I didn't get to watch much of any of them. But in the highlights and after watching some of key moments in the Blues-Ducks game there is a lot to take away.
Pittsburgh needed a solid win. Fleury gets his 350th win.
The Pens have to beat teams like the Blue Jackets. They did. The Blue Jackets are up and down. The Pens handled them solidly. Good win. However, the Pens aren't showing dominance. This is a team that can blow a 3-1 series lead, nothing new there.
3-2 Pittsburgh win.
Philadelphia gets a win. Tampa Bay loses.
The Flyers are playing as well as they have all season. The goalie tandem is working for them. That will be interesting in the playoffs - mental weakness gets exploited, can either goalie step up or will either goalie just crack after getting pulled? It doesn't matter as yet, because the Flyers aren't in the playoffs - but they are certainly playing their asses off. Detroit and the Pens better not slack off...
3-1 Philadelphia win/
Philly has a tough set of games coming up - five straight playoff teams. Beating the Lightning twice in a row means little if they can't win at least 3 of the next five. Especially the game against Detroit on Tuesday.
The Lightning have lost three in a row here - two against the Flyers. The offense is streaky for this group. We know the talent is there. But are they as solid in their end as they were last year? The rest of March is not terrible. Let's see how the Lightning do.
Ducks create Puck Luck for Blues.
A Hampus Lindholm errant pass creates an easy opportunity for Patrick Berglund to give the Blues a two goal cushion in the third. This comes after Vladimir Tarasenko makes a handsy play to block a Ducks' own-zone pass and then control the loose puck to Jaden Schwartz, who puts a sweet pass to Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, untouched, places the pucks swiftly in the net. A very even game gets broken open...because the Ducks just weren't lucky...errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....stop the record.
5-2 St. Louis win.
Both team have positives to take away here. The St. Louis forecheck was working and they rolled four lines effectively. The Ducks, other than those two big lapses, had a lot of good breakouts and were still able to create chances in the Blues' end. This game makes you want the Playoffs to start soon!
Stars take advantage of soft Blackhawks play.
The Stars need this win. Lindy Ruff becomes the fifth winningest coach in league history on it. But more importantly the Stars need some confidence. That said, Chicago has to learn from it and move on. I don't think Chicago players got even a stick on any of the Stars' goals. Good puck movement on the Stars part but the Hawks didn't make it tough on them. Tyler Seguin gets on the board after a six game goal drought - long for him!
5-2 Dallas win.
Dallas has a tough March ahead. St Louis, Los Angeles, Islanders, Tampa, Chicago and San Jose await them. We will certainly know if this team is playoff ready.
Chicago has struggled a bit against the top teams. Regardless, they should be feared come playoff time.
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