NHL 2013

[Uncle Phil]

I haven't kept much of an eye on the West this season. I usually look out for Dallas' results though.

A bit disappointed to miss out on the play offs but beating the Rangers at the weekend to prevent them making it would be a nice second prize.

We have Pittsburgh tonight for the final home game of the season, though I don't think I'll be staying up to watch it.

[Jordan]

A bit disappointed to miss out on the play offs but beating the Rangers at the weekend to prevent them making it would be a nice second prize.

Eliminating a team from playoff contention, you mean like, what the Rangers did to the Devils on Sunday?

Anyway, that won't be a worry as Captain Cally's sweet OT game-winner means the Rangers clinch a playoff berth.

It is worth noting that a lot of down-and-out teams have been playing well down the stretch. Calgary has knocked off a few teams out West, and a bunch of the eliminated teams have been tough jn a games down the stretch in the East, too. Devils are tied in the 3rd with Pittsburgh (who just lost to Buffalo) and Philly just beat the hitherto red-hot Islanders.

With one game to go, the Rangers have overtaken the Islanders (1 game left, tied on points but NYR have tiebreaker) and Ottawa to sit 6th, but Ottawa (2pts back) have two games in hand (tied in the 3rd with Washington as I type).

Columbus (whom nobody expected to contend) are winning 1-0 in a huge game at Dallas (Stars will be eliminated with a loss). I suppose all the ex-Rangers they have are making all the difference. Detroit is also winning, so now the pressure goes right back on Minnesota's shoulders in that "wild" chase for the 7th and 8th seeds out West.

[Uncle Phil]

Eliminating a team from playoff contention, you mean like, what the Rangers did to the Devils on Sunday?

Anyway, that won't be a worry as Captain Cally's sweet OT game-winner means the Rangers clinch a playoff berth.

It is worth noting that a lot of down-and-out teams have been playing well down the stretch. Calgary has knocked off a few teams out West, and a bunch of the eliminated teams have been tough jn a games down the stretch in the East, too. Devils are tied in the 3rd with Pittsburgh (who just lost to Buffalo) and Philly just beat the hitherto red-hot Islanders.

With one game to go, the Rangers have overtaken the Islanders (1 game left, tied on points but NYR have tiebreaker) and Ottawa to sit 6th, but Ottawa (2pts back) have two games in hand (tied in the 3rd with Washington as I type).

Columbus (whom nobody expected to contend) are winning 1-0 in a huge game at Dallas (Stars will be eliminated with a loss). I suppose all the ex-Rangers they have are making all the difference. Detroit is also winning, so now the pressure goes right back on Minnesota's shoulders in that "wild" chase for the 7th and 8th seeds out West.

Yeah a bit like Sunday... Damn, well at least we beat the pens last night. Kinda wish I'd stayed up to watch now. Ok so if you win on Sat you're guaranteed 7th?

Dallas went down 3-1 in the end.

Good luck in the play offs.

[Jordan]

Yeah a bit like Sunday... Damn, well at least we beat the pens last night. Kinda wish I'd stayed up to watch now. Ok so if you win on Sat you're guaranteed 7th?

Dallas went down 3-1 in the end.

Good luck in the play offs.

Yes, a win guarantees 7th place. The Rangers can also finish 6th if Ottawa stumbles down the stretch.

Playoffs might be even crazier this year than they were last season as the short season has left a lot of teams in a close pack.

[Jordan]

Detroit and Minnesota won tonight to wrap up the final two playoff spots in the West, closing the door on Columbus (who won 8 of their last 9 games to put themselves in contention).

The Eastern Conference quarterfinals pairings are still up in the air because Boston and Ottawa have to play tomorrow night in a game rescheduled due to the marathon bombing. However, the Rangers have clinched 6th place, and their match-up with 3rd-seed and familiar playoff foe Washington is all set. Even though the Caps have been hot lately, and Alexander Ovechkin has rediscovered his world-class abilities, I wonder how many pundits would actually consider the Rangers the favorites to win. I, for one, really like the Blueshirts' chances here.

The first round begins Tuesday. Gentlemen, start growing your beards...

[Jordan]

This is what a frustrated hockey team looks like:

Montréal was getting their asses kicked tonight, and they decided to settle the score with their fists... Let's just say that didn't work out too well for them. The Senators not only beat the crap out of the Habs in the line brawl, but they also scored two more afterwarsa and won 6-1 to take the series lead.

Ottawa called a time out late in the game up by 5, and after the game, Montréal's coach accused Ottawa of trying to embarrass their team. Ottawa's coach defended the TO by saying he wanted to protect and calm down his players in a game that had descended into chaos, and that he didn't need to embarrass Montréal because the Habs did a good enough job making fools of themselves tonight.

Emotions were high coming into this series because this is a local rivalry. Not only that, but the Habs were furious after Ottawa's Gryba crushed Montréal's Eller on an open-ice check in Game One, causing a gruesome injury. Gryba got suspended 2 games for a check to the head of a defenseless player but I thought Gryba's hit was a good, hard, clean check (aka violation of "Rule 48" or "the Matt Cooke Rule." IMO Diaz should take the blame for sending Eller a pass that guaranteed he would get crushed (a "hospital pass," as we call it here):

I hate to see a guy get hurt that badly and I really hope Eller (who's a good, clean player) gets healthy as soon as possible. But Eller had to choice but to put himself in danger taking that pass, and Gryba made the same play every other player in the league would have made in that situation. Also, it didn't look to me like Eller's head was the principal point of contact, which is an important part of how suspensions are given. If you think the FA is bad when it comes to giving out/not giving out bans, they seem completely level-headed and rational when compared to the NHL.

Edit to add that my Rangers sure picked a terrible time to start sucking again.