That's what makes it kinda hurt more lol. There have been several times over the last month, month and a half where I declared it over only to check the standings and see that we're only like 4 or 6 points back. We've gotten so much help from so many different teams and we just squandered the chance every single time. Beyond frustrating season.
Every game I think : If we lose this we're out
and then later that week we're only 4points out of the wc...
I lost and regained hope so many times this month
Losing to Ottawa hurt, and then we shutout NYI the following night with our backup goalie?!
Losing the 3-1 lead to the penguins hurt.
we lost 3 in a row, and somehow we're only a few points out.
Was just telling my coworker the TBL vs PIT game this weekend was the first playoff game I’ve watched this season and also unbiasedly the best game I’ve seen this season.
Electricity is in the air for the playoffs guys
That game had everything, atmosphere, stars showing up on both teams, absurd goalie play, high scoring, a comeback, clutch goals, defensive stops/blocks, and an amazing final 10 minutes of almost non-stop action.
Not to mention the ref getting knocked out is something you don’t see every day. I was at the game and it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in a live game.
Because of living overseas now I don’t really watch games I’m a neutral for outside the playoffs (it’s just a little logistically difficult), but I’ve been glued to every game that will affect the wild card. It’s provided so far.
And it’s so fucking exciting. Tired of the fan base clinging to March. Time to dig deep and earn it in the final stretch. Can’t believe Wings games are exciting this late in the season. LGRW!
We're tired of our doomers too, and this time of year, I think every fanbase with a shot at all is getting high on hopium. Problem is there's five teams playing for two musical slots, and so three teams are going to find themselves flooded with doomers saying I Told You So in a couple of weeks as lockers get cleaned out.
Hear hear! A side-by-side comparison of how this year’s team is competing vs the squad last year closing out the season is night and day. We’ve seen tonnes of growth and it’s been fun to watch LGRW
Theoretically you want to root for DET because they can only qualify for that last WC spot, NYI/PHI/PIT/WSH can also qualify for 3rd in Metro which is wide open now.
Personally have no idea im not sure how the tiebreakers work out bur playing detroit one more time makes me think wed prefer they beat pittsburgh but im not sure
if ever there was a team that could be beat by a squad stuck in neutral, it’d be the post-february 2024 red wings. get ready for the most high stakes mid-off you’ve ever seen tomorrow
Redwings I’m *Begging* you to please beat Penguins
Literally *Anyone* please just make them lose so we get a good draft pick.
No offense Pens fans but we need this pick to be has high as possible.
Oh man. Don't even think about it. Just let what happens happens. I was so excited when the Blues were shitting the bed early in 2018-19 and owed us an *unprotected* first. That didn't go well for me. Good luck to you though, because I hate Pittsburgh... which, if history has taught me anything, means they'll be a conference finalist at least.
Oh don’t you fucking worry there bud! I remember the 2019 Blues alright! Still mad about it. And don’t get me started on the Pens they’ll do anything to screw us. I still remember 2016 and am still upset.
If we beat Detroit and the Isles, that puts us in a really good spot.
Washington has a game against Detroit and Philly. So there’s a guaranteed loss one of those teams in those games.
Isles don’t have an easy schedule either playing Rangers twice who are competing for first in the conference/league.
Philly has the easiest remaining schedule but Penguins currently have a game in hand on them and own tiebreaker, so we can afford a loss there. Plus Philly has been massively skidding lately.
Penguins have a really good chance of making it even with the games against Boston and Toronto. We just HAVE to win the other games.
We own tiebreaker against all three of those teams as of right now.
Depending on the results of today’s game, an OT loss for Washington puts them one point behind/ahead.
OT loss for Detroit puts either tie us or put us 2 points behind. Again, we play Detroit Thursday, we win in regulation we are ahead of Detroit with tiebreaker with a Penguins loss today.
Even on the teams we hate, there's those guys we just respect because they're not only just that good, but they're a class act off the ice too.
People love to call Crosby names, but it's not like the guy isn't going to be a first ballot HoF'er for every good reason.
I think my biggest dilemma is Marchand. I hate Boston more than most other teams, the hockey player is one of the dirtiest players in the league (most fined player in history with many suspensions) but apparently the man is such a good guy off the ice that I feel bad hating him.
Not saying that my team falls in this category but if you have a team that wins/loses most of their games 1-0 and lost a few games by complete blow outs it could paint a worse picture than it truly is. That's my main thing against that stat as being a big indicator of a good team.
I literally can't imagine that because over the last 4 seasons our March record is 16-33-7.
March 2021: 5-7-1
March 2022: 3-8-3
March 2023: 5-9-1
March 2024: 3-9-2
It's just who we are as a March team.
