Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin is on the road to recovery, and continues to provide photos to prove it.
After undergoing a procedure to mend a rather gruesome Achilles injury, Seguin addressed the media for the first time since the announcement was made that he'll be out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks.
"Yesterday was a little bit better than today," he told reporters. "(I'm) starting to get a bit more feeling in the foot today after the surgery."
Seguin admitted he was concerned following the incident, especially as he thought of scenes from the horror flick "Hostel." He considers himself both unlucky that it happened and lucky that it wasn't worse. While there's no firm timeline for his return to the lineup, he has an idea of when he'll be back.
"I can't really picture myself missing Game 1 (of the playoffs)," he said. "Even if I come back for the last game of the regular season, that'd be quite the goal for me. There's a long way to go until then and I'm looking forward to getting better."
Seguin later shared a visual update on his Achilles injury, which he said looks a bit more gnarly than the first:
"@MichaelDelZotto: @tseguinofficial aren't they the worst? pic.twitter.com/5okpwxjrHC” people like scars tho right ? pic.twitter.com/g1Yn35pZpr
— Tyler Seguin (@tseguinofficial) March 19, 2016
Look for Seguin to wear thicker socks upon his return.
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The NHL's relatively new wild-card playoff format isn't for everyone, and you can count Sidney Crosby among its critics.
"I'm not a big fan of it," the Pittsburgh Penguins captain said in a Q-and-A with ESPN, "but what are you going to do? That's the way it is. I don't like it just because I'd love to see just the top eight teams (in each conference) make it. There are definitely divisional rivalries, but at the same time, there are more teams in each division. That's the way it's done, but I prefer the top eight."
Crosby's Penguins hold down the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, with their 84 points three up on Detroit's 81, and four up on Philadelphia's 80.
The wild-card format sees the top three teams from each division make the playoffs, and the two best teams after that, regardless of division. Right now, the Penguins, as the first wild-card holder, are scheduled to face the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Were the playoffs to feature the top eight teams in the conference, the Penguins and Panthers would still face off in the first round, as the Penguins have the seventh-best point total in the East, while the Panthers rank second.
The division's best teams face the wild-card teams, with the division leader with the most points (the Washington Capitals, in this season's case) facing off against the wild-card team with the fewest points (currently the Detroit Red Wings).
Check out the rest of the Q-and-A for Crosby's thoughts on fighting in the game, performance-enhancing drug use, the World Cup of Hockey, and more.
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The Philadelphia Flyers are certainly peaking at the right time.
Radko Gudas scored the winner midway through the third period as the Flyers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night.
The Flyers leapfrogged the idle Detroit Red Wings and moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with the victory. Philadelphia dispatched Detroit 4-3 on Tuesday and still has a game in hand.
The Flyers won their second straight game Wednesday and picked up their eighth victory in the last 10 contests. Their most recent wins haven't been against bottom-feeders, either.
The Blackhawks lost their fourth consecutive game and fifth in their last six.
Philadelphia hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins in an interstate matchup on Saturday before embarking on a four-game road trip, while the Blackhawks travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Friday night.
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Since dropping their second game in a week to the Anaheim Ducks earlier in March and losing their spot atop the Pacific in the process, the Los Angeles Kings have looked nearly unstoppable.
The Kings have retaken their division lead with a five-game point streak (4-0-1), including a pair of commanding wins on back-to-back nights. They beat the reigning Cup champion Blackhawks 5-0 on Monday, before a 5-2 win against the West-leading Stars on Tuesday.
#LAKings now 10-4-2 versus the Central Division.
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) March 16, 2016
Captain Anze Kopitar and newcomer Kris Versteeg led the way for the Kings, with three points each over the past two games. Jonathan Quick shut out Kane, Toews and Co. on Monday, before Jhonas Enroth led the way with a 24-save performance against the Benn- and Seguin-led Stars.
Related: VIDEO: Kings' Kopitar dances around Kris Russell, scores
Despite their dominating past two nights, those wins may not have been their most impressive in the past week. Jeff Carter provided the overtime-winner on Wednesday to beat the Washington Capitals 4-3, after the league's top team scored three third-period goals to send the game into extra time.
With their recent run of high-powered offense and impressive goaltending against the league's top teams, it's hard not to consider the Kings as Stanley Cup favorites if the season ended today.
But if they plan to take on the Blackhawks, Stars, or even the Capitals in a future seven-game series, they'll need to figure out a way to beat the red-hot Ducks. The final regular-season meeting between the crosstown rivals is scheduled for April 7 at Staples Center.
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The Philadelphia Flyers now sit just one point shy of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot after picking up a 4-3 win Tuesday against the team currently sitting in the second wild-card position, the Detroit Red Wings.
Michael Raffl recorded the second multi-goal game of his career - both coming against the Red Wings. Wayne Simmonds scored his 25th goal of the season, while a backhand from rookie phenom Shayne Gostisbehere would serve as the eventual game-winner.
Gostisbehere can't help but score goals. #FlyersTalk https://t.co/8WgJZUnlt1
— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNPhilly) March 16, 2016
Steve Mason now has a personal five-game point streak in the Flyers' net, making 34 saves on the night to pick up his 17th win of the year. He's 4-0-1 with only 10 goals against in his current run.
Red Wings netminder Petr Mrazek was even busier, allowing only two goals in a first period that saw the Flyers outshot 23-3. He finished the night with 42 saves.
Andreas Athanasiou, Pavel Datsyuk, and Tomas Tatar provided the goal-scoring for Detroit.
The Flyers now have two games in hand as they sit just one point behind Detroit in the standings, but will face two tough tests later in the week. They visit the Blackhawks on Wednesday, before hosting the Penguins - who currently hold the other wild-card spot in the East - on Saturday.
The Red Wings next three games all come on the road, including stops in Columbus, Florida, and Tampa Bay.
| Rnk | Team | GP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penguins | 69 | 82 |
| 2 | Red Wings | 70 | 79 |
| 3 | Flyers | 68 | 78 |
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The Washington Capitals became the first team in the NHL to clinch a postseason berth after Tuesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.
The Capitals were in need of just one point Tuesday to reach the playoffs.
More to come.
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Jakub Voracek might be the most invested spectator Tuesday between his Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings.
That's because the Flyers are on a roll, and with two games in hand on Detroit, Voracek believes they're well on their way to making up the three-point difference between the clubs in the race for a wild-card playoff spot.
"The way we’re playing, they’ve got to be more worried about not making the playoffs than us," Voracek said Tuesday. "Because they way we play, everybody knows how good we play right now and everybody watches the games."
The Flyers have a 7-2-1 record over the past 10 games as compared to 5-4-1 for the Red Wings, and Tuesday marks the first of two remaining games between them.
Voracek has missed the past seven games with a foot injury and said there's no chance he plays against Detroit, but he hopes to return soon.
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The NHL's general managers aren't wasting any time.
During the morning session of the annual meetings taking place in Boca Raton, Fla., it's reportedly been decided that blue line cameras will be installed in the boards of all 16 arenas that will host playoff games this spring, according to Jonas Siegel of The Canadian Press.
The hope is this will ensure the right ruling is made when a coach challenges a goal scored on a seemingly missed offside call.
Also on the docket is a discussion in regards to whether on-ice officials should make this call, or if it should be reviewed and decided in the league's Toronto-based war room.
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