The Official National Hockey League Appreciation Thread

[KarateKen]

We are down to the final few days of the regular season.  The Kings and Oilers will meet in the first round for the fourth consecutive year.  That is become an annual event.  The Oilers have won all three of the previous matchups, maybe this year the Kings will advance. The Kings have had five consecutive first round exits and have not won a playoff series since the won the Cup back in 2014. The teams are actually facing each other right now in Edmonton with the Kings up 4-0 in the second period. 

Canadians lost 4/3 in a shootout, getting one standings point but missing a chance to clinch.  One more point and the Canadians are in. The Blue Jackets slim playoff hopes could be extended if they win Tuesday against the Flyers. 

All three teams still in the hunt for the final spot out west are in action on Tuesday, and all of them are at home.  St. Louis against Utah, Calgary against Vegas, and Minnesota against Anaheim. 

Austin Matthews and Leon Draisaitl are both at 399 goals, tied for the most goals by any active player under 30, though Matthews is two years younger.  Will we see one of them hit 400 before the end of the season? 

Hockey mood tonight: Cautiously optimistic. 

[sensei8]

If I read what I read is accurate, the it appears that my Knights will first battle on the ice with the Wild first when the playoffs start.

I don’t think that my Knights take their opponents lightly, and certainly the Wild. That would be foolish of my Knights to do so.

The Wild has had a promising season and the playoffs between Wild and my Knights shall prove to be an interesting one.

GO KNIGHTS!!

[KarateKen]

12 hours ago, sensei8 said:

If I read what I read is accurate, the it appears that my Knights will first battle on the ice with the Wild first when the playoffs start.

I don’t think that my Knights take their opponents lightly, and certainly the Wild. That would be foolish of my Knights to do so.

The Wild has had a promising season and the playoffs between Wild and my Knights shall prove to be an interesting one.

GO KNIGHTS!!

The Wild and Blues both won on Tuesday, and both clinched.  Vegas will play Minnesota in the first round. I am not sure how much playing time Fleury will get, but he could be facing his former team in Vegas for his final game in the NHL.  It is believed that Fleury will retire after the season.  Vegas and Minnesota have developed a little bit of a rivalry over the years. These teams met in the opening round in 2021 where Vegas won in 7 games.  I think Vegas should win this series, but the NHL playoffs are possibly the toughest to predict of any major pro sport.  I am not going to make any predictions right now.  

The Blues will play against the Winnipeg Jets, Oilers will play the Kings, and Stars will face the Avalanche.  

Blue Jackets win again and that seemingly comfortable lead for the Canadians to get the eight spot is now down to only two points.  Whoever gets it will play Washington.  Maple Leafs won the Atlantic and are the two seed in the east.  

[aurik]

I watched the Blues play their final regular season game last night with the playoffs on the line -- they did not disappoint.  After 3 tough losses, the Blues came out firing on all cylinders.  Their newly promoted rookie, Jimmy Snuggerud got his first NHL goal AND an assist AND was named third star of the game.  The kid is making his presence felt, and is already a staple in their top 2 lines.

I'm feeling really good about the Blues chances of making a deep playoff run this year.  So far they're undefeated on home ice since February (12 games).  Of course, being the 8th seed, they'll need to win at least one game on away ice in every round.  LetsGoBlues!