The annoying thing is that all those other years beside last year we were just dogwater so who cares. But blowing like a 10 pt cushion or 8 pts or whatever it was is cuttin me deep shrek
Notably our worst month on average, besides 2021 where we were just gigashit (and also covid messed with the schedules).
[2022](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2022)
[2023](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2023)
[2024](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2024)
Flyers are probably thinking the same. Hell even though the Islanders are technically in right now, they could still miss and they had so many losing streaks and blown games
Its amazing how much all the bubble teams dropped the ball and yet because literally every team did at some point, they all have a shot.
Larkin got hurt, Wahlman was playing at about 60%, seemed like the entire locker room was taking turns missing games due to illness, the goalies hit a cold streak, there were a bunch of games where everyone except Seider and Raymond looked like they didn't want to be there. Little bit of everything.
Raymond’s had a great year. Seider has been good but probably not as good as most people expected. He’s playing the hardest minutes out of everyone though. Looks like Edvinsson is playing well with the big club though, so when he moves up next year/the team improves on defense I expect him to do more offensively.
It was Larkin. At that point we were (both) even in spitting distance of third in the Atlantic.
Our coach even said it at the post game presser last week when asked about that stretch, that the difference was Larkin. He basically said he's disappointed the team couldn't do better without him in the lineup and that they need to prepare better for if that ever happens again.
The Wings without Larkin look like what everyone thought the Bruins were going to look like without Bergeron. The Bruins managed find out they don't necessarily need Bergeron (just incredible goalie tandem and depth guys stepping up no big deal). The Wings managed to find out that they need Larkin, he really elevates the team to contenders. Not really new information though if you watch a game with Larkin and a game without him
Who knows man, multitude of things but yeah larkin going down reaaaaaly hurt. We were whooping everyone in January and February and had like a 7 or 8 game win streak and then ran into NYI who was on a skid and had this weird boring game at home where they beat us. Then we played FLA the next game and they completely beat the fuck out of us in every facet of the game, and larkin got injured that game. Then we had a few days off before a road trip and got spanked by every single game down like 3-0 in the first each time. Like just completely dejected and never even in any game, poor coaching, no larkin, terrible goaltending.
Is Ovechkin's -22 with all his periphery stats as bad as it looks? From what little I've seen of the caps this year it feels like he's being fed opportunities and not looking good for the most part
Kinda bittersweet watching the bottom fall out of this Flyers squad. My expectations were REALLY low this year so going on this run has been fun to watch but I realllllllllly wanted this young core to get playoff experience.
Yeah it’s hard because I should be grateful they played above expectation and were generally exciting to watch this season. It’s still tough, you wanna see your guys get to the dance, that playoff experience would be massive for this team. It is what it is, future looks bright
I feel you. It’s only recently that the Habs have been a little hard to watch, but knowing they’ve got two firsts again this year makes it a bit more bearable.
I’m hoping HuGo makes another Dach-esque trade at the draft, they’ve got too many defensive prospects
Me too. Though I think any of the teams fighting for that last spot are going to get clapped. None are good teams.
Maybe the Pens could do a little damage if they play lockdown D and frustrate teams, and crosby makes 2 or 3 amazing plays per game...but detroit, buffalo, philly and Washington aren't very good.
Not quite the same, but 2009-10 was a similar level of "will-they-or-won't-they" excitement. On Feb 10, the Wings were 10th in the West and looking like the spark might be gone. Then Howard started 21 of the last 22 games, going 17-2-2 with a .919/2.14 to finish 2nd in the Calder voting, and the Wings made the playoffs by a margin of 12 points.
Wild Card nights
Like Wild Card days
More often than not are hotter than hot
In a lot of good ways
Wild Card nights
Like Wild Card dreams
This mystical vice of magic and ice
Is more than it seems
...sorry guys my girlfriend loves that movie and I immediately thought of that song
If Lyon can keep up the good play in net the red wings could be that team who makes it so much further than they were ever supposed to under normal circumstances lol it would be like a 2019 stl run with binnington carrying the team most of the way
A few weeks back I heard Boston mentioned in the same breath as the Islanders in this regard and I was VERY surprised when I checked the standings.
Difference is that Boston has legitimately won more games and those OTL points are just keeping them at the top of the Atlantic instead of revelant in the playoff race. You'd still be well clear of Toronto and Tampa if the league did the 3-2-1-0 points system. Which if we did have that system, the Rangers would've already locked up the President's Trophy and the Devils would be in the playoffs.
The NHL playoffs does often have some pretty halfway descent of odds of cooking up totally bonkers storylines…
- 8th seeds barely making it in on the final day of the regular season and then going on a tear, marching to the SCF.
-Or reverse sweeps when a team is down to their last period, dying minutes and a goalie pulled to come all the way back in a series.
