Slumping Oiler receives standing ovation, Penguins new star brings underdog mentality and a hilarious breakdown of Torts' ejection
One week after the trade deadline, the sellers are not exactly reading from their scripts.After trading away Anthony Mantha and Joel Edmundson, while placing Evgeny Kuznetsov on waivers, you would have expected that the Washington Capitals would have sunk like a stone down the standings. Instead, the Capitals have shrunk the gap and have gone from being five points out to only one point back of the final wild card spot.
Buffalo, which was nine points back of a playoff spot, are now only three points back after parting ways with Casey Mittelstadt, Erik Johnson and captain Kyle Okposo.Pittsburgh has gone from eight points back to five points back, despite not having Jake Guentzel.
In the West, the standings are just as tight.Heading into the deadline, Calgary, St. Louis, Seattle and Minnesota were all tied for ninth place, six points back of the final wild card spot. But thanks to a three-game winning streak, Minnesota has leaped past three teams and is just four points back of a Vegas team that added Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl and Mantha. Can this last? Can the sellers actually sneak their way into a playoff spot? Well, it’s early. But a lot will depend on what the buyers are doing. And with Detroit having lost seven straight to fall out of a playoff spot, it's possible. Plus, not every team that traded away players did so to necessarily get worse.The Sabres are a perfect example of that. Yes, Buffalo lost a valuable centre in Mittelstadt, who has 15 goals this season. But in exchange the Sabres received defenceman Bowen Byram, who has contributed three goals and five points in four games with his new team.
If he keeps it up, who knows? The Sabres might just grab an unlikely playoff spot. In the process, they also grabbed a bunch of prospects and picks.
The Starting Five
1) Penguins New Star Brings Underdog Mentality: The newest member of the Pittsburgh Penguins brings a key missing piece to the lineup.
2) Slumping Oilers Forward Receives Standing Ovation: In an 7-2 Edmonton Oilers victory, there was only one goal that rocketed the fans to their feet.
3) Jomboy Hilariously Breaks Down John Tortorella's Ejection: YouTube's Jomboy posted a video breaking down what happened during Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella's ejection.
4) 'We've Just Lost that Confidence': Red Wings Losing Streak Hits Seven in Home Loss to Coyotes: After a second regulation loss to Arizona in a week, the Red Wings' confidence and playoff hopes are dwindling fast
5) Granato Hoping That “Fearless” Sabres Have Found Their Stride: Buffalo looks to move to within three points of a playoff spot with a win over the Islanders