Four things we learned in the NHL: Senators’ woes continue

Brendan Shanahan spoke to the media ahead of the Leafs last game at Joe Louis Arena.

• Maple Leafs and Red Wings heading in opposite directions
• Senators slip in Atlantic Division
• Oilers can’t stop this feeling

With Saturday’s games in the books, there are only seven days left in the regular season. The Ottawa Senators‘ recent struggles mean they have yet to guarantee a playoff spot and their provincial rivals were able to jump past them in the Atlantic Division standings.

Out West, everything is clicking for the Edmonton Oilers who took over the Pacific Division lead with an overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.

And a scary incident in Philadelphia allowed an obscure rule involving goaltenders to be put to the test

Here are four things we learned in the NHL.


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Red Wings and Maple Leafs: a tale of two rebuilds

The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs are heading in opposite directions and that was more apparent than ever in their final meeting of the season.

The young stars from Toronto put on a show, with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander all finding the back of the net. Matthews actually scored twice, including on this incredible shot.

The Red Wings simply couldn’t match the speed those three players brought on Saturday. Detroit’s 25-season playoff streak will end next weekend and there’s a very good chance the Leafs will be starting a streak of their own at the same time.

This has been a historic season for the Leafs rookies in every definition of the word. Matthews, Marner and Nylander are now all among the five highest scoring rookies in team history.

The win meant Toronto swept its four games against the Red Wings this season. The next time they meet in Michigan, it will be at the brand-new Little Caesars Arena.

With so many memories from his time with the Red Wings, Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan took one final skate at Joe Louis Arena before the 38-year-old building closes its doors. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston wrote about Shanahan and how the Red Wings are influencing the rebirth of the Maple Leafs.

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Senators take a tumble in the standings

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the talk around the Senators was about their chances to win the Atlantic Division. Fast forward to today, and Ottawa now is at risk of missing the playoffs completely.

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A 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, combined with the Maple Leafs and Bruins picking up wins, had bumped the Senators to third in the Atlantic and only one point out of the second wild-card spot.

Ottawa has only won two of its last 10 games and is potentially now missing three of their top four defencemen after Cody Ceci left with a lower-body injury.

The only good news for the Senators on Saturday came from the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning managed only one point against the Canadiens. This keeps Ottawa five points clear of falling out of the playoffs completely.

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Everything is awesome in Edmonton

Heading into the final week of the season, the Oilers are on fire. Their 3-2 overtime win against the Anaheim on Saturday pushed them into a tie with the Ducks for first in the Pacific Division, but having one more regulation/overtime win gives the Oilers the tiebreaker.

And that’s just the beginning.

Leon Draisaitl scored the winner but it came after a nice pass from Connor McDavid, who continues to climb the scoring charts. McDavid and Draisaitl both have 10-game point streaks going now. McDavid now leads the league with 94 points, seven more than second place Patrick Kane.

In goal, Cam Talbot tied Grant Fuhr for most wins in a season when he picked up his 40th. The Oilers legend wasted no time offering his congratulations to Talbot after the game.

The Oilers have now won eight straight home games and five straight overall. But what made Saturday’s win different is the playoff atmosphere that consumed Rogers Place from the first puck drop.

Between the back-and-forth action, missed shots and late goals, this game matched the emotional roller-coaster most playoff games have. The Oilers should be pleased with how they responded to that extra layer of pressure.

And if the playoffs started today, hockey fans across Canada would probably be pretty happy too after seeing these matchups.

Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth collapses versus Devils

A scary incident took the hockey world’s mind off the playoff race for a bit on Saturday. Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth collapsed to the ice early in the first period and had to be helped off on a stretcher. It’s unclear exactly what happened to him, but he was alert both on the ice and later on after being transported to a hospital.

The Flyers were already without goalie Steve Mason, who wasn’t dressed due to an illness. Anthony Stolarz stepped in and made 26 saves to preserve a 3-0 shutout.

If Stolarz had been unable to go for any reason, the Flyers signed 23-year-old youth hockey coach Eric Semborski to an amateur tryout. With less than 30 seconds to go, the Flyers put Semborski in the net, but the referees took him out before he could face a shot.

Still, considering how scary the start to the game was, it was fun to see the game end with Semborski almost get to live his dream.

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