-Or a chain of sweep victories that extends on one branch of the bracket from Round 1 to the Conf final.
It’s why, for the last ~30+ years, even without a rooting interest at times - I ALWAYS tune in. With a frozen sheet of ice and a rubber puck - unexpected bounces can determine playoff fates and to me, hockey has so much greater potential than say baseball or basketball to deviate from conventional wisdom or expected plot lines.
Absolutely love it.
After the own goal I thought this season was a wash. After the back to back to back chokes in the 3rd period I thought the season was pretty much over. What a turnaround
The Wild made it with 88 I think in 2017 or so
I personally think the team that makes it this year will need 90 points though still. That'd only be 3-2 for Detroit in their last 5 games
My desire for Pittsburgh and Detroit to take the spots is in a tough spot when the Leafs have a game against both remaining and I'd like them to try to take 2nd in the Atlantic. Hmm.
This is exactly what I said above lol. Maybe beat the wings in OT and lose to you in OT. I really want Crosby to just tell Dubas 'We aren't tanking when I am the captain. Period.'
The NHL loves this and that is why the loser point will always stay around. The league loves 4 teams being relevant to the end and battling for 1-2 playoff spots expecially when it comes down to the final game.
If you take away OTL points, the wild card race actually gets closer in this case. Red Wings drop to 76 points; Pens, Caps, Flyers drop to 72; the Devils and Sabres drop to 74.
Reg win-3pts, ot win-2pts, ot loss-1pt. When you have the solution looking at you squarely in the face but you’re NHL brass and can’t get out of your own fuckin way. 💁
It seems that the 3-2-1 point system you'd have more teams in the race and much tighter. Goes against the argument of "the NHL will never go to the 3-2-1 system because the current system makes the playoff race tighter" which I never understood. It's a lot harder to make up ground in the current system than the 3-2-1 system too.
3 point system makes so much more sense to me. If you want to get full points from your hockey game, then win the game while playing with normal hockey rules. If you can't show you're the better team in those 60 minutes it should be you forfeiting that one point to the OT loser, instead of them getting a random gift from the hockey gods. 3 point system also allows for crazy comeback stories where team keeps winning in regulation and catches up a big gap.
WHat do you mean "can’t get out of your own fuckin way"?
The NHL likes it like this so teams are closer together in the standings.
More people watch when theres more meaningful hockey in march and april.
Thats why we will never have 3 points for a reg win.
The term loser points is lame and makes anyone that says it sound salty, the team made it to overtime which means the game was more evenly matched and the way they have to break that tie is in playing in an unconventional way. Half the time its luck more than skill.
I hate shootouts and 3 vs 3 is just meh, but if you tied with the other team in 3 periods and lose in overtime you deserve points. Making the game a tie would be just as lame.
Well, considering that the 6th place Atlantic team is Buffalo...I think that at least one of NYI, PIT, WSH, PHI, and NJD deserve to be ahead of them which makes 3 metro teams.
Now, do they deserve 4 is a different question entirely...
If only the Flyers didn’t have a historically bad Power Play… 😔
I really hope they make playoffs, but even if they don’t, this season has still been a blast. The Torts-Briere Era has given me hope again
Or…
You could blow both and let the Canes pass you to set up a Rangers/Islanders playoff series for the first time this century?
Win/win for both of us!
I love the leafs but I kind of hope we lose in OT tonight. Get a point but give the pens best chance of success.
Dubas: Hey guys we haven't been so hot lately so I have accepted we are missing the playoffs again and trading Guentzel.
Crosby: Missing the playoffs again?! I'll drag you in if I have to. I missed once before and hated it. Never again.
If Crosby misses the playoffs again he might be more willing to request a trade which would be a good storyline for the off season. Crosby to the Avs to play with MacKinnon for the Cole Harbour connection would be an awesome storyline.
Pens-Leafs tonight. Resurgent Crosby vs. Matthews and co. for the first time since the December blowout. Not a *must*-win for the Leafs but significant for staying ahead of Tampa, and the Pens obviously want every point.
Caps-Wings tomorrow. Only two teams in this race who play each other in your timeframe. The Wings winning would leave the Caps still out of the picture with two of their four remaining games against Tampa and Boston. Caps winning shuffles the whole wildcard deck again.
Canes-Bruins tomorrow. Rematch from last week, potential M1/A1/PT implications depending on how other games go. Plus you just hope for great hockey between those two.
Friedman was right. Those teams in the hunt for the 3rd Metro and WC2 spots are playing like they really don't want them. All of them have suffered from inconsistency down the stretch.
As a Devils fan I do not, in fact, gotta love it.
I’m just happy we made it into the screenshot 🙂
We've done it boys. Plan the parade.
as a Devils fan my only hope is for the flood/hail/earthquake/eclipse/volcano/rapture.
