The Colorado Avalanche were just really, really happy to have clinched a playoff spot in the Western Conference, which meant that they could rest on their laurels and wait for the playoffs to begin... or so it would seem. The Avalanche decided to rest some of their big guns, who have played pretty well for the year, including
Paul Stastny, Milan Hejduk and
T.J. Galiardi, while giving back-up goaltender,
Peter Budaj, a start against the Oilers. The Avalanche still have a pair of games remaining, so it's a matter of when they decide to ramp it up, which will be the issue for most poolies.
Going into Game 1 of the Playoffs, it would appear that the Red Wings have decided to make
Derek Meech the utility guy in the line-up, as he is the one getting most of the healthy scratches to close out the regular season. Meech didn't make the cut for the Playoff Pool, mostly due to a lack of games played and performance, but he's definitely seen some growth in his game. The Red Wings are going to try and make a good push in the playoffs, but some of their biggest stars have played a lot of hockey over the past few year, so it'll be interesting to see how they hold up.
The Oilers are also trying out some more fresh legs as they close out the 2010 regular season, which means
Robert Nilsson is finding his way back up to the press box on a regular occasion. The 25-year old forward has seen a lot of games up in the press box and I would be curious to see if he doesn't make the cut in Edmonton, once the playoffs wind down and we move towards the Entry Draft, he could be moved to make room for new & more ambitious talent.
Reading some tweets from last night, I had seen that Predators forward,
Patric Hornqvist, had left the game against the Coyotes with an upper-body injury and did not return to the game. I haven't seen any definitive word as to what the injury is or how serious it is, but this could also play a factor in the Playoff Pool, as he is a member of Box 6 on the Sheet and the Predators do have their playoff spot locked up. Stay tuned.
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