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Title - Chris Savard
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Bag of Pucks - Plenty of races to watch!
By Chris Savard
HometownHockey.ca


Bag of Pucks - Plenty of races to watch!
The National Hockey League is now in the home stretch heading towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While fans in Edmonton and Toronto, have little to cheer about these days - there is still very meaningful hockey being played in a number of Canadian cities. The Montreal Canadiens under the stellar play of Carey Price have a good shot to be the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference. Andrew Hammond and the Ottawa Senators have been the Cinderella story of the league with a great push for a playoff spot. It is hard not to want to see them make it in.
PHOTO CREDIT - NHL.com

Stoney Point - March 23, 2015 - The National Hockey League is now in the home stretch heading towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While fans in Edmonton and Toronto, have little to cheer about these days - there is still very meaningful hockey being played in a number of Canadian cities.

The Montreal Canadiens under the stellar play of Carey Price have a good shot to be the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference. Andrew Hammond and the Ottawa Senators have been the Cinderella story of the league with a great push for a playoff spot. It is hard not to want to see them make it in.

Over in the west, there are currently three Canadian teams who would qualify for the post-season, if the playoffs would start today. The Vancouver Canucks would take on Bob Hartley’s Calgary Flames, marking their first appearance since 2008-09. The Winnipeg Jets have not made the Playoffs since returning to Manitoba in 2011, but certainly hope to do so this year.

It is shaping up to be another great playoff year and HometownHockey.ca will soon be releasing details of its 19th Annual Playoff pool. Stay tuned.

OHL Playoffs

It has been a tough season for fans of the Windsor Spitfires. In a league where 80% of the teams make the playoffs, it is tough to be one of only four teams not to make it in. The team was young and beat up towards the end of the season and that lead to a 12 game losing streak to end the season, including getting outscored 38-12 in the last five games. Despite all of the losing, the Spits still averaged over 5,000 fans per game.

There are better days ahead for the dedicated Windsor hockey fan. The current team is young and has lots of potential. Further, the Spits will pick second overall in the upcoming midget draft and have a boat load of other picks from the Kerby Rychel and Joshua Ho Sang trades. This is a good organization that know how to win - watch for the Spits to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming weeks.

Looking ahead to the Playoffs, I will predict the Oshawa Generals to come out of the OHL after defeating the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds in the final. Here is another interesting and more detailed list of OHL predictions

Jagr amongst NHL greats

Last week, Jaromir Jagr moved passed Phil Esposito for fifth all-time in career goals when number 68 notched his 718th goal of his career. He now trails Marcel Dionne by 13 and Brett Hull by 23. He has a legitimate shot to finish third as I don’t think he has enough in the tank to catch Gordie Howe (801) or Wayne Gretzky (894).

On the points front, Jagr currently sits fifth as well and may very well have a shot to get to second or third depending on how long he plays. He is only 7 points behind Ron Francis for fourth overall - which seems like a lock. The next two will be a little tougher. Jagr is 59 behind Howe (1850) and 96 behind Mark Messier (1887). To get to second place, it is likely that he likely needs to play three more seasons after this year and to get to third, he likely needs two more.

When it's Jagr's time, Pittsburgh will most likely be the team to retire his number according to the oddsmakers at Sports Betting Dime. He has played for seven other NHL teams, but likely hasn’t stayed long enough with any of them to have his number retired anywhere else.

Follow Us on TwitterIn his lifetime, Chris Savard has spent time as both an elected official and a hot air balloon pilot. As such, FULL OF HOT AIR seemed to be an appropriate name for this column. Savard will provide his thoughts on a number of topics including hockey on this site, as well as politics and local issues on OurHometown.ca. His opinion combined with $1.60 will buy you a medium coffee at Tim's! You can email him at csavard@ourhometown.ca



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and Growing Daily!
SHORT SHIFT - Nifty Fifty for Maggio

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Title - Top Ten Scorers
# PLAYER TM GP PTS PPG
29 MacKinnon, Nathan 681161.71
86 Kucherov, Nikita 661141.73
97 McDavid, Connor 631061.68
88 Pastrnak, David 69961.39
10 Panarin, Artemi 68941.38
96 Rantanen, Mikko 68901.32
88 Nylander, William 66871.32
9 Miller, JT 68871.28
9 Miller, JT 68871.28
29 Draisaitl, Leon 65861.32
Stat Database Last Updated:
Mar. 18, 2024 @ 5:42 PM EDT

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