NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
(Crosby or Malkin or Kessel? Kucherov or Stamkos?), don’t be surprised if Bergeron gets some Hart Trophy love. Aside from the plus-24 rating, he’s also on pace for a career best 40 goals and 80 points.
OILERS IN DENIAL
Explain this one to me: The Rangers, who are three points out of a playoff spot, are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline.
But the Oilers, who are 13 points out, still haven’t accepted that they will miss for the 11th time in 12 years? Despite a 5-1-1 run, the Oilers are still 11 points out of a wild-card spot and will most likely be in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. That’s embarrassing and inexcusable. But keep in mind that the Sabres are approaching a seven-year drought, while the Hurricanes are coming up on nine straight years without a playoff appearance. Worst yet, an expansion team has the best record in the West.
FISHER FOCUS
When P.K. Subban said adding retired forward Mike Fisher isa “huge asset”, he wasn’t necessarily talking about offensive production.
In fact, Fisher didn’t score a single goal during last year’s Stanley Cup run. What he got credit for was keeping everyone focused on the task at hand. That included Subban, whose Listerine comments in the final became a daily distraction until Fisher reportedly put an end to it.
2015 RE-DRAFTED
Three years later, the 2015 NHL entry draft would look significantly different if you re-did it. Obviously McDavid still goes No. 1, but after that would you rather have Jack Eichel (third overall), Mathew Barzal or Brock Boeser? Buffalo would probably still pick Eichel, but there’s no way that Arizona and Toronto pass on Barzal (16th) or Boeser (23rd) in favour of Dylan Strome or Mitch Marner
... If you told me that Chicago and Edmonton would both miss the playoffs this year, I wouldn’t have believed it. I still don’t.
But I’m not counting the Blackhawks out, despite them being seven points back of a wildcard spot. And I’m not alone.
“You look at who’s in last place in the Central and it’s Chicago and that’s still one of the best teams in the division despite their record,” said Dallas’ Tyler Seguin. “You know they’re going to be pushing like crazy.” ... Heading into Wednesday night’s game, Toronto’s Jake Gardiner had scored 14 points in 15 games since Jan. 1. The only defencemen with more points were San Jose’s Brent Burns and Dallas’ John Klingberg. That’s pretty good company.
ENTER THE OCTAGON
People might compare the two, but in my opinion Alex Burrows and Brad Marchand are completely different players. Marchand crosses the line with hockeytype plays. But what Burrows did to Taylor Hall by repeatedly kneeing the Devils forward in the head after being on the receiving end of a clean hit, belongs in the UFC — not a hockey rink.