against the Leafs, for the stretch run. The coach pulled his star goalie (Connor Hellebuyck), ticking him off, and benched his star player (Mark Scheifele). The Jets are falling apart at the worst possible time. They split a pair with Montreal last week and get four games this week (two in Winnipeg, two at home to Calgary). If you can stop Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, you win.
It kind of feels like the Oilers are lying in the weeds, that expending extra energy to try to claim top spot isn’t worth the effort. At least they’re making life interesting. They have one more against the Habs, though a back-to-back in Edmonton later in the week could doom them.
They took two straight from Montreal to tighten the gap in the playoff race and tighten the throats in Montreal. They are hoping the late-season push is not too little, too late. This is the highest I’ve rated the Flames, a nod to how well they’ve been playing lately. They should clinch a playoff spot this week with a game in Montreal on Wednesday and a pair at home to Vancouver. The power play has scored twice, so maybe even it’s coming around. Jack Campbell seems to have sorted out the goaltending. They were the better team all week, even in the loss. Sure, they lost to Vancouver, but two straight wins over Winnipeg returns the Leafs to top spot. North Division Only (Who needs the other guys?) That clinching moment seems inevitable now, though further down the line. And first place is more on their minds than simply making the playoffs.
This will end up a footnote to this COVID-ravaged season once the Leafs actually clinch. So three points - gained by the Leafs, surrendered by Montreal or some combination of the two - is all the Leafs need to clinch. However, Montreal - holding down the fourth and final playoff spot - can only get to 67 points (depending on how things go against Calgary on Monday night).
The Leafs have 65, so seven points in the magic number there. Neither can the suddenly hot Flames, so that’s two.īut sixth-place Vancouver - with all their games in hand – can still earn 71 points as of Monday morning. Ottawa can’t catch the Leafs, so that’s one down. That strange scenario could play out, depending on Monday night’s results, as early as Wednesday but almost certainly by Saturday. So it would be fitting if the Maple Leafs clinched a playoff berth this week, even though a team far from a playoff spot can mathematically catch them. Everything during this pandemic has been strange.
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