Playoff race/Scoreboard watching thread

[spintheblackcircle]

UFA to be Mitch Marner with the GWG. There is still life

 

[Long Live Lyle]

Pretty simple now: Habs have to lose both their games AND we have to win all three of ours.

Here’s the more complex part:

1) Two OT losses by the Habs and we’re eliminated.

2) Two regulation losses by the Habs and we’re in with three wins (doesn’t matter how).

3) An OT loss and a regulation loss by the Habs and we’d have to win all three games specifically in regulation.

 

[Mitch nylander]

Sorry that we couldn't do it. Rooting for you guys tomorrow against Washington followed by, Chicago on Monday!

 

[ViD]

Chicago just took Winnipeg to OT, so there are some signs of life

 

[Indy18]

Sorry that we couldn't do it. Rooting for you guys tomorrow against Washington followed by, Chicago on Monday!

meh you prevented the regulation win any victory however small is needed right now.

 

[VT]

I'm starting to believe that if we win all our games, we'll be playing in the PO. The genius St. Louis prefers Newhook with the hockey IQ of an aquarium fish and the hands of a shovel, and a Newhook - Evans - Armia line when Montreal needed to score , or in OT Evans with Suzuki, with no faceoffs, and a wooden Matheson on defense, I knew Toronto would score a goal. I scored.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

 

[Jovavic]

Habs lost to the Hawks in their other meeting this year on January 3rd. Hawks have added some their prospects so maybe they end up squeeking one out. That last game against Carolina...Canes have nothing to play for so they'll probably rest anyone important so unfortunately Montreal has a good chance of winning but you never know.

 

[stevo61]

I'm starting to believe that if we win all our games, we'll be playing in the PO. The genius St. Louis prefers Newhook with the hockey IQ of an aquarium fish and the hands of a shovel, and a Newhook - Evans - Armia line when Montreal needed to score , or in OT Evans with Suzuki, with no faceoffs, and a wooden Matheson on defense, I knew Toronto would score a goal. I scored.

That's not what happened at all? Evans took the faceoff with Matheson-Guhle but as soon as they gained possession Suzuki-Caufield jumped on

 

[koteka]

As we wake up on April 13, the CBJ are still alive in the playoff hunt but just barely:

14 teams have been eliminated from the playoffs.

In the east, seven teams have clinched the playoffs. The Canadiens or Jackets are battling for the playoffs.

In the west, six teams have clinched the playoffs. The Blues, Wild, and Flames are battling for two playoff spots.

Vancouver and Utah are eliminated in the west but would be ahead of the Jackets if they were in the east.

We currently have the 13th fewest points. I think the best draft position we could have is 9th and the worst is 32nd.

eta - Buffalo could still tie us but I don’t know who wins the tie breaker in that scenario. So maybe there is a chance we could draft 8th.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

I think the most frustrating part of this season is just looking back at all the what ifs. What if we won just a few of those OTLs, what if Johnson didn't get hurt would he had stayed hot? If Monahan didn't get hurt, surely we'd be in one of the WC spots. And the obvious, if we had Johnny and we get this same level of play from Monahan and guys like Marchenko... There's no doubt we could've been top 3 in the division.

johnny aside, the big "what ifs" for me are:

• what if letang didn't take a run at monahan and mess up his wrist?
• what if they addressed goaltending (jet or trading for a veteran) instead of myopically hanging onto tarasov or refusing to waive elvis?
• what if waddell took a more aggressive deadline approach?

the secondary ones:

• what if severson stayed out of evason's doghouse?
• what if jenner didn't have a freak injury in camp?
• what if sillinger didn't get hurt?

there are a few more that some folks might bring up (chinakhov injury, kunin over JVR for a few games) that don't really move the needle for me.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

UFA to be Mitch Marner with the GWG. There is still life

i don't think they'll seriously pursue or be considered by marner this summer but my god he would be such a great add.

legit 100-point player who plays selke-level defense (can even play defense in a pinch!), run a power play, drive a top line… he's so good, man. imagining him next to fantilli for the next 7 years is such a nice thought.

 

[Long Live Lyle]

i don't think they'll seriously pursue or be considered by marner this summer but my god he would be such a great add.

legit 100-point player who plays selke-level defense (can even play defense in a pinch!), run a power play, drive a top line… he's so good, man. imagining him next to fantilli for the next 7 years is such a nice thought.

I had no idea Marner was a UFA. I thought he was an RFA like 2 years ago and there was colloquial “could he get an offer sheet??” discussion around him before he re-signed.

No idea why I thought that; maybe it wasn’t an offer sheet discussion but rather trade rumors/fodder after a Leafs early playoff exit or something.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

i don't think they'll seriously pursue or be considered by marner this summer but my god he would be such a great add.

legit 100-point player who plays selke-level defense (can even play defense in a pinch!), run a power play, drive a top line… he's so good, man. imagining him next to fantilli for the next 7 years is such a nice thought.

I hope they at least try. We can offer him a blank cheque essentially. I know he’s close to family, and it’s not that far away from home. Youthful team with a chance to continue getting better, and he’d be “the guy” here. A softer media market that wouldn’t hound him all the time.

I know people will say he chokes in big games or withers away when it matters most, which may be true, but I will worry about those issues when we’re in those big games.

I don’t think it’s impossible but obviously it’s extremely unlikely. And also, that doesn’t fix our problems in net and on D which are bigger issues.

