I ain't no Garfield. I got Mondays off and to be honest with you, if I change out of jogging pants, it will have been a successful day - so Monday's are OK with me. I don't even care about proper grammar on Mondays, obviously.
I could complain about Mondays, but like people who say "Happy Friday" that just annoys me. I do think this song is cool though.
Not today.
Today there's six games and at least three of them are interesting.
The Canucks play St.Louis, the Flames play the Stars and the Kings play the Hawks.
All of these games have exciting Playoff implications, as follows: Dallas: They need to win their remaining six games to reach 96 points and need a miracle. They are eliminated from Division contention because Chicago is already at 96 and Dallas can't catch them in wins.
One more point by the Wild, and Dallas can only catch Winnipeg and L.A. Any combination of points for the Jets or failed points by the Stars will eliminate them.
Calgary: Six points behind the Wild and one behind the Jets for the Wildcard, the Flames also have the option of catching Vancouver (two points back) and holding off the Kings in the Pacific (one point ahead).
Both Vancouver and LA have a game in hand, making tonight's matchup a must-win for the Flames.
Chicago: The defining team of the NHL's parity problem (If it is a problem) are the Blackhawks. With seven games left, they could still win the Division (if they won both games in hand, they'd only be a point behind Nashville) or they could go cold and actually miss the Playoffs. Though a seven game losing streak is unlikely, the Hawks still might end up in the Wildcard, as the Wild look poised to eventually pass them.
L.A: Most of what I said about the Flames applies to the Kings, except the Kings are a point behind with a game in hand. They are also a vastly superior team. Only bad luck has kept the Kings where they are in the standings. For one, they lost 14 OT/Shoot-out games, which are generally just coin-flips because of the silly way the NHL awards points. Seven of those are shoot-out losses.
Beyond that, the standings are so close that the Kings don't really need to get all that unlucky to be vastly effected by bad luck. If they go 5-4 in the shootout instead of 2-7 (three points) and win three of the games where they destroyed the competition and were stymied by a hot goalie or some bad bounces (six points) then they would have 97 points and be a sure lock for the Playoffs.
When you consider that the Kings are the best possession team in hockey and have one of the deepest rosters, that is not even a slightly crazy scenario.
Colorado: They sit two points back of Dallas with a game in hand, meaning their situation and ways they can be eliminated are basically the same. They're done, barring a miracle.
Oilers, Coyotes, Sabres: Had Buffalo won the other night in regulation against the Coyotes, this game might have been more interesting, but they didn't and it's not. A Buffalo win would make it a four point gap, but winning three of their next seven games is everything but a mathematical impossibility - it won't happen.
The Oilers are three points ahead of the Coyotes and have an extra game to play. An Oilers win means they almost certainly finish ahead of the Coyotes and might even catch the Leafs.
As you can see, for a Monday, this is a pretty nice schedule.
After my Saturday triple-header, I now sleep in a blanket fort in the basement, so catching all these games shouldn't be too hard for me. I wish you the same luck.
Thanks for reading.