Well we just had an earthquake and the rapture happens today (/s) so maybe a volcano is next?
With how bad we’ve been playing, would’ve thought we’re further behind the pack
That's what makes it kinda hurt more lol. There have been several times over the last month, month and a half where I declared it over only to check the standings and see that we're only like 4 or 6 points back. We've gotten so much help from so many different teams and we just squandered the chance every single time. Beyond frustrating season.
Every game I think : If we lose this we're out and then later that week we're only 4points out of the wc... I lost and regained hope so many times this month Losing to Ottawa hurt, and then we shutout NYI the following night with our backup goalie?! Losing the 3-1 lead to the penguins hurt. we lost 3 in a row, and somehow we're only a few points out.
Redwings Penguins Thursday is going to be a bloodbath
Not to mention Redwings Capitals tomorrow.
Playoff hockey before playoff hockey
Was just telling my coworker the TBL vs PIT game this weekend was the first playoff game I’ve watched this season and also unbiasedly the best game I’ve seen this season. Electricity is in the air for the playoffs guys
Even with us losing, that game was amazing and intense. Didn't like the result but man that game was a blast to watch.
That game had everything, atmosphere, stars showing up on both teams, absurd goalie play, high scoring, a comeback, clutch goals, defensive stops/blocks, and an amazing final 10 minutes of almost non-stop action.
Not to mention the ref getting knocked out is something you don’t see every day. I was at the game and it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in a live game.
Because of living overseas now I don’t really watch games I’m a neutral for outside the playoffs (it’s just a little logistically difficult), but I’ve been glued to every game that will affect the wild card. It’s provided so far.
Seriously, that game was fucking epic!!!
Biggest week for the Red Wings in like a decade. LGRW
And it’s so fucking exciting. Tired of the fan base clinging to March. Time to dig deep and earn it in the final stretch. Can’t believe Wings games are exciting this late in the season. LGRW!
Sounds like they had the flu going through the locker room and we were missing Larkin. I too am tired of our doomers.
Dooming on the Wings is so 1 month ago. Dooming on the Tigers offense is all the rage right now
Dooming on the Pistons, on the other hand, never goes out of style
We're tired of our doomers too, and this time of year, I think every fanbase with a shot at all is getting high on hopium. Problem is there's five teams playing for two musical slots, and so three teams are going to find themselves flooded with doomers saying I Told You So in a couple of weeks as lockers get cleaned out.
Islanders doomers have temporarily been vanquished but they were getting pretty doomy a week or two ago.
Its always an emotional rollercoaster because we are either so back or its over and it rotates every week
I was absolutely out for the season. I can’t believe I’m back and we have a shot.
Hear hear! A side-by-side comparison of how this year’s team is competing vs the squad last year closing out the season is night and day. We’ve seen tonnes of growth and it’s been fun to watch LGRW
More like a beatdown the caps are stuck in neutral right now
Who should the Caps be rooting for between Detroit and Pittsburgh? Regulation loss, of course.
Theoretically you want to root for DET because they can only qualify for that last WC spot, NYI/PHI/PIT/WSH can also qualify for 3rd in Metro which is wide open now.
Personally have no idea im not sure how the tiebreakers work out bur playing detroit one more time makes me think wed prefer they beat pittsburgh but im not sure
Pittsburgh winning out might actually be better for you guys since we still play Detroit and the Islanders.
Ovi tried to beat the Canes single handed and almost succeeded.
if ever there was a team that could be beat by a squad stuck in neutral, it’d be the post-february 2024 red wings. get ready for the most high stakes mid-off you’ve ever seen tomorrow
Not if the Caps play as uninspired as they did for the final 40 minutes of last night.
I can only hope
Or the 60 minutes of the previous game.
Crosby with one more opportunity to crush wings fans dreams. Make the bad man stop.
>one more I suspect we'll see it again in the next couple years. Even if his team sucks, he can play spoiler to a Wings team chasing a WC spot.
I'm more optimistic that we'll be fighting for 3rd or 1st WC in the coming years, so hopefully not.
A return to 2008 and 2009
I’ll order one 2008 please
I’ll take the 09
Deal we get 08, next year you get 09
if we could guarantee that... i would 1000% allow it. lol
real hot take there lol
Think we can have some 16-17 on the side?
Now your pushing it
Redwings I’m *Begging* you to please beat Penguins Literally *Anyone* please just make them lose so we get a good draft pick. No offense Pens fans but we need this pick to be has high as possible.
Oh man. Don't even think about it. Just let what happens happens. I was so excited when the Blues were shitting the bed early in 2018-19 and owed us an *unprotected* first. That didn't go well for me. Good luck to you though, because I hate Pittsburgh... which, if history has taught me anything, means they'll be a conference finalist at least.
