I’d posted this before, but a big kudos to the Youtube channel NHL Draft. The website editor did a nice post draft look at what he thought were the top 10 prospects. We’ve had some good back and forth post IIHF World Juniors.
Tonight marks the end of an important west coast swing. Detroit is 2 for 2 against San Jose and Los Angeles as they head into Anaheim. The playoff bubble is going to be tight and all the points matter. I’m unable to find the link but there was some back and forth on NHL rumors regarding the playoffs. The summary is that there is a sentiment regarding the Metro being so strong that the Atlantic won’t grab a bubble spot. To the point, even Tampa Bay was left out of the offseason with Toronto, Florida and Boston taking the 3 divisional seats.
Interestingly, the 4th period’s Dave Pagnotta says he would be “surprised” if Kane was moved, even if Detroit were out of contention. He cites Kane’s desire for a 3 year deal in negotiations as part of that consideration. Kane has been fantastic to watch, I do have trouble believing he wouldn’t want post season action and have that conversation with agents before the deadline.
I’d said earlier that Detroit really needed to try and sweep this trip. Even an OT or shootout loss tonight would be a welcome 5 out of 6 points. Unless the teams ahead of Detroit start to slide, it’s going to be tough to grab a spot. Regardless, there has been forward momentum in goal scoring, but defensively the team has struggled. The next 5 or 6 weeks will determine the year end roster. Perron and Gostisbehere both would be welcome commodities (along with Kane of course) and could return if they like what Detroit is doing if they find themselves on a contending team.
It’s difficult to know, and as tight a pack as any I can remember to grab a spot. The battle to get out of the East may well send the cup to the Western Conference once again as teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan wear themselves down trying to get into the brackets. We’ll see if Detroit is able to grab another step in the right direction tonight.
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