With just two games on Friday, it was a quiet night in the NHL — but that doesn’t mean it was boring.
Here are four things we learned on the eve of the regular season finale.
Penguins fail to clinch (for now)
The New York Islanders defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 to keep the Penguins from clinching a playoff berth — for now, anyway.
One of the game’s biggest momentum shifts came after a no-goal call that went against the Penguins was quickly followed by an ice-stretching shorthanded breakaway goal for the Islanders.
The Penguins’ lone goal came from an unlikely source: defenceman Rob Scuderi.
While the Penguins’ playoff hopes come down to the wire, there’s still reason to be hopeful: they’ll clinch a spot with a win in any fashion over the last-place Buffalo Sabres Saturday night. If they do clinch, they’ll likely be without defenceman Kris Letang (concussion).
The Islanders’ win guarantees them at least a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. It also means they’ll face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. (Tavares versus Ovechkin? Yes please!)
The Islanders can still move up to second in the division (and gain home-ice advantage) if they defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night.
Tavares takes the lead
While the biggest storyline in tonight’s matchup between the Penguins and Islanders was whether or not the Pens could clinch a playoff berth, the game was also a chance for the league’s point leaders to go head-to-head. Going into the game, Sidney Crosby and John Tavares were knotted up in a three-way tie that included Dallas’ Jamie Benn with 83 points. Tonight saw a goal from Tavares and an assist from Crosby, leaving the two captains tied with 84 points apiece.
Note: If the two remained tied, Tavares would come out on top since he has more goals.
Sabres lock up last place
The race to the bottom is officially over. The Buffalo Sabres lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 Friday, which means they officially clinched last place in the league.
While being bottom of the barrel isn’t exactly something to be proud of, there’s one heck of silver lining…
The future is great
Seeing as we’re about to embark on what should be a very grand finale of the 2014-15 regular season, now seems as good a time as ever to look to the future, and two of its brightest stars in Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. McDavid, the projected first overall draft pick, was an absolute scoring machine as the Erie Otters took on the London Knights in Game 2 of the OHL playoffs, netting five (!!!!!) goals to lead the Otters to a 7-3 victory and a 2-0 series lead.
Yep, this guy is good. Watch the magic for yourself:
The record game comes on the heels of another exciting prospect announcement, as Boston University’s Jack Eichel, the projected No. 2 draft pick, received this year’s Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. He became just the second freshman to win the award in its 35-year history. (The first was Paul Kariya.)
Something tells us the future of hockey is in good hands.