Goals Under Review - March 28th

Nashville Predators @ Boston Bruins

Nashville needs maybe two more wins to solidify their spot in the playoffs, though team to play when you’re looking for playoff insurance points, what can they do on the road? Can the Bruins avoid a trap game and stay sharp for the playoffs?

This is an interesting time of year. Teams have different levels of desperation coming into games. All the games I cover have teams who are part of the playoff race. In this game, we have the best team in the league and a team on the outside looking in. I think it is safe to say the President’s Trophy is currently staying within the Boston city limits and is waiting for the mathematical clinch to make the trip to Boston Gardens. I’ve been covering games where all teams are trying their hardest to catch or secure their spot in the playoffs. This game felt like one team was trying to avoid injury while another was trying to play just hard enough to win. Not to say Boston wasn’t trying to win but in the parts of the game I saw, the urgency was lacking. I’m fine with this. Boston gets to enjoy the fruit of their labors and coast their way into the playoffs. There were sparks of effort in what would end up being a 1-2 loss to the Predators.

On the Predator end, this was a huge win. Beating the best team in the league on the road, in regulation. Nashville sits on two games in hand against Winnipeg. Winnipeg is treading water as the waves keep washing over their face. The last playoff spot in the west is gettable and Nashville needs these wins. They played with a speed that showed they mean business. The one negative from this game is that they tried and Boston may have had the cruise control turned on. I don’t think the Preds are going to be a threat to make the Finals this season, but playoff experience comes with its own value.

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Carolina Hurricanes

Tampa Bay really just wants to stay healthy and be a spoiler for the Canes who are looking to keep New Jersey second in the Metro.

I watched the first half of this game and woah boy, this was some “get to the end” hockey. Tampa Bay isn’t going to catch the Maple Leafs in the standings. Carolina is looking at the Devils right behind them but the Canes have a game in hand. It’s a bold move to gear it down for the Lightning being in town. It really felt like this game was played between two disinterested teams hoping that agreed that whoever scored the first goal would get the game.

This makes me think about the meaning of games this close to the end of the season. As of this writing, there are 5 teams in the east who have clinched their spot in the playoffs. It would take a historic collapse for the Lightning to miss the playoffs. There are a lot of teams who had their priorities change in the last week of games. I wonder if teams know who they are and the importance of having home-ice advantage means less to the players than it does to the fans’ perception of life in the playoffs. Last year, of the four losses for the Avalanche during their playoff run, three of those losses were at home.

Tampa bay comes away with the 4-0 win.

Edmonton Oilers @ Vegas Golden Knights

Edmonton has a rearview mirror full of Kraken tentacles while the Golden Knights are seeing the western pack fall behind. Can the Oilers hold their place while the Golden Knights look to secure the Western Conference banner?

I’ve been watching this game from the beginning and this has been a fun game. Has all the defense of an All-Star game and Vegas looks like a team that doesn’t have playoff domination in its playoff story. That doesn’t mean they can’t win four series; it means the Western Conference playoffs are going to be a tussle all the way through and it’s going to be fun to watch. The Eastern Conference playoffs feel like they are going to be higher end more desperate hockey. The eastern teams probably feel like “they know” they will be the better team when one of them gets to the Cup Finals.

The Oilers have looked great on offense, but they have also looked terrible on defense. Currently, the score is 6-3 and the Golden Knights don’t look like they are going to outscore the Oilers by 3+ goals in one period. If anything, they look frustrated on the ice and they are having to defend some high-danger moments in front of their net while the Oilers are scoring at will when they get the offense set up in the Vegas zone. I’m very tired tonight and I have as much interest in watching the rest of this game as Carolina had playing the Lightning tonight. I’m going to leave you here and add a quick highlight update in the morning.

The playoffs are going to be awesome this year.