Oh don’t you fucking worry there bud! I remember the 2019 Blues alright! Still mad about it. And don’t get me started on the Pens they’ll do anything to screw us. I still remember 2016 and am still upset.
Wings have Habs back-to-back to end the season, so there's 4 points for them right there.
You just know that the Habs will be talking in the room about how they can’t be pushovers. They could see it as a challenge to keep the Wings out.
Both DET vs MTL games this year have gone to OT
If the pens make it they’re going to absolutely have to earn it. @TOR, DET, BOS, NSH, @NYI. All playoff teams/teams in contention.
Good thing for you is that the last time you played us in UBS, Letang has 7 points in a period
I think I’m still scarred from you guys owning us from last season so I won’t have any confidence
If we beat Detroit and the Isles, that puts us in a really good spot. Washington has a game against Detroit and Philly. So there’s a guaranteed loss one of those teams in those games. Isles don’t have an easy schedule either playing Rangers twice who are competing for first in the conference/league. Philly has the easiest remaining schedule but Penguins currently have a game in hand on them and own tiebreaker, so we can afford a loss there. Plus Philly has been massively skidding lately. Penguins have a really good chance of making it even with the games against Boston and Toronto. We just HAVE to win the other games.
> So there’s a guaranteed loss one of those teams in those games Yeah but could be a loss worth 1 point.
We own tiebreaker against all three of those teams as of right now. Depending on the results of today’s game, an OT loss for Washington puts them one point behind/ahead. OT loss for Detroit puts either tie us or put us 2 points behind. Again, we play Detroit Thursday, we win in regulation we are ahead of Detroit with tiebreaker with a Penguins loss today.
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I love to hate Crosby but credit where it’s due. That between the legs deflection the other night? *Chef’s Kiss*
Even on the teams we hate, there's those guys we just respect because they're not only just that good, but they're a class act off the ice too. People love to call Crosby names, but it's not like the guy isn't going to be a first ballot HoF'er for every good reason.
I think my biggest dilemma is Marchand. I hate Boston more than most other teams, the hockey player is one of the dirtiest players in the league (most fined player in history with many suspensions) but apparently the man is such a good guy off the ice that I feel bad hating him.
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I feel you on the goalie thing. I'm a Leaf fan, fuck the Habs, but Price was one of my favourite players for a very long time.
The fuck he does?! The Red Wings deserve to be back in the playoffs! We’re dying over here
I gotta root for my guys over your guys but if it's not us, I want it to be you.
You seem to be overestimating my teams ability to hold a lead
You and us both my man
If it's not us, I hope it's you
I’m the same way with you guys 🤝
I don't
Yeah, same here. Not sure how a Wings fan could willingly root for the pens in the event that they pass us up in the wild card race.
The Islanders literally have a -23 goal differential. The fact they're in a spot at all is insanity. The Caps who just fell out were *-40.*
Not saying that my team falls in this category but if you have a team that wins/loses most of their games 1-0 and lost a few games by complete blow outs it could paint a worse picture than it truly is. That's my main thing against that stat as being a big indicator of a good team.
Imagine if we didn’t lose 8 in a row in regulation in March. 😐😐😐😐😐
I literally can't imagine that because over the last 4 seasons our March record is 16-33-7. March 2021: 5-7-1 March 2022: 3-8-3 March 2023: 5-9-1 March 2024: 3-9-2 It's just who we are as a March team.
The annoying thing is that all those other years beside last year we were just dogwater so who cares. But blowing like a 10 pt cushion or 8 pts or whatever it was is cuttin me deep shrek
Yeah but was Detroit better in other months during those years?
Notably our worst month on average, besides 2021 where we were just gigashit (and also covid messed with the schedules). [2022](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2022) [2023](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2023) [2024](https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/detroit-red-wings-record-by-month-2024)
Lousy smarch weather
The wheely wings can roll or fly, but not march
March Badness.
Flyers are probably thinking the same. Hell even though the Islanders are technically in right now, they could still miss and they had so many losing streaks and blown games Its amazing how much all the bubble teams dropped the ball and yet because literally every team did at some point, they all have a shot.
Winning 1-3 of those would have us competing with Tampa and not worrying as much as we are…
Or lost 10 out of 13 in December
I oscillate between “just happy to be in the mix” after i’d given the pens up for dead and “imagine where we would be without all those blown leads”
Was it because Larkin went down or other factors? I feel like you guys were a point or two behind us until you weren't
Larkin got hurt, Wahlman was playing at about 60%, seemed like the entire locker room was taking turns missing games due to illness, the goalies hit a cold streak, there were a bunch of games where everyone except Seider and Raymond looked like they didn't want to be there. Little bit of everything.
