Free washer | Five clubs excluded… which should not be!

We are dangerously approaching American Thanksgiving. On this date, the third Thursday in November, clubs excluded from the playoffs by a few points generally remain excluded at the end of the season.

Last year, for example, no team removed by two points or less from the last place giving access to the playoffs managed to qualify. Here are five teams excluded for the moment that we did not necessarily see in such a position at the dawn of the season.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins blanked the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Sunday and moved to within two points of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the final playoff spot, but the efforts invested during the off-season by the new boss Kyle Dubas gave hope of a record better than 9-8.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still producing at full capacity at 36 and 37 respectively, Erik Karlsson, obtained through first and second round picks, has almost a point per game, but the inconsistent performances of the goalies have hurt.

On the other hand, the Penguins are 6-2 since coach Mike Sullivan adopted a less aggressive forecheck, better suited to his current staff, during a trip to the American West recently. If the trend continues, Pittsburgh has a chance of qualifying.

2. New Jersey Devils

Like the Penguins, the Devils are not far from a playoff spot, three points behind Tampa, but with two games in hand. Still, this young team finished third in the general standings last year with 112 points and we saw them gaining momentum, not clinging to an 8-7-1 record heading into the Action of grace.

But the Devils owe much of their success to young sensation Jack Hughes, 99 points in 78 games last year, and losing the boy for a few weeks in November hurt. New Jersey has lost four of six games without Hughes, 22 points in 11 games this season. Hughes’ absence coincided with that of the other attacking center, Nico Hischier, lost since the end of October.

3. Buffalo Sabers

This young team finished the year strong last season with a 7-2-1 record in its last ten games to approach just one point from the last place giving access to the playoffs. Most observers finally predicted a first qualification for them this year, after twelve years of failure.

Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt were all coming off career-best seasons, and defenseman Owen Power had reached 35 points in his first full season.

But it could be daring to entrust the net to a 21-year-old, Quebecer Devon Levi, even if he did well at the end of the season after his NCAA career. Carey Price, Steve Mason, Carter Hart and Marc-André Fleury are the only goalies his age to play 40 or more games in a season over the past two decades.

Levi is having trouble, with a 3.65 GAA and a .881 save percentage, and the hope we no longer believed in, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, 24, took over the top position with some success at the moment. He has played in eight of the Sabres’ last twelve games after being ignored for the first six. Buffalo is three points out of a playoff spot. Nothing is impossible, but the injury to Thompson hurts.

4. Edmonton Oilers

Coach Jay Woodcroft had the nasty idea of ​​changing his team’s defensive system after two seasons of more than 100 points and three playoff rounds won. He recently lost his job. The Oilers have beaten the Islanders and the Seattle Kraken, but lost 6-4 to the Lightning on Saturday since the arrival of new coach Kris Knoblauch.

Connor McDavid has three points in as many games since hiring his former coach in the junior ranks, for 13 points in 14 games, far from his usual standards.

Edmonton finds itself seven points behind the Arizona Coyotes and the last place giving access to the playoffs. It will take quite a turnaround for the Oilers to emulate the St. Louis Blues in 2019. If only the goaltenders could get the job done. Stuart Skinner, sparkling last year, to the point of being considered for the rookie of the year title, is struggling, while Jack Campbell is doing even worse in the American League with his annual salary of 5 million.

5. Minnesota Wild

General manager Bill Guerin has just lathered his players in Sweden following a fifth consecutive loss, including three regular losses. Nothing predicted such a scenario in Minnesota, after seasons of 113 and 103 points and very little personnel change during the off-season.

The absence of defenseman Jared Spurgeon at the start of the season hasn’t helped, goalie Filip Gustavsson has gone from rising star last year to mediocre goaltender this fall, and offensive stars Kiril Kaprisov and Matt Boldy aren’t producing at all. the height of their standards. The emergence of young Marco Rossi and Brock Faber is not enough.

The Wild have the worst goals-against average after the poor San Jose Sharks and come in last in the NHL in shorthanded play. Coach Dean Evason still seems to have Guerin’s trust, but for how long? Minnesota finds itself four points from the last place giving access to the playoffs. Will we provide Evason with a final electric shock, the recall of the sensational young 21-year-old goalkeeper Jesper Wallstedt, before dismissing the coach?

*Honorable mention to the Ottawa Senators, who had similar aspirations to the Sabres. Three consecutive victories nevertheless bring them closer to a place in the playoffs, but they are still four points behind Tampa, with three more games to play, and five clubs to beat.

A deserved reminder

Jayden Struble was never considered the organization’s hottest prospect on defense. At the end of last season, forward Sean Farrell was awarded an NHL contract to allow him to join the Canadiens, while Struble was offered a professional tryout in Laval so he could finish the season in the American League. .

This 2019 second-round pick, 46^e in total, was part of the first big wave of cuts in training camp along with Tobie Bisson, Stanislav Demin, Miguel Tourigny, Olivier Galipeau, Noah Laaouan, Christopher Ortiz and John-Parker Jones. All of these defensemen, except Bisson and Galipeau, are in the ECHL today (Parker-Jones was just recalled to Laval).

Two left-handed defensemen like Struble, Mattias Norlinder and William Trudeau had every chance to shine in training camp, especially Norlinder, who was cut after the last preparatory game of camp.

But Struble had a strong start to the season with the Rocket and he is the first left-handed defender recalled from Laval this season to compensate for the absence of Arber Xhekaj.