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Top-5 : the Wild did not dress Fleury in what would have been his last game of the regular season
Mathis Therrien
Top-5 : the Wild did not dress Fleury in what would have been his last game of the regular season
Credit: There are not many games left before the start of the playoffs, and therefore, each matchup is generally of great importance for the standings. Yesterday, several teams played for their survival, while others fought to retain their spot or even move up in the standings. Here are the highlights of the day in the National […]
There are not many games left before the start of the playoffs, and therefore, each matchup is generally of great importance for the standings.

Yesterday, several teams played for their survival, while others fought to retain their spot or even move up in the standings.

Here are the highlights of the day in the National Hockey League.

1. Wild changes strategy and sends Gustavsson into the fray instead of Fleury

The Minnesota Wild is fighting for a playoff spot, as they haven’t been able to confirm their place yet, given that the Calgary Flames refuse to give up.

Every game and every point is crucial, and the Wild can’t afford any more mistakes like the one on Friday, when they lost to the Flames.

This means making tough decisions, such as taking away Marc-Andre Fleury’s chance to play his last regular season game of his career.

In fact, Fleury was supposed to play yesterday against the Vancouver Canucks, but the Wild changed their mind and decided to send Filip Gustavsson into the fray instead.

The Wild is fighting for the playoffs, and John Hynes decided to send his number one goalie into a very important game.

It’s a shame for Fleury, especially for his five friends who made the trip to see him play his last game, but the Wild needs to give themselves every chance.

In the end, the Wild won 3-2 in overtime against the Canucks and now has a serious option for a playoff spot with 98.3% chance of qualifying.

Notably, the Canucks’ fans took the time to applaud Fleury for his last appearance in Vancouver.

 

2. Stars vs Avalanche: a promising series

With the Winnipeg Jets’ 5-4 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars’ 5-3 loss to the Utah Hockey Club, a series has been confirmed.

The Jets have been crowned Central Division champions, which confirmed the matchup between the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the same division.

We will have a very interesting duel in the first round, as the Dallas Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche.

This will be an exciting series between two big teams, and it will be even more interesting to watch given that Miko Rantanen will face his former team.

The Finnish forward, who signed with Dallas for eight years after a huge saga with the Carolina Hurricanes, will face all his former teammates in the first round.

This will be very interesting to watch, as the series could really go either way.

Personally, I’m taking the Avalanche in seven games.

3. Oilers vs Kings: Chapter 4

Here’s another series that was confirmed last night with the Vegas Golden Knights’ 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators.

The Golden Knights confirmed they were Pacific Division champions, which officially confirmed the matchup between the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the division.

And for the fourth consecutive year, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings will face off in the first round of the playoffs.

We’re all a bit tired of seeing these two teams face off in the first round, but for once, the outcome could be different.

In fact, the Kings seem more threatening than ever, while the Oilers are not as dominant and have several injured players, including Mattias Ekholm, who could miss the entire playoffs.

In short, for the first time in four years, I’m giving the advantage to the Kings.

4. A nice sequence by Adam Fantilli

The Columbus Blue Jackets refuse to give up and remain the only ones in the playoff hunt in the East with the Montreal Canadiens.

Yesterday, they played for their survival against the powerful Washington Capitals and won 7-0.

The Blue Jackets gave it their all, and it paid off with a surprising result.

And in this game, we had a nice sequence by young Adam Fantilli, who served a violent hit on Ryan Leonard before scoring his 26th goal of the season.

Leonard seemed stunned on the sequence, while Fantilli scored a beautiful goal.

The 20-year-old is having a great season with 50 points, including 27 goals, in 79 games.

5. Jesse Puljujarvi scores his first goal with the Panthers

Yes, he still exists!

Jesse Puljujarvi still plays in the NHL, believe it or not, and this time it’s with the Florida Panthers.

The former fourth overall pick in 2016 by the Edmonton Oilers still hasn’t left the NHL, as a team always seems to give him a chance.

And who knows, maybe he’ll find his place with the Panthers.

In any case, last night, he scored his first goal with the Panthers, which was also his first point in three games with the team.

 


Overtime

– Here are all the results from the previous day.

– Here are the top scorers from the previous day.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s schedule: nine games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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