Okay, fine, it was in doubt for the first half of the season, and much of Thursday night, but the Anaheim Ducks clinched a postseason berth despite losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime.
It's Anaheim's fourth straight postseason berth and the 12th in club history.
Anaheim has rode a resurgent second half to the playoffs, winning 12 in a row from Feb. 13 through March 5. The team isn't playing its best hockey right now, though, having lost six of nine.
On Thursday, the Maple Leafs were up 4-1 with three minutes to play in the second period. That's when the Ducks began to fly: Anaheim scored twice in nine seconds to cut the lead to 4-3, and took a 5-4 lead in the third period before Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown tied it up with his first NHL goal. Nazem Kadri scored the overtime winner, tying a career-high with four points.
The Ducks' top-ranked penalty-killing unit had a night to forget, allowing three power-play goals to Toronto's 30th-ranked man advantage unit.
The Ducks have 90 points, good for second in the Pacific Division. They're within striking distance of the Los Angeles Kings, who lost to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Kings have 93 points, and the Ducks have a game in hand.
CHICAGO - Vernon Fiddler scored two of Dallas' four goals in the first period, and the Stars clinched a playoff spot with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
Dallas stretched its win streak to three and improved to 4-1...
Texas' team clinched a Western Conference playoff berth with a rather convincing win over the division-rival Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
The Stars, who were playing without top center Tyler Seguin, earned the convincing victory thanks to a host of depth players, namely Colton Sceviour, Vernon Fiddler, and Patrick Eaves, who all scored in the first period en route to an early 4-0 lead that would not be relinquished.
Strange but true: This is the fourth game this season in which the Stars have held a 4-0 lead over the Blackhawks
The postseason-clinching win marked the fourth time the Stars have beaten the Blackhawks in five meetings this season, with Dallas outscoring Chicago 20-11 in those contests.
It also strengthened the Stars' hold on both the Central Division and Western Conference leads.
Not bad for a team that was on the outside looking in this time last year.
MONTREAL - Lucas Lessio scored his first goal in 11 games as a Canadien as Montreal downed the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Torrey Mitchell, Alex Galchenyuk and Mike Brown also scored for the Canadiens (34-34-6), who ended a two-game l...
And after the game, head coach Mike Babcock made sure there were no doubts: Nylander won't be going to Russia to represent Sweden at the upcoming world championships.
Babcock says Nylander will be playing in AHL playoffs not the worlds. In case there was any doubt.
The Toronto Marlies are the class of the AHL, leading the league with 46 wins and 97 points. A playoff spot is locked up, and once the Maple Leafs' season is over, Nylander will head back to the Ricoh Coliseum from the Air Canada Centre and suit up in the postseason.
Nylander's first taste of NHL hockey has been fruitful. He has four goals and three assists in 12 games.
Babcock says Nylander "wants to be great."
"It takes time in this league to become a man and a player."
Stop us if you've heard this before: The San Jose Sharks have the look of a team capable of going on a long playoff run.
This has not been an uncommon sentiment over, oh, the past decade or so, as the Bay Area squad has been one of the most successful regular season teams since the lost 2004-05 season, with a pair of Western Conference finals appearances to their credit.
However, the Sharks entered into a state of complete disarray following a calamitous first-round collapse in a 2014 series against Los Angeles, and failed to even qualify for the playoffs last season, with cornerstone centers Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau seemingly destined to be jettisoned in favor of building around a younger core.
But lo and behold, the Sharks have just kept swimming, and appear well poised to take a serious bite out of the competition this spring.
Here's why.
Formidable goaltending tandem
The Sharks demonstrated great faith in Martin Jones by coughing up a 2016 first-round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly to the Boston Bruins to secure the services of the up-and-coming netminder.
That appears to have been well placed, as the 26-year-old has risen to the occasion in his first season as a starter at the NHL level.
In a savvy pre-deadline move, general manager Doug Wilson looked Toronto's way and reeled James Reimer into the fold. While his role is expected to be supportive, he's played well enough early on in his tenure with the Sharks to warrant starts down the stretch and possibly in the playoffs.
Player
GP
Record
Sv%
GAA
SO
Martin Jones
59
35-19-4
.919
2.26
5
James Reimer
4
3-1-0
.952
1.27
2
Don't forget Reimer is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end, giving him all the motivation in the world to make good on this opportunity with the Sharks, especially as the member of this tandem who brings playoff experience to the mix.
Jumbo Joe's as good as ever
At age 36, Joe Thornton remains a force to be reckoned with.
Sitting second in assists (52) and eighth in total points (70) through 72 games, Thornton performing basically on par with his career average of 0.98 points per game. Throw in his 50 penalty minutes and a wicked beard, and he's showing off the kind of bite that has made him one of the game's premiere centers.