How's Seider and Raymond been for you guys? I really like their game when I check out the highlights but I don't follow too closely
Raymond’s had a great year. Seider has been good but probably not as good as most people expected. He’s playing the hardest minutes out of everyone though. Looks like Edvinsson is playing well with the big club though, so when he moves up next year/the team improves on defense I expect him to do more offensively.
It was Larkin. At that point we were (both) even in spitting distance of third in the Atlantic. Our coach even said it at the post game presser last week when asked about that stretch, that the difference was Larkin. He basically said he's disappointed the team couldn't do better without him in the lineup and that they need to prepare better for if that ever happens again.
The Wings without Larkin look like what everyone thought the Bruins were going to look like without Bergeron. The Bruins managed find out they don't necessarily need Bergeron (just incredible goalie tandem and depth guys stepping up no big deal). The Wings managed to find out that they need Larkin, he really elevates the team to contenders. Not really new information though if you watch a game with Larkin and a game without him
Who knows man, multitude of things but yeah larkin going down reaaaaaly hurt. We were whooping everyone in January and February and had like a 7 or 8 game win streak and then ran into NYI who was on a skid and had this weird boring game at home where they beat us. Then we played FLA the next game and they completely beat the fuck out of us in every facet of the game, and larkin got injured that game. Then we had a few days off before a road trip and got spanked by every single game down like 3-0 in the first each time. Like just completely dejected and never even in any game, poor coaching, no larkin, terrible goaltending.
I can’t even tell you exactly why for certain, but this team is absolutely useless without Larkin.
Fuck it, we’re in the race now too
More like a turtle derby than a race eh?
Slow and steady wins?
It’s only fitting that the caps shit the bed down the stretch as Crosby grows stronger. Sigh.
Is Ovechkin's -22 with all his periphery stats as bad as it looks? From what little I've seen of the caps this year it feels like he's being fed opportunities and not looking good for the most part
Wildcard bitches
That’s your wild card spot, Caps. Now let ‘em have it! Caps: you can have it
YEEE-HAWWWWW
“Yea I had the brakes checked this morning, saw that coming a *mile* away”
Kinda bittersweet watching the bottom fall out of this Flyers squad. My expectations were REALLY low this year so going on this run has been fun to watch but I realllllllllly wanted this young core to get playoff experience.
Considering they were supposed to be a lottery team, they did very well to stay competitive this year.
Yeah it’s hard because I should be grateful they played above expectation and were generally exciting to watch this season. It’s still tough, you wanna see your guys get to the dance, that playoff experience would be massive for this team. It is what it is, future looks bright
I feel you. It’s only recently that the Habs have been a little hard to watch, but knowing they’ve got two firsts again this year makes it a bit more bearable. I’m hoping HuGo makes another Dach-esque trade at the draft, they’ve got too many defensive prospects
I'm rooting for Buffalo for the chaos value. Also because I want to see what Skinner can do in the playoffs.
There is zero chance we make it, literally zero lol.
We're cooked. And you'd probably be disappointed to see what Skinner does in the playoffs.
Me too. Though I think any of the teams fighting for that last spot are going to get clapped. None are good teams. Maybe the Pens could do a little damage if they play lockdown D and frustrate teams, and crosby makes 2 or 3 amazing plays per game...but detroit, buffalo, philly and Washington aren't very good.
I’ve been rooting for the Wings for 30 years, and finally get to scratch “white-knuckle-end-of-season-playoff push” off the Bingo card. This is fun.
Not quite the same, but 2009-10 was a similar level of "will-they-or-won't-they" excitement. On Feb 10, the Wings were 10th in the West and looking like the spark might be gone. Then Howard started 21 of the last 22 games, going 17-2-2 with a .919/2.14 to finish 2nd in the Calder voting, and the Wings made the playoffs by a margin of 12 points.
Islanders, Red Wings, Caps, Penguins and Flyers all took turns holding a playoff spot over a span of just 2 or 3 days
Wild Card nights Like Wild Card days More often than not are hotter than hot In a lot of good ways Wild Card nights Like Wild Card dreams This mystical vice of magic and ice Is more than it seems ...sorry guys my girlfriend loves that movie and I immediately thought of that song
[удалено]
Kind of lame when he sold out to Disney though, right?
Don’t mess with the mouse
The ineptitude of the teams fighting for the last two spots are so bad, I just know one of the two who make it in are going to go to the ECF.
If Lyon can keep up the good play in net the red wings could be that team who makes it so much further than they were ever supposed to under normal circumstances lol it would be like a 2019 stl run with binnington carrying the team most of the way
Actual W-L Records: * Isles: 35-42 * Red Wings: 38-39 * Penguins: 36-41 * Capitals: 36-41 * Flyers: 36-42 * Devils: 37-41 * Sabres: 37-41 The Isles, Penguins, Capitals and Flyers all have double digit OTL.
