Out In Front; Shooutout In Pittsburgh
Posted by:
Ben Wright on
March 19, 2007 at
2:08PM EST
One thing is certain about the NHL schedule maker: you either pay him sooner, or
you pay him later. In other words, with 82 games packed into a 187-day span,
your schedule is likely going to be front loaded or back loaded. With travel,
arena availability issues, and just the overall complexities of building a
schedule that accommodates 30 teams, rare is the season when a team feels its
games are spread equitably over the six-month regular season. This year, the
Thrashers schedule was front loaded, to the point where the team was usually
first or tied for first in games played. Through the win over Buffalo on Sunday,
Atlanta led the entire NHL with 74 games already completed and just eight left
in the regular season.
The bad news is that every team chasing the Thrashers had at least a game
in hand after the weekend. But the good news is that Atlanta had built an
impressive lead heading down the final stretch and also has the benefit of
playing its final eight regular-season games over the course of 20 days, a very
agreeable pace. Juxtapose that with the task facing the New York Islanders, who
stood a point out of the playoffs through Sunday. Sure, the Islanders had played
the fewest games - just 71 - of all likely playoff hopefuls in the Eastern
Conference, but that means the team’s final 11 games will be jammed into a
timeframe tighter than a game every other night. Considering the physical nature
of the sport and how the intensity and pressure are ramped up significantly this
time of year, having that many games in hand often looks good on paper only. The
Islanders may indeed take advantage of the extra games to be played, but they’ll
have to overcome the physical AND mental fatigue factors to do it.
These are pretty heady days for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who keep on piling up
the wins, on and off the ice. There was absolutely no doubt the only conclusion
to the ongoing soap opera involving the team’s potential exit from the Steel
City was an agreement between owners and political leaders to keep the team
right where it’s been for 40 history filled years. Now that the Penguins have
proven it is tough to beat them in the political arena, the test will be for the
rest of the Eastern Conference to figure out how to beat the team on the ice
through the stretch drive and playoffs. Atlanta gets its next chance Saturday
afternoon at Mellon Arena, and it says here to take the over on the shots on
goal totals. That game may end in a shootout, but with the offensive talent on
both of these teams, the shootout will likely begin at the first drop of the
puck.
