London Knights sniper Mitch Marner is a wanted man.
Marner is the OHL’s leading scorer and will be a top six pick in the June NHL Draft. In 62 games played, Marner has scored 44 goals and has added 80 assists for 124 points.
Marner has been high atop the OHL scoring list for months, however, he is in serious jeopardy for losing his scoring title in the final week of the OHL season. Two Erie Otters scoring machines are about to make live very stressful and uncomfortable for Marner.
Three draft eligible snipers are locked into a battle for the OHL scoring title.
Dylan Strome and Connor McDavid are breathing down Marner’s neck and they are committed to over taking him for the scoring title. Strome scored his 39th goal of the season against Kitchener on Sunday afternoon. He has 78 assists and 117 points in his 62 games played. Strome will have to score 7-10 pts in his next three games to bump off Marner. McDavid popped in his 43rd goal of the season in his 45th game of the on Sunday. He also added two assists (72) and now sits at 115 points for the season. McDavid would have to accumulate 9-11 points in his final three games to surpass Marner and Strome.
Strome's draft ranking and stock price can increase with an OHL scoring title. Perhaps Strome will leap frog Marner in the final analysis.
Marner should be sweating bullets right now because Strome and McDavid are red hot right now and they are intense competitors. Marner won’t have a say in the matter as he and his London Knights have only one game left to play in the regular season. On Friday night, London will visit Saginaw to put the wraps on their regular season. Marner will have to sit and watch The Otters will play their final three games on the road. They will visit Windsor Thursday night. They play at Plymouth on Saturday night and at Niagara on Sunday.
Strome and McDavid each have their eyes set on the Erie Otters team scoring record of 128 points which was set by Connor Brown last season. I spoke with McDavid about the Otters scoring race recently. He shrugged his shoulders, smiled and told me:
“That’s a big number, 128 points. Stromer has more points than me and he is closer to it that I am….
I get the impression from McDavid that he is okay with having Strome break the Otters team scoring record. That’s the type of unselfish player that McDavid is. He wants to share the success and the glory with all of his teammates. He is the classic pass-first, shoot-second player. McDavid is a humble superstar who empowers his teammates to be the best that they can be at all times. McDavid doesn’t mind sharing his spotlight with his friends. He would tell you that were it not for his generous teammates, he would not have had his own amazing success the past two seasons in Erie.
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It’s March 15th which means that there are now only four weeks remaining in the NHL regular season.
This will be a critical week for the four teams who find themselves embroiled in the epic awesomeness the EichDavid Derby.
It’s become a three team race between Buffalo, Edmonton, and Arizona as we come down the home stretch. The Carolina Hurricanes are on the outside looking in right now but can’t be ruled out entirely.
Today, we look through the windshield to the critical week that lies ahead. Slips and falls can/will have a dramatic impact on the rankings.
27th place: Carolina 58 points. 4-5-1 last 10 games. Lost 2-0 to Florida on Saturday.
The Hurricanes have 13 games remaining.
@ Columbus tonight. Home for Ottawa on Tuesday. @ Canadiens Thursday. Home for Rangers Saturday and home for Blackhawks on Monday 3/23.
I see the Hurricanes snatching 5 out of the 10 points that will be available to them this week. When that happens, the Canes will have 63 points in the McEichel bank.
28th place : Arizona: 50 points. 1-8-1 last 10 games.
The Dogs have 13 games remaining in their season.
Lost 4-1 to New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
@ LA on Monday. Then a three game home stand featuring Colorado Thursday, Pittsburgh Saturday, Vancouver on Sunday.
Three of their four games will be against playoff teams.
I see the Dogs grabbing 3 out of the 8 points that will be available to them this week. When that happens, the Dogs will have 53 points in the McEichel bank.
29th place: Edmonton 48 points. 1-7-2 last 10 games.
Lost 5-4 in shootout on Friday night.
The Oilers have 13 games remaining in their season.
Will begin a six game home stand with four games this week.
