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Amazing that 23 teams make the playoffs...23 out of 32! For anyone who doesn't know how the AHL playoffs are determined (I just looked it up because I had no idea)...the top five teams in the North Division make the post-season but the top three get a BYE in the first round while #4 and #5 play a best of three (all home games for the higher seed I believe).

While not a lock for the top five, with five games left in the regular season the Monsters sit in fourth place and have a six point lead on the #6 team. So they are in a good spot for making the post-season. That said, grabbing that #3 spot and getting a first round BYE would be really nice and that's gonna be a battle. Not earning the BYE, the next best option is getting home ice advantage for the first round (between #4 and #5) which is also a battle.

Five games to go and we are two points behind Syracuse for the #3 seed and a first round BYE (considering the tie breaker)
Five games to go and we are two points ahead of Toronto for the #4 seed and home ice advantage in that first round

I would say this weekend's home and home vs Toronto is...well..."critical" :) Cleveland is 6-0 vs Toronto this season...would say they need to keep that dominance going.
  • Cleveland has 1 of 5 at home (Saturday v Toronto) and finish with four straight on the road all against playoff teams
  • Syracuse has 3 of 5 at home to end their season including finishing up with a home and home vs Utica, last place team in the division
  • Toronto has 2 of 5 at home with one vs Utica
 
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Doggy said:
Amazing that 23 teams make the playoffs...23 out of 32! For anyone who doesn't know how the AHL playoffs are determined (I just looked it up because I had no idea)...the top five teams in the North Division make the post-season but the top three get a BYE in the first round while #4 and #5 play a best of three (all home games for the higher seed I believe).

While not a lock for the top five, with five games left in the regular season the Monsters sit in fourth place and have a six point lead on the #6 team. So they are in a good spot for making the post-season. That said, grabbing that #3 spot and getting a first round BYE would be really nice and that's gonna be a battle. Not earning the BYE, the next best option is getting home ice advantage for the first round (between #4 and #5) which is also a battle.

Five games to go and we are two points behind Syracuse for the #3 seed and a first round BYE (considering the tie breaker)
Five games to go and we are two points ahead of Toronto for the #4 seed and home ice advantage in that first round

I would say this weekend's home and home vs Toronto is...well..."critical" :) Cleveland is 6-0 vs Toronto this season...would say they need to keep that dominance going.
  • Cleveland has 1 of 5 at home (Saturday v Toronto) and finish with four straight on the road all against playoff teams
  • Syracuse has 3 of 5 at home to end their season including finishing up with a home and home vs Utica, last place team in the division
  • Toronto has 2 of 5 at home with one vs Utica
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Not sure how home ice works in first round. Last year Charlotte and Hartford played all 3 games at Charlotte. Toronto and Belleville played one in Toronto, and two in Belleville, alternating all three games. How close the two teams are may play a part, but I am not sure.
 
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Doggy said:
Amazing that 23 teams make the playoffs...23 out of 32! For anyone who doesn't know how the AHL playoffs are determined (I just looked it up because I had no idea)...the top five teams in the North Division make the post-season but the top three get a BYE in the first round while #4 and #5 play a best of three (all home games for the higher seed I believe).

While not a lock for the top five, with five games left in the regular season the Monsters sit in fourth place and have a six point lead on the #6 team. So they are in a good spot for making the post-season. That said, grabbing that #3 spot and getting a first round BYE would be really nice and that's gonna be a battle. Not earning the BYE, the next best option is getting home ice advantage for the first round (between #4 and #5) which is also a battle.

Five games to go and we are two points behind Syracuse for the #3 seed and a first round BYE (considering the tie breaker)
Five games to go and we are two points ahead of Toronto for the #4 seed and home ice advantage in that first round

I would say this weekend's home and home vs Toronto is...well..."critical" :) Cleveland is 6-0 vs Toronto this season...would say they need to keep that dominance going.
  • Cleveland has 1 of 5 at home (Saturday v Toronto) and finish with four straight on the road all against playoff teams
  • Syracuse has 3 of 5 at home to end their season including finishing up with a home and home vs Utica, last place team in the division
  • Toronto has 2 of 5 at home with one vs Utica
Click to expand...
Gonna date myself here, but when I first started following NHL in the mid 80's, 16 of 21 teams made it then.
 