 

[stevo61]

I hope they at least try. We can offer him a blank cheque essentially. I know he’s close to family, and it’s not that far away from home. Youthful team with a chance to continue getting better, and he’d be “the guy” here. A softer media market that wouldn’t hound him all the time.

I know people will say he chokes in big games or withers away when it matters most, which may be true, but I will worry about those issues when we’re in those big games.

I don’t think it’s impossible but obviously it’s extremely unlikely. And also, that doesn’t fix our problems in net and on D which are bigger issues.

Yeah but would he feel like a god here?

 

[cbjthrowaway]

I had no idea Marner was a UFA. I thought he was an RFA like 2 years ago and there was colloquial “could he get an offer sheet??” discussion around him before he re-signed.

IIRC the jackets pushed really hard to get him to sign an offer sheet but he didn't end up signing it. sounded like he turned them down.

the default columbus fan interpretation of that is probably "oh, guess he just hates our city" but it could be as simple as "he had no desire to leave a very good toronto team" – given how the negotiations have gone this year, another early playoff exit could make this go-round a very different situation.

I don’t think it’s impossible but obviously it’s extremely unlikely. And also, that doesn’t fix our problems in net and on D which are bigger issues.

in terms of personnel? no. in terms of on-ice impact? he'd actually go a long way towards helping.

a marner signing would:

• add an elite defensive forward to a forward group that has been very poor in their own end
• add an elite penalty killer to a bad penalty killing unit
• add an elite possession-driver to a team that doesn't drive possession particularly well
• add a guy who draws penalties at an elite rate to a team that barely spends any time on the power play

so… less time spent in their own zone… better play when they are in their own zone… more effective PK… more time spent on the power play…

they'd still have personnel deficiencies on the blueline and in net, but adding marner would lighten the load on those position groups by quite a bit.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I can't look back on this season with what ifs and regrets. They have played with heart and skill and far exceeded what was asked and expected from them.

Regardless of the next week and there's clearly some improvement needed, I feel enthusiastic about this organization's future in a way I haven't felt in a long time.

 

[stevo61]

IIRC the jackets pushed really hard to get him to sign an offer sheet but he didn't end up signing it. sounded like he turned them down.

the default columbus fan interpretation of that is probably "oh, guess he just hates our city" but it could be as simple as "he had no desire to leave a very good toronto team" – given how the negotiations have gone this year, another early playoff exit could make this go-round a very different situation.


in terms of personnel? no. in terms of on-ice impact? he'd actually go a long way towards helping.

a marner signing would:

• add an elite defensive forward to a forward group that has been very poor in their own end
• add an elite penalty killer to a bad penalty killing unit
• add an elite possession-driver to a team that doesn't drive possession particularly well
• add a guy who draws penalties at an elite rate to a team that barely spends any time on the power play

so… less time spent in their own zone… better play when they are in their own zone… more effective PK… more time spent on the power play…

they'd still have personnel deficiencies on the blueline and in net, but adding marner would lighten the load on those position groups by quite a bit.

Wasn't the biggest issue for Marner that Columbus wanted 7 years? This current deal walked him to UFA and puts him in complete control of the situation. Wonder if he takes a major 8 year deal at this point

 

[VT]

That's not what happened at all? Evans took the faceoff with Matheson-Guhle but as soon as they gained possession Suzuki-Caufield jumped on

Dvorak is the best on faceoffs, and he's also better in offense and in shape, so it's strange that Evans, who is playing injured, started.
Yes, Guhle and Matheson started, but it was understandable that Guhle was going to fly back to the bench right away, so I didn't count it.
Besides, Matheson is worse than Hutson on offense and his defense is tragic, no better than Hutson's.

 

[Doggy]

Every team can play the "what if" game...even those in the playoffs jockeying for seeding.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Every team can play the "what if" game...even those in the playoffs jockeying for seeding.

sure, but this team coasts into the playoffs if they get league-average goaltending throughout the season, and it certainly looks like they had a league-average goaltender playing in cleveland all year.

 

[CBJx614]

Every team can play the "what if" game...even those in the playoffs jockeying for seeding.

Of course they can, but none of those teams lost their face of the franchise, cornerstone player heading into the season. That's the only reason I brought up the question. Even with Johnny on the roster most thought we would just be another lottery team heading into the season.

I get that not everyone wants to talk about it and maybe this isn't the right thread to do so, but you can't talk about this season without talking about Johnny and what could've been.

 

[NotCommitted]

Dvorak is the best on faceoffs, and he's also better in offense and in shape, so it's strange that Evans, who is playing injured, started.
Yes, Guhle and Matheson started, but it was understandable that Guhle was going to fly back to the bench right away, so I didn't count it.
Besides, Matheson is worse than Hutson on offense and his defense is tragic, no better than Hutson's.

I've watched a couple MTL games recently and my biggest surprise was how good Hutson is defensively. Quite likely he's improved since early season (I remember the first time I saw him, he immediately made some "rookie mistake"), but the takes on mains where they claim he's bad defensively smell like bias against offensive rookie D-man, I just don't see it and his numbers are very good as well.

I mean he's a small 21-year old so that dictates how he needs to play defense, but he makes good reads and uses his elite skating and stick work to make very good defensive plays. If he's this good this early it's a bit scary how good he might become with more experience.