It’s time for our weekly NHL playoff peak. The New York Islanders were left for dead as they cleaned house at the trade deadline, but they just won’t die. They are only two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final Eastern wild card. The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets keep fading. The top Atlantic spot isn’t any clearer. The St. Louis Blues stayed hot and have won six straight. It looks more likely that the final Western wild card will be the Blues or Calgary Flames, which is bad for everyone. The Blues have a goalie that can get hot and a coach with something to prove. The Flames have a goalie that could potentially become hot. The Vancouver Canucks are who I’d rather face, but that seems less likely every day.
Things I don’t like
1.The Edmonton Oilers are suffering injuries at the worst time. Connor McDavid sustained a lower-body injury during the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets, and Leon Draisaitl sustained an undisclosed injury during a 7-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club. Both are expected to miss at least a week. Stuart Skinner was also pulled from two games due to injury precautions but appears okay. The one positive is that it forces the rest of the Oilers to step up, and they did so against the Seattle Kraken. (see below)
- The New York Rangers clung to their faint playoff hopes entering this week as they tried salvaging their season, but you wouldn’t know it by their play. Against the Calgary Flames, they produced a whopping 13 shots, much to the chagrin of the home crowd, who let them know their displeasure with their chorus of boos. They showed no urgency in the final minutes when they needed a goal. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs, their sloppy play in their own end led to two easy Maple Leafs goals and another loss. They managed to beat the Vancouver Canucks, but it may be too late to recover a second time. The Rangers should never have let Gerard Gallant go. Amazingly, he’s still jobless.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Zachary L'Heureux vs Nathan Walker
It would have been better if it was longer.
Keaton Middleton vs Arber Xhekaj
You kind of get a 2fer. Middleton should have done better since he instigated.
Mathieu Olivier vs Bokondji Imama
A fairly decent fight with some early grappling.
Jack McBain vs Darnell Nurse
Slow start, but there’s a few good punches at the end.
Patrick Maroon vs Tyler Tucker
A headless Maroon is all you need.
Goats of the Week
The Referee
This was as odd a goal as you’ll ever see. I’m not criticizing the ref because I know the job is difficult. He saw the puck and thought it was going high. It was a high shot, but there’s gravity. He could have stopped standing up, and it would have been fine. The Avalanche were the beneficiaries of the mishap as Steven Lorentz scored the shorthanded game-winning goal.
Johnathan Kovacevic - New Jersey Devils
The Devils were up 3-1 against the Calgary Flames entering the third. But the Devils gave up an early goal and then got sloppy with two goals in a minute. Jonathan Huberdeau shot the puck as soon as Kovacevic passed it to him for the second goal, the game-winning one.
Stat Line of the Week
3/22/25 Edmonton 5 vs. Seattle 4
Skater TOI G A +/- SOG GWG R.Nugent-Hopkins 23:02 3 0 2 5 1
It’s hard to remember that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was once a first-overall pick. But that happens when McDavid and Draisaitl overshadow you. Nugent-Hopkins slid into the top center role and played 23 minutes, four minutes more than his season average. He scored his fourth career hat trick with every goal imaginable, even strength, power play, shorthanded and empty net. He tends to play great when they get injured.
Numbers, Numbers
6 – Unanswered goals by the Seattle Kraken against the Chicago Blackhawks
395 – Hits for Keifer Sherwood breaking the NHL single-season record
131 – The difference this season between the next closest person Will Cuylle
61 – Assists by Jesper Bratt breaking Scott Sevens single season New Jersey Devils record
20 – Goals for first overall pick Connor Bedard
2 – Career hat tricks for Pavel Dorofeyev and his first 30-goal season
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Carolina
- Washington
- Colorado
- Ottawa
- St. Louis
Bottom 5
- San Jose
- Chicago
- Philadelphia
- Boston
- Buffalo