CBJ goalie said:
Gonna date myself here, but when I first started following NHL in the mid 80's, 16 of 21 teams made it then.
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Tangent...but lot's of Cleveland hockey included :)

Yeah, that's as far back as I remember...started watching as a 10-12 year old between 1978-1980 but probably really started understanding the game more in the mid-80s. Grew up on Long Island a Rangers fan. For my own learning...

But in 1942-1943 when the NHL finally settled into its "O6 years", 4 of 6 teams made the playoffs (66%)

This BTW would have been right around the time the NHL approached the owner of the Cleveland Barons, Al Sutphin, trying to get him to jump from the AHL to the NHL. According to the one history book I have read, the AHL was struggling and Cleveland was the dominant team n the league with many known stars and was likely better than some of the NHL clubs. They also played in a great arena to sold-out crowds. The NHL invited him to join but Sutphin turned them down...he was doing just fine in the AHL. This "snubbing" by Sutphin supposedly led to hard feelings by the NHL founders and the NHL rejecting several Cleveland applications to join the league over the next thirty years during expansion windows.

Anyway, 1967-1968 league expanded to 12 teams and 8 of 12 made the playoffs (still 66%). They split the league into two divisions putting the O6 in one division and all six expansion teams in another. This guaranteed four expansion teams would make the post-season...but had no chance at a Stanley Cup for years. Flyers in 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 were only expansion team to raise the Cup until the Isles run in the early 1980s.

When the league expanded to 18 teams in 1974-1975 they made it 12 of 18 teams make the playoffs (again 66%)

In the early 1970s when Nick Miletti who owned the Cavs was snubbed yet again for an NHL expansion team, he jumped at the chance to join the WHA Crusaders hoping to stick it to the NHL. The AHL Barons left town for Florida and folded. The Crusaders lasted a few years. They almost merged with the struggling NHL KC Scouts, there was a deal in place and the NHL had approved it, but the Crusaders players rejected it, refused to play in the NHL and the deal fell through.

In 1976 Cleveland finally got its chance at an NHL club when NHL approved moving the struggling California Golden Seals to Cleveland. Experiment lasted just two years...they never had a chance. They were a terrible team, owner was defaulting on payments and salaries and they were playing in the middle of nowhere (Richfield) and it was an awful winter weather-wise. Cleveland went pro-hockey dormant for fourteen years after that debacle.

1992: the IHL Lumberjacks/Jacks were fun and played good hockey. Buzz was a top notch mascot...way better than Stinger. Sorry I think Stinger is underwhelming...the bigger and bulkier the costume the less nimble and less they can do except walk around and take pics. That's why I love Gritty, best mascot in sports, he is fun as hell!

Then in 1979-1980 when the NHL absorbed the WHA and expanded to 21 teams, they went to 16 of 21 making the playoffs (a whopping 76%). IMO that's too much. Makes the regular season almost completely meaningless. I think they should not go above the 50% they are at now, when the league expands by four more teams they could add two more playoff teams.
 
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Doggy said:
Tangent...but lot's of Cleveland hockey included :)

Yeah, that's as far back as I remember...started watching as a 10-12 year old between 1978-1980 but probably really started understanding the game more in the mid-80s. Grew up on Long Island a Rangers fan. For my own learning...

But in 1942-1943 when the NHL finally settled into its "O6 years", 4 of 6 teams made the playoffs (66%)

This BTW would have been right around the time the NHL approached the owner of the Cleveland Barons, Al Sutphin, trying to get him to jump from the AHL to the NHL. According to the one history book I have read, the AHL was struggling and Cleveland was the dominant team n the league with many known stars and was likely better than some of the NHL clubs. They also played in a great arena to sold-out crowds. The NHL invited him to join but Sutphin turned them down...he was doing just fine in the AHL. This "snubbing" by Sutphin supposedly led to hard feelings by the NHL founders and the NHL rejecting several Cleveland applications to join the league over the next thirty years during expansion windows.