One could argue that Thornton already boasts a Hall of Fame worthy resume, with a Stanley Cup being the major team award still missing. With one year remaining on his contract, this could be Thornton's last best chance to with in San Jose, and we have to think he'll do everything he can to make good on it.
Don't believe the "too laid back to win" knock on his playoff performance; his 82 points in 97 postseason games as a Shark belie that myth.
Young blood complementing veteran experience
The Sharks' roster features only seven players over the age of 30, all of whom have experienced their fair share of playoff battles and, let's face it, failure.
Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, and Brent Burns have been around for the bulk of San Jose's disappointments, while Joel Ward got a taste of it in recent years in Washington and Paul Martin joined Pittsburgh after the 2009 run to the Cup.
The last of the over-30 crowd, Dainius Zubrus, went to the final with New Jersey in 2012, a team coached by Sharks' current bench boss, Pete DeBoer.
These veterans, motivated as they may be to shake off the past, have the benefit of playing with some fresh young talent in San Jose this season, a healthy Logan Couture - still only 26 - certainly not least among them.
Make no mistake, this team is led by Thornton, Pavelski, and Burns, a trio that ranks 8-9-10 in league scoring. But it's the likes of Tomas Hertl, Joonas Donskoi, Chris Tierney, Matt Nieto, and Melker Karlsson that are infusing the forward ranks with an extra boost, giving San Jose a fourth-ranked 211 goals to date.
It's not rocket science, at the end of the day. Heading into Monday's action, the Sharks had the NHL's third-best goal differential (plus-29), behind only Washington and Los Angeles. If Jones and/or Reimer can keep the puck out of the net enough to allow the revamped offense to do its thing, the Sharks could be a surprise team to come out of the West.
St. Louis Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock is giving the veteran a chance to pick up the ball and run with it.
Or, in hockey terms, Brian Elliott will start Tuesday's game in San Jose after posting a shutout in Vancouver in his return from an almost month-long absence due to injury.
If he's able to make good on that opportunity, he could very well assert himself as the Blues' starting goalie down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Elliott's return comes on the heels of two rough outings for Jake Allen, who allowed nine goals on 43 shots in starts against Edmonton and Calgary. And while the 25-year-old has shown flashes of dominance at time this season, the elder Elliott has posted the better numbers, albeit in fewer outings.
Player
GP
Record
Sv%
GAA
Shutouts
Jake Allen
44
24-14-3
.917
2.42
5
Brian Elliott
31
18-7-6
.931
2.07
2
Heading into the season, it was expected that Hitchcock would deploy Elliott and Allen in a 1A-1B starting situation, and both have been called upon to step up over long stretches while the other was injured.
With nine games remaining on the schedule, the Blues are sandwiched between Dallas and Chicago in the Central Division standings, with two points separating St. Louis from both each way. Finishing first would ensure an opening round series against a wild card opponent, giving the Blues the impetus to finish as strong as possible.
For the time being, it's Elliott's crease to lose, but don't write that in anything but pencil quite yet.
A lower-body injury will cost the often-injured goaltender the rest of the season, the Flyers announced Sunday. And that means the crease belongs to Steve Mason, now in his fourth season in orange and white.
The Flyers are three points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with two games in hand. Where it gets tricky: Philadelphia has four back-to-back scenarios out of their 12 remaining games. They'll play March 21 and 22, April 2 and 3, April 6 and 7, and April 9 and 10.
Based on his track record at this time of year, Mason can get the job done.
Season
Month
SV%
Starts
Wins
2012-13
April
.944
6
4
2013-14
March
.917
12
8
2013-14
April
.935
4
2
2014-15
March
.931
11
3
2014-15
April
.933
4
3
2015-16
March
.917
6
4
Mason's played some great hockey down the stretch as a Flyer.
"We haven't really been blessed with an easy schedule here to finish off," Mason said, according to the Courier-Post's Dave Isaac. "We've all got to come here ready to have a real strong push in these last few weeks of the season. It's tough with the back-to-backs, but you've just got to take care of yourself and get your rest.
"I'm gonna do everything I can to give this team as much goaltending as they need."
Neuvirth will be missed. He's had a stellar season, and his .925 save percentage is in the top five among all NHL goalies. But Mason can get the Flyers to the promised land. Hopefully, based on the Flyers' remaining schedule, he gets enough sleep.
"I feel really good about my game," Mason added. "You always prepare to play every single game. That's just what I'm going to continue to do here."
Backing up Mason will be 22-year-old Anthony Stolarz, who, based on the unforgiving schedule, will likely see some action in the crease. He's never played in the NHL.
"He'll be ready to go, he'll be ready to play when we need him to go in," head coach Dave Hakstol said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Tanner Pearson and Alec Martinez scored and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves, leading the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
Los Angeles' 11th victory in 14 games, coupled with the A...
The Los Angeles Kings are heading back to the postseason, clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
