Goalie Announcements (Apr 8)

With all that dramatic build up yesterday, nothing really happened.  A lot of the maybes and possibly's were all pie in the sky thoughts, as the top three teams held their ground and no one really made a big push for the money spots on Saturday.

So, what's left then?  We have a weather make-up game from January still to watch and it does have some playoff implications, like who will play who in the Eastern Conference side?

Roberto Luongo (Stuart) versus Tuukka Rask (Clayton)
In the hockey pool, Clayton's team starts the final day of the year in 5th place, 4 points out of 4th and his only player that's playing is the Bruins' starting goalie.  Clayton doesn't have any of the tie-breakers on Tony's 4th place team, so he would need 5 points from Tuukka Rask to get the job done.  Impossible?  No.  Improbable?  Very.  Just add an assist to a shutout and there's your 5 points.  But as soon as the Panthers score a goal, it's 5th place for Clayton.

For the Panthers, they did a last second swap of starting goalies on us, sending James Reimer to the crease yesterday and if the Flyers didn't win and clinch yesterday, they would have had a shot at a playoff spot with this game still too.  There is no guarantee that Roberto Luongo will get the start either today, but it would be a fitting send off to his season, playing in the last game against the Bruins.  We'll see.

As for the playoffs, the Bruins could clinch top spot in the Atlantic Division with a win and that would mean they'd play the New Jersey Devils in the opening round of the playoffs.  If they cannot win, in any fashion, Tampa Bay will take top spot and they will face the Devils, while the Bruins will play the Maple Leafs.