This has the potential to be a big night in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Nine games on the NHL schedule and six of them have a direct impact on how things will shake out in the Atlantic Division and in the race for the second Wild Card spot in the East.
The Islanders are in Philadelphia, the Lightning are home to Detroit, the Bruins host the Stars, the Leafs visit Nashville, the Canadiens take on Florida and the Ottawa Senators visit the Minnesota Wild. With less than two weeks left in the NHL regular season, these six games could go a long way towards deciding who plays who when the playoffs start in mid-April.
While the Minnesota Wild appear all but locked into the second spot in the Central Division, they have stumbled lately.
Their 1-7-2 record in their last ten games is second worst in the entire league and only the lowly Colorado Avalanche have been worse. They’ve lost four straight including consecutive overtime losses against the Wings and Capitals. And despite their recent slide, they still sit 3rd overall in goal differential at an incredible +49. Up until their recent slump, Bruce Boudreau’s team looked like a serious contender in the Western Conference.
The Wild called up Alex Stalock from their minor league affiliate yesterday and he’ll make his first NHL start of the season against the Senators. Stalock had four consecutive shutouts for the Iowa Wild before the recall.
Erik Karlsson played limited minutes in the third period and barely touched the ice during the five minute overtime session which had some rightfully worried about a potential injury. And then yesterday, we heard that Karlsson was walking with a bit of a limp after blocking a shot against the Flyers. No sign of Karlsson at the game day skate either. We’ll find out his status and any other line up changes when the Senators hit the ice for their game day skate at 12:30 PM.
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Craig Anderson is expected to get the start for Ottawa. Puck drop is scheduled for just after 8:00 PM.
-Looks like Marcus Hogberg is close to signing his entry level contract with the Senators organization. According to Twitter, Hogberg is no longer with his Swedish which has led to speculation that he could be close to signing on with the Senators. A 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft, Hogberg is coming off a spectacular year with Linkoping HC, including a 1.89 GAA and a .932 sv%. Hogberg certainly seems like the best goaltending prospect the Senators have right now.
-Colin White skated in his pro debut last night in Binghamton and made a pretty good impression on the Senators front office. I’ll admit I have fairly high expectations for him as a prospect and I’d still say I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. Much better skater than I recall from the World Juniors and he always seemed to be in the right spot on the ice. He made three or four plays with the puck on his stick that really helped ease myany concerns about his offensive potential too. While I recognize that one game is a small sample size, he looks NHL ready to me.
-And lastly, kudos to the Ottawa Senators organization for yesterday’s surprise visit to the incredible Jonathan Pitre. An amazingly thoughtful gesture that is sure to lift his spirits heading into his next fight. We’re all rootin for ya Jonathan! The video put together by the Senators is a must-watch.
