Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra got two starts this week. He started in San Jose on Wednesday in a game that ended in a 1-5 loss and conceded three goals on 28 shots (.893 save percentage). Two days later, he was the man of choice between the pipes again and delivered a great performance with a .946 save percentage and 35 saves in a 4-2 win over Anaheim. With three games to go, the Avs are mathematically out of playoff contention after a very poor outing against the Kings on Saturday.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild went into this week with a clear goal: clinching a playoff spot after an impressive turnaround midway through the season. Nino Niederreiter and his teammates missed out on that opportunity though, as they lost both games this week. They hosted the red-hot New York Rangers on Thursday, but lost 2-3 in regulation. Niederreiter was a minus-1 with one shot on goal in 18 minutes of ice time. He had three shots on goal in a 2-3 shootout loss to the slumping Detroit Red Wings on Saturday in 17:31 TOI. The Wild sit first in the wild card race with 96 points in 78 games and probably won’t be able to overtake Chicago as third seed in the Central Division (trailing CHI by six points with four games left). As of today, the Wild’s first round opponent would be Central Division leader Nashville.
Nashville Predators
Swiss defenseman Roman Josi continued his elite season with a goal and an assist in a 2-5 loss to Calgary on Sunday night. He was a minus-1 and generated five shots on goal in 25 minutes of ice time. With the game going to a shootout, Josi’s ice time rose to a whopping 30:18 Tuesday night against Vancouver. He had four shots on goal in a 4-5 shootout loss. He followed that performance up with two shots and a plus-1 rating in a 3-4 overtime decision against the Dallas Stars on Saturday in 26:08 time on ice. Josi has 15 goals and 40 assists for 55 points in 79 games, all career-highs, and looks to finish the season in the top five in scoring among defensemen. His record-setting season saw him rise to a circle of elite defensemen, even earning him mentions in Norris Trophy discussions along with Mark Giordano (CGY), Erik Karlsson (OTT), P.K. Subban (MTL) and Kris Letang (PIT). At the moment, Nashville leads their division and would match up with the better of the two wild card winners, which at the moment would lead to a Swiss duel with Nino Niederreiter and his Minnesota Wild.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
Raphael Diaz had a good week with a highlight-reel goal in Dallas on Monday in just about eight minutes of ice time in a 5-3 win. The day before, he saw 11:25 minutes of time on ice and was a plus-1 with one shot on goal. He picked up an injury in St. Louis on Thursday, where he played 10:30 minutes and had one shot on goal. His undisclosed injury prevented him from playing Saturday in Edmonton. Jonas Hiller was heavily relied on this week and posted a 3-1-0 record in Nashville (5-2 W), Dallas (5-3W), Edmonton (4-0 W) and St. Louis (1-4 L). He allowed eight goals on 134 shots against on the week and picked up his first shutout of the year on Saturday in Edmonton. The Flames are in the midst of a three-way battle with Los Angeles and Winnipeg for the last spot in the Pacific Division (LA) and the last wild card spot (LA, Winnipeg). At the moment, they’re in and would face Vancouver in the first round of the playoffs.
San Jose Sharks
Mirco Müller is done for the season with a thumb injury. His San Jose Sharks went 2-1-1 on the week and are likely out of the playoff race. They trail the LA Kings by five points with three games left to play in the regular season.
Vancouver Canucks
Sven Bärtschi gave his season debut in a Canucks sweater on Saturday after being recalled from Utica on Friday. He was a minus-1 with four penalty minutes and one shot on goal in 10:16 TOI in a 4-5 loss to Winnipeg. Fellow Swiss forward Ronalds Kenins saw ice time in three games this week. He played nearly 15 minutes in a 4-1 win over St. Louis, before seeing 12:01 TOI in a 5-4 shootout win over Nashville (two penalty minutes, two shots on goal). His last showing of the week was a bad performance in Chicago, where he was a minus-2 on the night in close to 14 minutes time on ice. On the backend of the Canucks lineup, Luca Sbisa was a plus-1 in 20:47 in St. Louis, before picking up consecutive minus-1 ratings in 21:17 in the win over Nashville and 19:16 in the loss to Chicago. He closed out his week with an assist, two penalty minutes and a shot on goal in 19 minutes worth of ice time in Winnipeg on Saturday. Yannick Weber’s form is trending down again after a phenomenal last week. He was had a minus-1 rating and one shot on goal in St. Louis, before picking up a plus-2 rating in the game against Nashville (one shot on goal in 22:15). He had a whopping eight shots on goal in Chicago, but left the ice with a minus-1 rating in about eighteen minutes of ice time. He had one shot on goal in 20:33 in Winnipeg to end the week. As of today, the Canucks are in the playoffs and would play the Calgary Flames for another Swiss matchup.
Metropolitan Division
Philadelphia Flyers
After a short absence due to illness, Mark Streit returned to the Flyers’ blueline on Wednesday for the Battle of Pennsylvania against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He picked up an assist on the power play and had three shots on goal in 24:14 in a 4-1 win. After beating two playoff teams in Pittsburgh and Chicago, the Flyers dropped the game in Carolina 2-3 in a shootout – Streit had two shots on goal in 25:22 worth of time on ice. With the Flyers missing out on the playoffs, Streit’s season will come to an end in four games.
AHL – Quick Look:
Sven Andrighetto (Hamilton Bulldogs – MTL) added an assist to his season totals. He was a plus-1 on the week and had six shots on goal in two games. Kevin Fiala (Milwaukee Admirals – NSH) scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season this week. He was a combined plus-1 with 15 shots on goal in three games. Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) missed all games this week with an injury. Teammate Joel Vermin (Syracuse Crunch) scored a goal and an assist in three games this week. He was a combined plus-1 and had two shots on goal. He was injured late in the third period in Saturday’s game in Bridgeport. Sven Bärtschi (Utica Comets – VAN) scored twice in his lone game in the AHL this week and had a plus-1 rating and two shots on goal.
A look at the playoff picture tells us that both Syracuse and Utica have clinched a playoff spot, while Milwaukee and Hamilton are fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
