lordstanley

Less than a minute later though Raymond gives the Wings a 2-0 lead for real.

I think Fabbri essentially threw that into the net and that the score after the review will stay at 1-0.

So far the Wings are looking more like they did against the Blues than they did against the Leafs.

Ghost! First goal in 20+ games, when is a long time when he isn't great at defense. In any event, 1-0 Wings over Washington.

There's a YouTube video that replays the final four minutes only. It was eerie how quiet Ford Field was (or sounded on the broadcast) as the Lions took possession. Tension, and allowing the offense to hear Goff. And at the 2 minute warning the game was still on a knife's edge. And then, pow, that one quick pass for a 1st down coming out of the 2 minute warning and just like that it was over. I had been psyching myself up for several more minutes of nervousness.

I disagree that the "reality is somewhere in between" for Pittsburgh. Closer to irrelevancy than contention. 91 points last year and missed the playoffs, looks around the same this year.

"The Penguins are the prime example of why the checklist is just one way to analyze contenders. Pittsburgh’s a top-heavy team with some solid secondary pieces like Marcus Pettersson and Bryan Rust. On some nights, this looks like the team to beat led by one of the best players in the world. Other nights, they look imbalanced with a dysfunctional power play that needs to get realistic about their future, quickly. The reality is somewhere in between, and the clock is ticking to figure it out, with the pressure building around how to proceed with Jake Guentzel. The team looks even further away from contender status without Guentzel, considering the winger depth behind him. "

This is a neat local story that is starting to get some league-wide attention. An undrafted player from the Vancouver suburb of Surrey has cracked the Canucks' lineup. He's a Sikh. born to parents who emigrated from Punjab. For years now Hockey Night in Canada has broadcast Saturday game in Punjab on an alternate station. https://www.northdeltareporter.com/sports/huge-surrey-pride-for-bains-canucks-debut-as-nhls-4th-punjabi-roots-player-7322466 What a week it’s been for Surrey’s Arshdeep Bains, who played his first few games with the Vancouver Canucks and became just the fourth player with Punjabi roots to skate in the National Hockey League. A rookie forward, Bains made his NHL debut in Colorado on Tuesday, Feb. 20, played again in Seattle two nights later, then helped the Canucks to a comeback 3-2 win over rival Boston Bruins in Vancouver on Saturday. At Rogers Arena, dozens of family members and friends watched Bains play on home ice for the first time, with a team he cheered for as a kid growing up in Surrey, where he still lives with family.

The Atlantic has an article today Stanley Cup Checklist: Analyzing the East contenders ahead of the trade deadline https://theathletic.com/5300788/2024/02/27/stanley-cup-contender-checklist-eastern-conference/' Red X: Falls below the range entirely Gray checkmark: Passable, but below the average champion Black checkmark: Above average relative to the average Cup winner Gold checkmark: Exceeds the range entirely

I'm more worried about workload than his talents or shots faced. 17 in 21 is a lot to ask, even though the All Star Break was in there to give him a bit of a breather. 24 games left, probably need a backup (Reimer now, or Husso if he ever gets/stay healthy) to start 1/3 of those.

I think it's just been awhile since we've gotten solid goaltending. Alex Lyon hasn't had to be Dominik Hasek. He's 15th in the NHL in GAA, 8th in the NHL in Save %. Better than expected from him, sure. But that may be sustainable.

Oh yeah, JD's walkoff was an insane moment. I wish the clip I embedded shows the whole sequence you described, because yep, the whole buildup adds to it. But it's in the clip below. At around the 5:35 Kane briefly enters the screen and then exits from view, then comes the pass forward and all the anticipation.

Reimer has played four games in 2024 and has allowed a total of four goals. Yes, we have to worry about Lyon being overworked, but maybe something changed at Christmas as far as tightening up a bit. In the 21 games since then, have allowed 3 or fewer 17 times. Here's what the standings were like on New Year's morning. 15-4-2 since then. They had started off 14-8-3 before the 3-8-1 stretch to end 2023 almost killed them. But I think there were extenuating factors that makes the 3-8-1 the outlier, not the strong record before and after that. Larkin got viciously injured, Perron got suspended for defending him, and those two exclusions coincided with a hectic schedule of 9 games in 15 days. The team fell apart, but righted itself after the holidays. I don't expect much if any regression the final 24 games. True, the recent 5-game winning streak might be a bit misleading, as 3 of those 5 wins were in OT, which I don't value as much even though the standings do. But two 5-goal wins in there as well, over middle of the pack Calgary and St. Louis teams. Finally, goal differentials on the season for the Wings vs the teams they're in the mix with. Toronto +35 Carolina +28 Detroit + 25 Tampa + 5 Philly + 2 NJ -12 Washington -31 Pittsburgh +15 NYI -28

Maybe the best return since Guy Ladleur went back to the Montreal Forum and scored for the Rangers.

Kane with the storybook finish!!

Overtime. Got a point at least.

Wings buzzing now, going for the win. 2:22 to go in the 3rd.

DeBrincat ties it from behind the goal line! 4 minutes to go, 2-2.

Not that surprised that today might be a bit of a letdown game. Still would be nice to salvage a point or two against a bad team. Chicago 2 Detroit 1 with 13 minutes to go in regulation.

True in recent 5-10 years but maybe not going forward. Pittsburgh and Washington are done as contenders. Florida looks strong but likely not a dynasty in the making. Toronto has the talent to put it together and win it all one of these years, but they certainly have playoff vulnerabilities and unless their big stars get even better how are they going to improve at all. Tampa has peaked. Boston hanging on for a bit but how much longer. Carolina may have plateaued. A few teams roughly equal to the Wings like the Devils and slanders. Rangers should be tough for the foreseeable future, but are they any better than the West's Colorado, Dallas and Edmonton.

right, that's me too. Which is why I'd prefer Tampa beat NJ today and that the Flyers beat the Penguins. Getting in is way more important to me than seeding, when the top 3 looks set to be Florida, Boston and NY Rangers in who knows what order.

Leafs are getting on a big roll. Bertuzzi scores a hat trick on his 29th birthday. Brings his season goal total to a still-low 10.