Thats all thats left, three days in what has been an incredible season. We've seen a great batch of rookies, we've seen the two teams that made it the furthest last year - miss the playoffs this year...and so much more. But we're not done, we still have some battles going on.
How about the Colorado Avalanche who looked to be down and out. While they still would need a lot of luck to make the playoffs, for them to still be alive at this point in the season is something to be proud of. This is a very solid young team, and I'm hearing they are getting ready to have quite the off-season (how about a Joe Sakic - Ryan Smyth pairing in Denver?). Colorado is on their way back up, even if they do fail to make the playoffs this year.
As for the Eastern Conference, here is how it works...
A Montreal regulation loss tomorrow night would eliminate them from the playoffs.
A New York Islander loss (regulation or overtime) in their next two games would eliminate them from the playoffs.
A Toronto loss or overtime win would eliminate them from the playoffs...
so in other words...
for Montreal to make the playoffs, they have to win tomorrow nights game or lose in overtime.
for Toronto to make the playoffs they must beat Montreal in regulation and NYI has to lose a game
for NYI to make the playoffs they must win both their games and Toronto must beat the Islanders in regulation...
and while it's unlikely, A Montreal win, two Islander wins, and a two regulation losses by Tampa Bay...and Tampa is out and NYI and Montreal are both in...confused yet? This could come right down to Sunday, when NYI faces off on the road against New Jersey.
Detroit Red Wings lost last night, but I'm sure they are still smiling today. They have re-signed Pavel Datsyuk to a new seven year deal worth somewhere between 6-7 million per season. So much for the Datsyuk to Washington rumours, looks like AO will have to find a new playing partner.
Hockeyleaks.com would also love to congratulate Bryan Bickle, who played in his first NHL game last night and scored his first NHL goal. Bryan grew up in my area and I've been fortunate enough to watch him several times. He's a great player and a great person, and Hockeyleaks.com wishes him a very long and great NHL career.
