The Coyotes are in New Jersey tonight., and though Dallas is idle, the Wild are up against the Blues and if things go well tonight, the Coyotes will be only one point behind the Wild for 7th place.
The difference between 7th and 8th might not even be anything, since the Sharks are only two points behind the Blues for first in the conference, so no matter where you finish, you could get either one of them. I guess, if given a choice, I would rather the Coyotes face the Sharks than the Blues because the Blues, I think, are even deeper than the Sharks and have a superior goalie. Either way, it's not much of a reward for making the playoffs.
In totally unsurprising news, Thomas Greiss will get the start tonight. The only thing I have heard new about Smith is that he has a doctor's appointment tomorrow at which time he will be reevaluated. According to Fox reporter Craig Morgan, Mike Smith was walking quite well for a guy who appeared to be severely injured, and so, there is hope that the team's official position that he is "day to day" is not the overly optimistic "well of course they'd say that" news release it seemed to be.
No word on other lineup changes, but I think it's worth noting that both Chris Summers and Brandon McMillan have been pleasant late season surprises. Playing in limited minutes, I feel that they are both huge upgrades over who they are replacing. Summers is heads and shoulders above the deteriorating Klesla - who seems to have retired rather than report to Buffalo - and he is also a step above Schlemko, in my opinion, if just because of his speed.
As for McMillan, I think he has been great. He certainly brings more to the table than Schultz, kennedy or Klinkhammer. And again, his speed makes a difference. Maybe it's just confirmation bias - I am willing to at least consider it - but though Smith's play has been the main difference between the Coyotes play in December/January vs. February/March, I think the speed of guys like McMillan and Summers makes Phoenix so much more dangerous.
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Random Notes
1. The Leafs will make the Playoffs. Then once there, playing a third line of Clarkson and Bolland and being so fast, they will upset the Bruins in the first round.
2. The Islanders are going to surprise everyone next year. Tavares and Strome up the middle for the next ten years? People who call Garth Snow an idiot should really research the drafts he has done since taking over in 2008.
3. I am still waiting for someone to explain to me how Fenwick Close isn't just a glorified plus/minus stat. It's not that I don't believe in stats, it's that each one is just a single tool for evaluating and hockey is too fast and too variable for there to be one stat that tells all. Still, if anyone comes up with a good W.A.R stat, I would love to see it.
4. Speaking of baseball, the over under on the Blue Jays season is 79 wins. If you can afford to have some money locked up all summer, this is almost free money. Not only will the Jays pass the 79 win mark, they will make the playoffs.
5. Gustav Nyquist is another emerging star in Detroit who they picked late in the draft (4th round). I would be interested to know if they are just really lucky or if they are draft magicians. It seems great that they they keep finding these gems late in the draft, but they also haven't picked an impact player in the first round since Niklas Kronwell in 2000.
6.Not enough is being made of the fact that Jerome Iginla has 28 goals. If not for a slow start to the season, he might be approaching 45 or 50. Not bad for a guy people said was done.
7. In my opinion, either Tyler Bozak or David Krejci is the most underrated player in the league. Or it's Dion Phaneuf or Oliver Ekman-Larrson. There's a bunch. To round out a top five, i'd say Calvin Des Haan on the Islanders. Every time I watch a game of theirs, that guy plays great. I'd love to hear what people who watch more Islanders games think of him.
8. To all the people so upset about the Tweets directed at April Reimer, wife of James Reimer, I just want to ask where is your rage about child poverty? Not that I support the idiotic harassment of a guy's wife - famous millionaire athlete or not - but it's just curious to me why we get so angry about things that are so out of proportion to their effects on reality. The fact is, 1/4 kids in North America don't know where they are going to get their next meal and that is something to be angry about.
9. Crazy late season collapse or not, I doubt there is a team in the East that would rather play Toronto in the playoffs than Montreal or Tampa. They were even with those teams for 65 games and the Leafs are faster, dirtier, and Bolland and Clarkson (as mentioned) could be very hard to play against for seven games. That being said, Gunnarson and Franson need to be replaced with real NHL defenseman before the Leafs are ever in a position to compete.
10. I have nothing. I just thought 9 was a weird number to end on.
Thanks for reading.
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