Toronto on Monday, Columbus on Wednesday, Philadelphia on Saturday, Winnipeg on Monday.
Three of their four opponents this week are non-playoff squads. Winnipeg is fighting for their playoff lives right now. I see the Oil earning 5 out of the 8 points that will be available to them this week. When that happens, the Oil will have 53 points in the McEichel bank.
30th: Buffalo 44 points 2-6-2 last 10 games.
Lost 2-0 to NY Rangers on Saturday night.
The Sabres have 14 games remaining in their season.
The week ahead has them home for Washington on Monday, @ Boston on Wednesday, home for New Jersey on Friday, @ Nashville on Saturday, @ Dallas on Monday.
Playing 4 playoff bound teams in their next 5 games will prove to be a difficult task for Ted Nolan's young Sabres.
The Sabres have two head to head meetings left to be played on March 26 in Buffalo and on March 30 in the desert.
I see the Dogs grabbing 3 out of the 10 points that will be available to them this week. When that happens, the Sabres will have 47 points in the McEichel bank.
• My projected standings as of Tuesday 3/24:
27th: Carolina 63 point 28th: Arizona 53 points 29th: Edmonton: 53 points 30th: Buffalo 47 points
I see Carolina and Edmonton being content to play tight, competitive hockey for the remainder of the regular season.
The two head to head games between Buffalo and Arizona will go a long way to determining the 30th place team.
The Coyotes are a formidable foe, however, I like Tim Murray to outsmart Don Maloney and Darcy Regier and hang on tight and earn the 30th overall pick.
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Let's face it. This season has been a long and arduous one for the Buffalo Sabres. I promised myself months ago that I would not get caught up in all of the negativity that is associated with all of the losing that has occurred this season. I prefer to take the high road and celebrate the good things. Like every time I feel myself slipping into the abyss of negativity, I remind myself that Sabres fans are only 4 games away from learning their draft order for this June's NHL Entry Draft. Will it be Eichel? Will it be McDavid?
No matter which player the 30th place Sabres select, they are guaranteed to choose a rockstar who will lead electrify and excite their fan base for the next decade!
Saturday afternoon saw Jack Eichel and Connor McDavid in action.
To the highlights we go"
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) March 15, 2015
The #1 seed Boston University Terriers men's hockey team punched its ticket to Hockey East's championship weekend with a 5-0 pasting of #11 seed Merrimack on Saturday afternoon.
The Terriers completed a quarterfinal sweep and became the first team in the NCAA to nail down a spot in the conference semifinals.
The Terriers are now 23-7-5 this season.
Jack Eichel assisted on four of the goals while Cason Hohmann scored two goals.
Eichel leads the nation in scoring as a frashman. In 34 games played, Eichel has 20 goals and 41 assists. He's +42.
Eichel is the first Terrier since Chris Drury to record 60 points in a season. He now has two 10-game point streaks this season and will be looking to extend his latest to 11 in Friday's semifinal.
Matt O'Connor stopped all 26 shots he faced in the 5-0 victory.
The Terriers will await the results of the other series to find out their opponent in the semifinals, which will take place on Friday March 20 at 5 and 8 p.m. at TD Garden.
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) March 15, 2015
Not to be outdone by Eichel, Connor McDavid scored twice in Erie's 4-1 win over the Winsdor Spitfires on Saturday night,
In 44 games played, McDavid has scored 42 goals and 70 assists for 112 points. He is +53 heading into Sunday's home game vs. Kitchener. McDavid is averaging 2.55 points per game this season.
McDavid's play has been mystifying this season. He sits just four points behind the Otters team scoring leader having played 20 fewer games due his broken hand and his involvement with Team Canada's gold medal winning WJC team.
Dylan Strome currently leads the Otters with 116 points in 64 games played.
The Otters will host Kitchener today, then they finish the regular season with a three games in four nights roadie that takes them to Windsor on Thursday, Plymouth on Friday, and St. Catherines and teh Niagara region on Sunday.
The OHL playoffs will begin the week of March 29. Exact dates and opponents TBD.
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