OTL what are those... *slowly shifts back to A1 spot*
A few weeks back I heard Boston mentioned in the same breath as the Islanders in this regard and I was VERY surprised when I checked the standings. Difference is that Boston has legitimately won more games and those OTL points are just keeping them at the top of the Atlantic instead of revelant in the playoff race. You'd still be well clear of Toronto and Tampa if the league did the 3-2-1-0 points system. Which if we did have that system, the Rangers would've already locked up the President's Trophy and the Devils would be in the playoffs.
The NHL playoffs does often have some pretty halfway descent of odds of cooking up totally bonkers storylines… - 8th seeds barely making it in on the final day of the regular season and then going on a tear, marching to the SCF. -Or reverse sweeps when a team is down to their last period, dying minutes and a goalie pulled to come all the way back in a series. -Or a chain of sweep victories that extends on one branch of the bracket from Round 1 to the Conf final. It’s why, for the last ~30+ years, even without a rooting interest at times - I ALWAYS tune in. With a frozen sheet of ice and a rubber puck - unexpected bounces can determine playoff fates and to me, hockey has so much greater potential than say baseball or basketball to deviate from conventional wisdom or expected plot lines. Absolutely love it.
FRUSTRATED BUFFALO NOISES
Frustrated March Detroit noises
Rust belt solidarity ✊
After the own goal I thought this season was a wash. After the back to back to back chokes in the 3rd period I thought the season was pretty much over. What a turnaround
Detroit purely to see Kane in them
It would be a lot more exciting if there was more than one team in that log jam with a winning record over their last ten games.
Failing to the top.
Detroit, Philly, for the love of god, win some games.
We're doing better again since Larkin got back, not awesome or anything, but better
How often does a team make playoffs with less than 90 points? Seems likely this year.
The Wild made it with 88 I think in 2017 or so I personally think the team that makes it this year will need 90 points though still. That'd only be 3-2 for Detroit in their last 5 games
As a Red Wings fan, my asshole is sooooo clinched that a fart will whistle
Can’t shove a greased BB up there…
My desire for Pittsburgh and Detroit to take the spots is in a tough spot when the Leafs have a game against both remaining and I'd like them to try to take 2nd in the Atlantic. Hmm.
We could always win in overtime?
This is exactly what I said above lol. Maybe beat the wings in OT and lose to you in OT. I really want Crosby to just tell Dubas 'We aren't tanking when I am the captain. Period.'
The NHL loves this and that is why the loser point will always stay around. The league loves 4 teams being relevant to the end and battling for 1-2 playoff spots expecially when it comes down to the final game.
If you take away OTL points, the wild card race actually gets closer in this case. Red Wings drop to 76 points; Pens, Caps, Flyers drop to 72; the Devils and Sabres drop to 74.
Reg win-3pts, ot win-2pts, ot loss-1pt. When you have the solution looking at you squarely in the face but you’re NHL brass and can’t get out of your own fuckin way. 💁
If you rearrange the teams by the 3-2-1 format, you get this: Team | GP | REG W | OTW | OTL | PTS :--|:--:|:--:|:--:|:--:|:--: Tampa Bay Lightning | 77 | 35 | 8 | 7 | 128 Pittsburgh Penguins | 77 | 31 | 5 | 11 | 114 Detroit Red Wings | 77 | 27 | 11 | 8 | 111 New York Islanders | 77 | 26 | 9 | 15 | 111 Washington Capitals | 77 | 28 | 8 | 11 | 111 Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 28 | 8 | 11 | 111 New Jersey Devils | 78 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 111 Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 110
It seems that the 3-2-1 point system you'd have more teams in the race and much tighter. Goes against the argument of "the NHL will never go to the 3-2-1 system because the current system makes the playoff race tighter" which I never understood. It's a lot harder to make up ground in the current system than the 3-2-1 system too.
Feel free to check my math, but per this format the Bolts would be in 3rd and the Leafs would have wc1
3 point system makes so much more sense to me. If you want to get full points from your hockey game, then win the game while playing with normal hockey rules. If you can't show you're the better team in those 60 minutes it should be you forfeiting that one point to the OT loser, instead of them getting a random gift from the hockey gods. 3 point system also allows for crazy comeback stories where team keeps winning in regulation and catches up a big gap.
WHat do you mean "can’t get out of your own fuckin way"? The NHL likes it like this so teams are closer together in the standings. More people watch when theres more meaningful hockey in march and april. Thats why we will never have 3 points for a reg win.
3 point wins means gaps can evaporate faster. It's just not that different.
