14 games. That’s all that’s left.
What happened last week: Buffalo nearly beat the Leafs before blowing a third period lead late and losing in the shootout, then scared us again by keeping it tied against the Rangers through two periods before losing in the 3rd. The Coyotes lost twice and scored twice. The Oilers put up 4 goals on two occasions, but only came away with 1 point.
Current Standings:
- Arizona Coyotes – 69 games played, 21-40-8, 50 points, -85 goal differential
- Edmonton Oilers – 69 games played, 18-39-12, 48 points, -78 goal differential
- Buffalo Sabres – 68 games played, 19-43-6, 44 points, -101 goal differential
Game Previews, March 16 – March 22:
Arizona Coyotes Game #70: @ Los Angeles Kings, Monday 10:30 PM 33-22-13, 79 points
Arizona Coyotes Game #71: vs. Colorado Avalanche, Thursday 10 PM 32-26-11, 75 points
Arizona Coyotes Game #72: vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Saturday 9 PM 39-20-10, 88 points
Arizona Coyotes Game #73: vs. Vancouver Canucks, Sunday 8 PM 39-25-4, 82 points
The Stanley Cup champions haven’t quite been able to kick it into high gear in their quest to secure a playoff spot. Usually dominant on home ice (20-7-6 entering March), the Kings haven’t earned a regulation or overtime win in three attempts this month, beating Montreal in the shootout before losing in overtime to Pittsburgh 1-0 and losing to Nashville in regulation 2-1. The Coyotes can’t seem to find the net, having scored 3 goals in their last 4 games, but the Kings are clearly struggling offensively in their own right. Arizona hasn’t been finishing but they create more offense than Buffalo and sometimes outshoot their opponents (including in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to New Jersey). It’s at least possible the Yotes could take advantage of a worn-out defending champ. Colorado is a weaker team but has been much hotter of late – their only loss in March was to the Kings, coincidentally. As for the Penguins, I really can’t decide how good I think they are. Are they a serious contender to win the East? Maybe I’m overreacting to their last three games – a 5-1 loss to Detroit, a shootout loss to Boston, a win over Edmonton where they allowed 4 goals, all at home – but I’m not at all convinced that they’re as good as their 39-20-10 record says they are. You might want to pay a little extra attention to this one because Arizona and Pittsburgh will play again next week. Lastly, Sabres fans have seen Vancouver lately so they know the Canucks can be beat. In fact, Arizona defeated Vancouver on March 5th. Hope for a repeat of recent history so we can breathe a little easier when the Coyotes come to town to play the Sabres on the 26th.
Edmonton Oilers Game #70: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, Monday 9:30 PM 27-37-6, 60 points
Edmonton Oilers Game #71: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, Wednesday 10 PM 30-35-4, 64 points
Edmonton Oilers Game #72: vs. Philadelphia Flyers, Saturday 10 PM 29-27-15, 73 points
Time to shine, Edmonton. These are the three most winnable games remaining on the Oilers’ schedule. The Leafs, Jackets and Flyers sit below every other team Edmonton will face in the standings. In fact, the Oilers won’t play another Eastern conference opponent after this week, and they’ve consistently performed better against the East (13-14-2) than the West (5-25-10) this season. They better come away with a few points here, or the Sabres will be in big trouble.
Fortunately for us, they’re playing the Leafs, Jackets, and Flyers! The Oilers got a point against Columbus last week, the Leafs nearly got outshot by freaking Buffalo (33-34) and have lost 5 of their last 7, and the Flyers have apparently decided to only beat good teams – they have wins over St. Louis and Detroit but losses to everyone else this month. The Oilers could win each of these games. Or they could lose them all. They are the Oilers, after all. In any event, we’ll have a much better idea of where the tank is headed next week after these games have been played and strength of schedule shifts firmly in Edmonton’s favor.
Buffalo Sabres Game #69: vs. Washington Capitals, Monday 7 PM 37-23-10, 84 points
Buffalo Sabres Game #70: @ Boston Bruins Tuesday 7:30 PM 36-23-10, 82 points
Buffalo Sabres Game #71: vs. New Jersey Devils, Friday 7 PM 29-29-11, 69 points
Buffalo Sabres Game #72: @ Nashville Predators, Saturday 8 PM 43-21-7, 93 points
Of course, it won’t matter what the Oilers do if the Sabres don’t win again this season. Dumb luck and goaltending probably gets them a couple more, but they’ve lost 6 in a row and lost 14 in a row in January with a better team. Lindback has suddenly starting playing well – is there something in the water here? – but if he drops off we might finally see the bottoming out we’ve expected and been denied after each goalie trade.
The Caps should be able to crush the Sabres – perhaps literally if anyone is silly enough to try blocking one of Ovechkin’s shots – as long as they get a few powerplay opportunities. Boston on the road the next night should be another easy one to lose, and Nashville on Saturday is another road game following a game the night prior. Buffalo is so under-talented that they need to be able to outwork their opponents and keep a high level of concentration and energy throughout games, so these back-to-backs should be even more taxing than most years. The Devils game on Friday, at home and on two days’ rest, is the obvious candidate for a fluke win. That’s a bad team, and the Sabres already took the Devils to a shootout in February.
Looking Ahead: Obviously, the two Sabres-Coyotes games loom large over the remainder of the season. (Thursday, March 26th in Buffalo and Monday, March 30th in Arizona.) Besides those games, it looks ugly for Buffalo. The Coyotes won’t meet another opponent worse than San Jose (34-27-8) the rest of the way. Edmonton’s weakest remaining opponents are Dallas, Colorado, and Winnipeg. The Sabres, sadly, still have to play Toronto, Carolina and Columbus again.
The State of the Tank: Cautious optimism, but the pressure is on.
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