Friggin' Pens have played horribly down the stretch. When they back their lazy asses into the playoffs, I wouldn't be surprised to see them bounced in 4 or 5 games in the first round.
Way to go on that Ben Lovejoy trade, Rutherford!
Whoever loses the Penguins/Islanders contest on Friday, if it is in regulation, is going to be in a world of hurt. If either of them actually do manage to miss out it will be one of the more embarrassing collapses in NHL history. These have been two teams who have spent a majority of the season at a >99% chance to qualify per sportsclubstats.com.
With Boston laying an egg tonight against Washington, things are going to get very, very interesting.
NY Islanders - 98 (39 ROWs) @Pittsburgh, vs. Columbus
Detroit - 97 (38 ROWs) @Montreal, @Carolina
Pittsburgh - 96 (38 ROWs) vs. NY Islanders, @Buffalo
Boston - 95 (37 ROWs) @Florida, @Tampa Bay
Ottawa - 95 (35 ROWs) @NY Rangers, @Philadelphia
...all teams have played 80 games. This might be the wildest finish I've seen. I can't remember any time where FOUR playoff spots were up for grabs with only 2 games to go. Must see TV for the last 3 nights of the regular season.
Agreed. If I wasn't a hyper-partisan Pens fan, I'd be really excited by the whole thing. Of course, because I am, it's like torture to watch. Especially at the beginning of the year when I said on my podcast that I thought they were a sure thing to win the Cup this year. They've been embarrassing. It's not so much the losing. It's the lazy play and coaching that has bothered me. Defensively, we're truly awful without Kris Letang and trading a good Defenseman Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy (who was no good the first time he was here so why in blue blazes would they want his ass back?!) May be one of the worst trades this team has made in years.