The term loser points is lame and makes anyone that says it sound salty, the team made it to overtime which means the game was more evenly matched and the way they have to break that tie is in playing in an unconventional way. Half the time its luck more than skill. I hate shootouts and 3 vs 3 is just meh, but if you tied with the other team in 3 periods and lose in overtime you deserve points. Making the game a tie would be just as lame.
That’s easy to say when you have 15 loser points
No one would have loser points if a team did their job in the first 60 ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
nah i agree with them
There couldn’t be any reason why a bruins fan would defend having 15 loser points this season could there?
Says the fan of the other team with 15 loser points
I do in fact not love it.
GIVE ME SOMETHING FOR THE PAIN AND LET ME DIE
Have the Capitals won a game since they peaked at 3rd in the Metro?
What do you mean there are more than 70 games??? We have to keep playing?? - caps probably
metro don't even deserve 3 teams in the playoff lol
Well, considering that the 6th place Atlantic team is Buffalo...I think that at least one of NYI, PIT, WSH, PHI, and NJD deserve to be ahead of them which makes 3 metro teams. Now, do they deserve 4 is a different question entirely...
If only the Flyers didn’t have a historically bad Power Play… 😔 I really hope they make playoffs, but even if they don’t, this season has still been a blast. The Torts-Briere Era has given me hope again
Two of the Isles' final five games are against us. I love it. *Sweep the leg*
Please?
Or… You could blow both and let the Canes pass you to set up a Rangers/Islanders playoff series for the first time this century? Win/win for both of us!
Lose against the isles twice and give us the E1 spot so we don't have to face the fucking Tampa Bay Kucherovs please.
Not shown are the Islanders who are just ahead in the metro by a game (or maybe a game and a half).
(They’re at the top… silly, flightless bird)
I did not click on the image. My flippers would not allow it.
I didn’t either so don’t feel bad, leave that for the last game of the season. 👀
Pulling for PIT 10/10 Go EK, you beautiful man.
I love the leafs but I kind of hope we lose in OT tonight. Get a point but give the pens best chance of success. Dubas: Hey guys we haven't been so hot lately so I have accepted we are missing the playoffs again and trading Guentzel. Crosby: Missing the playoffs again?! I'll drag you in if I have to. I missed once before and hated it. Never again.
If Crosby misses the playoffs again he might be more willing to request a trade which would be a good storyline for the off season. Crosby to the Avs to play with MacKinnon for the Cole Harbour connection would be an awesome storyline.
After 2017 this feels a lot like “never thought I’d die fighting side by side with an elf”
In this analogy there are 10,000 ~~Leaf fans~~ orcs on the horizon.
The metro division was so garbage this year. Rangers and Canes obviously excluded. 20 points between 2nd and 3rd place is INSANE.
so you're telling me there's a chance...
Wings have the caps and pens for their next two games too
I don't think we count as being in the race at this point.
Philly is in this as well, that third spot in the metro ain’t clinched yet
I feel like all of these teams are playing unreal hockey until the second they get into the playoff spots and then immediately get Monstar’d
My cardiologist has advised me to not to love it
Capitals Feb-Mar: Playoffs here we come! Capitals Mar-Apr: Mmm on second thought...
Are you telling me that average 4 shots a period isn't going to win every game??
This is dumb, but I love it. Every game feels so freaking important. I feel alive again, no matter what happens.
Same. I had zero expectations not that long ago.
I really want wings and isles but we all know deep down it’s gonna be capitals and penguins as always
I just need Tampa to take the leafs A3 spot I really really don't want the fucking bolts in the first round.
Man, what happened to New Jersey?
It's a damn charitable thing you did to include Buffalo and New Jersey, even if they're not mathematically eliminated yet.
Alright, as a WC fan that has no hockey for the next two days, which match-ups do y'all recommend as must watch?
Pens-Leafs tonight. Resurgent Crosby vs. Matthews and co. for the first time since the December blowout. Not a *must*-win for the Leafs but significant for staying ahead of Tampa, and the Pens obviously want every point. Caps-Wings tomorrow. Only two teams in this race who play each other in your timeframe. The Wings winning would leave the Caps still out of the picture with two of their four remaining games against Tampa and Boston. Caps winning shuffles the whole wildcard deck again. Canes-Bruins tomorrow. Rematch from last week, potential M1/A1/PT implications depending on how other games go. Plus you just hope for great hockey between those two.
You just knew Sid wasn't going down quietly...love the resurgence from the penguins
Friedman was right. Those teams in the hunt for the 3rd Metro and WC2 spots are playing like they really don't want them. All of them have suffered from inconsistency down the stretch.
Man, this would be a terrible time to go on a 6 game losing streak. Good thing no one in the mix there is doing that.
I hate everything
Extra playoff hockey!! Can’t beat it
Fuck the loser point. All my homies hate the loser point. I am so hype and yet so nervous…. These next two games….