Anyway, 1967-1968 league expanded to 12 teams and 8 of 12 made the playoffs (still 66%). They split the league into two divisions putting the O6 in one division and all six expansion teams in another. This guaranteed four expansion teams would make the post-season...but had no chance at a Stanley Cup for years. Flyers in 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 were only expansion team to raise the Cup until the Isles run in the early 1980s.

When the league expanded to 18 teams in 1974-1975 they made it 12 of 18 teams make the playoffs (again 66%)

In the early 1970s when Nick Miletti who owned the Cavs was snubbed yet again for an NHL expansion team, he jumped at the chance to join the WHA Crusaders hoping to stick it to the NHL. The AHL Barons left town for Florida and folded. The Crusaders lasted a few years. They almost merged with the struggling NHL KC Scouts, there was a deal in place and the NHL had approved it, but the Crusaders players rejected it, refused to play in the NHL and the deal fell through.

In 1976 Cleveland finally got its chance at an NHL club when NHL approved moving the struggling California Golden Seals to Cleveland. Experiment lasted just two years...they never had a chance. They were a terrible team, owner was defaulting on payments and salaries and they were playing in the middle of nowhere (Richfield) and it was an awful winter weather-wise. Cleveland went pro-hockey dormant for fourteen years after that debacle.

1992: the IHL Lumberjacks/Jacks were fun and played good hockey. Buzz was a top notch mascot...way better than Stinger. Sorry I think Stinger is underwhelming...the bigger and bulkier the costume the less nimble and less they can do except walk around and take pics. That's why I love Gritty, best mascot in sports, he is fun as hell!

Then in 1979-1980 when the NHL absorbed the WHA and expanded to 21 teams, they went to 16 of 21 making the playoffs (a whopping 76%). IMO that's too much. Makes the regular season almost completely meaningless. I think they should not go above the 50% they are at now, when the league expands by four more teams they could add two more playoff teams.
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I can remember going to Crusaders games at the Cleveland Arena, and the Coliseum. Saw one old Barons game at the Arena, actually my brother still has the home movie of it my dad took.

Plenty of NHL Barons games. Got to see the great Canadiens team both times they came here.

I wished we could have got another NHL team, but I like being able to go to Columbus to catch games.

I had the program for a while to that Montreal game but lost it. When the Monsters had a Barons night years ago, a guy had it there amongst other memorabilia. He sold it to me for 5 bucks, and when I got home and looked through it, it also had a ticket from the game in it, so that was cool.
 
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Monstershockey said:
I can remember going to Crusaders games at the Cleveland Arena, and the Coliseum. Saw one old Barons game at the Arena, actually my brother still has the home movie of it my dad took.

Plenty of NHL Barons games. Got to see the great Canadiens team both times they came here.

I wished we could have got another NHL team, but I like being able to go to Columbus to catch games.

I had the program for a while to that Montreal game but lost it. When the Monsters had a Barons night years ago, a guy had it there amongst other memorabilia. He sold it to me for 5 bucks, and when I got home and looked through it, it also had a ticket from the game in it, so that was cool.
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I did not move to Cleveland until 1994 so...

That said, I think the NHL Cleveland Barons jersey was pretty sweet. The Crusader sweaters were good too...I like the purple.
 
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Hunt and Dumais are out for the remainder of the year. No word about if they make the playoffs.

Edit: Now Tony Brown says Dumais should miss at least 2 games, Hunt, who sustained a couple injuries should be out until playoffs.
 
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What happened to Sawchenko, who starts in goal? I don't think that defense instills much confidence.
 
With Gardner here, they have three goalies. Cajan gets the start and Gardner backs up. Canan was here yesterday, but didn't dress.

Monsters down 3-2 early 3rd.
 
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Cleveland able to take a 5-4 lead with a little under 8 minutes left in the game. Going on the PK now. Need to step up as the PK hasn't been good this weekend.
 
Pretty weak call. Nylander sold it well. Monsters kill it and at least get a point. Pretty much going to be 4th or 5th. Just need to get in now.
 
Doggy said:
Cleveland’s job gets tougher with Jet in Columbus. I know he goes down for the playoffs but these last three games for positioning doors matter.
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It will be tougher for sure, they have some injuries that will keep some key guys out, also, but getting it done could go a long way for them. They have to win on the road in the playoffs, so this could be a good tune up.
 
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