With only three games left in the season for the majority of teams, it’s hard to believe that there are still eight playoff spots that have yet to be clinched. However, tonight there are two divisions and four playoff spots on the line. Here is a look at a handful of games with playoff-clinching implications.
Ottawa
With Sidney Crosby’s return still uncertain and Evgeni Malkin gone for the rest of the season because of a knee injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins continued the remodeling of their offensive corps to get ready for the postseason.
Following the acquisition of Dallas Stars forward James Neal, Pens GM Ray Shero has gone out and picked up sniper Alex Kovalev from the Ottawa Senators. The 38-year-old spent parts of five seasons with the Penguins, and had his most productive season (44 goals, 95 points in 2000-01) while a member of the Penguins.
Although the NHL trade deadline is Feb. 28, a steady stream of deals have shown that general managers aren’t waiting until the last minute. A large part of this has to do with the fact there are so many hopeful teams who are still in contention for a playoff spot, especially in the Western Conference.
“The sooner you can do the hockey deal, the sooner you can get the team together, the better,” said Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray, who has been once of the busiest gms over the last week.
The Nashville Predators have never been known as an offensive team. In fact, their lack of goal scoring has left analysts and columnists scratching their heads as to how a team with little to no offensive firepower has managed to make the playoffs five of the last six seasons.
Preds General Manager David Poile is well aware off his team’s offensive deficiency.
“When you evaluate our team, we always get pretty good marks for our goaltending, our defense and our defensive play,” said Poile. “One of the areas we fall short on is our forwards, and specifically our offense.”
The Anaheim Ducks have signed the goaltender whom they defeated in the Finals of their 2007 Cup-winning season.
Although, Ray Emery is probably not in the same condition now as he was when he backstopped the Ottawa Senators to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final.
Anaheim and Emery have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract reportedly worth$500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL. Emery hasn’t played since suffering a serious hip injury with the Philadelphia Flyers last season. He had surgery in April 2010 to repair the condition (avascular necrosis) which saw the near-complete degradation of the top of the ball in his hip joint. Translation: not the best injury to have if you are an NHL goaltender. But the Ducks feel that Emery is worth taking a chance on.
