Storm Advisory 3/24/2019: NHL News, Rumors, Links and Daily Roundup

Reading Assignments

• Yesterday’s News Today: It’s Teuvo Teravainen’s world, and we’re just living in it. [Canes Country]
• And after the game, let’s just say that the Canes recognize where they are and what time of year it is.

• The Canes will be part of history tonight: the first-ever NHL game broadcast in Cree. [CBC]
• Today is Selection Sunday for the 2019 NCAA men’s hockey tournament, and the Canes will probably have a rooting interest: Adam Fox is likely to make it with Harvard. [SBN College Hockey]
• It’s also Championship Sunday in the CWHL, where the Montreal Canadiennes and the Calgary Inferno will play for the Clarkson Cup. [The Ice Garden]
• Two more teams punched their playoff tickets last night:

• And meanwhile, at the other end, it’s now nine seasons and counting for the playoffs taking place without Jeff Skinner. [Buffalo News]

Stalking the Standings

The Canes have gotten very little help over the past few games. With the Canadiens going on a run recently, the Blue Jackets (who desperately need to win tonight in Vancouver to avoid going 0-for-western Canada) are now in the crosshairs. The Canes’ magic number has dropped, but only to 12, and the Jackets are the team that the Canes are trying to stay ahead of.

Thanks to the Habs winning three in a row, tonight’s game has much less of a feel of an elimination game. Sure, the Canes will want to win, but a loss tonight wouldn’t be catastrophic in terms of playoff qualification. What it would do is make it much more likely that the Canes would finish in the second wild card spot, as the Habs would own the tiebreaker and could consign the Canes to a matchup with the Lightning buzzsaw.

It’s still possible the Canes can clinch a playoff spot by the end of this week, but it’s becoming more and more likely that they won’t see an X next to their name until the final week of the season.

• Metro 1: Washington Capitals: 75 GP, 94 points, 39 ROW, 103 point pace
• Metro 2: New York Islanders: 75 GP, 93 points, 39 ROW, 102 point pace
• Metro 3: Pittsburgh Penguins: 76 GP, 93 points, 39 ROW, 100 point pace
• WC 1: Carolina Hurricanes: 74 GP, 89 points, 39 ROW, 99 point pace
• WC 2: Montreal Canadiens: 75 GP, 87 points, 38 ROW, 95 point pace
• 9th: Columbus Blue Jackets: 74 GP, 84 points, 39 ROW, 93 point pace

Tonight’s Rooting Guide

• No OT in Flyers vs. Capitals, preferably with a Capitals win
• Coyotes over Islanders
• Canucks over Blue Jackets