Unfortunately, I've kind of run out of time on Monday morning to really do up a great headline for the newsletter this week, but I think I'm fairly excited to say that we are now entering the final week of the regular season and I've only got one more of these to write after this one until October!
It looks like both pools have wrapped up their first place prizes now, as Allan S. has run away with the overall lead in the draft, not to mention likely winning the final segment of the jersey race this year. Burc B. has a pretty good hold on the selection sheet lead and I don't think he'll be dropping that one, so I shall be preparing to get their monies ready for the end of the season.
It's been quite the year so far and I've been pretty happy with the response back from how well it's gone, so thanks for all of that. Hopefully in the last week of the season, you'll conclude with a spot in the standings that you could feel comfortable with or feel like you need to get some redemption for next season.
The keeper pool looks like it will be a go this coming year, which may hurt the possibility of the draft happening on it's lonesome, but we'll see. If there is still a good interest in the regular draft, there is a slight possibility that there could be three pools running off the website next season. Stay tuned!
Now, let's review the week that was, shall we?
Perry's week looked a little like this... On Monday, his Ducks topped the Avalanche, 5-4, where he only picked up a single assist in the game. Wednesday, in Calgary, Perry scored a pair of goals and added an assist in a 4-2 win over the Flames. Saturday, the Ducks took a tumble, losing to the Sharks, 4-2, but Perry assisted on each Anaheim goal. Finally, on Sunday, a goal and an assist wasn't enough to help the Sharks get passed the Stars, losing 4-3. In total, 3 goals and 5 assists in four games for Perry in the week.
In pool scoring, this brings Perry up to 93 points, which is good enough for 4th on the list, with three games left in the week.
Wes is trying to catch John P. in the standings to move up at least another spot, but trails by 13 points going into the final week of the season, possibly too large of a task to do properly, especially with John's team being so hot as well.
Wes owes his big week in the pool to a few key names, Corey Perry, who picked up 8 points, Patrik Elias had 5 points, while Alex Ovechkin and Devin Setoguchi each had 4 points as well for him. Otherwise, it was a bit more of a 'scoring by committee' feeling to his week, with only a few zeros on his active players list. There is no question that Perry is turning out to be one of the better bargains in the draft this year, as he was picked 41st overall, in the 3rd round, this year, scoring the way that he is.
In the early part of the season, Wes was hit pretty hard by injuries, but since the waiver drafts, his team has bounced back pretty well and his team now ranks 9th in games played and 11th in goalie minutes played this year, which has been a key part of his bounce back into the top 10 this year. If his team was able to stay healthy all year, there is a good chance he would have been up near the top.
With all of those names out for his team, he's rapidly falling down in the games played count for the pool, currently ranking 18th with only 786 games played in total, 100 games less than 1st place and only 20 games better than 20th place this year. With those names already out, there is a serious chance that he could finish last in that race.
Still at the very top, we see Burc B., now with a 32-point lead going into the last week of the season and I would imagine that it could be a safe lead to have with only 49 games left in the NHL regular season. Wes M. has a 24-point lead for 2nd place in the standings, while a 14-point cushion is all that separates Mitch F. from Paul W. for 3rd place. That's not too bad, a little give there for the week ahead.
A pair of teams shared the best week in the pool with 77 points, as Dorey F. and Zach H. each gained some ground in the standings. Zach did the most moving with the better week, moving up from 14th to 12th place in the standings, thanks to Alex Tanguay (7 points), Jarome Iginla (6), Brian Rafalski (6), Martin St. Louis (5), Patrik Elias (5) and John Carlson (5). Definitely an interesting mix of players on his side this year, but they seem to have done him well, giving him plenty of mentions in the pool, but also some pretty poor weeks as well, which have dropped him more than they have gained.
With one more week in the regular season, we should be in for a good finish.
NEWS AND NOTES
Link to the Injury/News Page
HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Tripleheader! The last Saturday of the regular season will feature a triple bill on Hockey Night Canada, starting bright and early in the morning and going through to the middle of the night. I'm not sure how much solving this will do, but it will be a great celebration of a mighty fine season with three games on the main network.
The early game will go at 11am MT on Saturday, as the Ottawa Senators will travel down to Boston to take on the Bruins in what should be, at best, a placement game for the Bruins, who have already won the Northeast Division title over the weekend and the Senators may find themselves in a better or worse position for the draft lottery, when it's all said and done.
The usual early start, now the middle game, will feature that old fashioned rivalry between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs in Toronto, where this game may even have less meaning than the early game. The Canadiens should have their playoff spot wrapped up by the end of the week, barring a last week collapse in their team game, but they'll be looking to finish 6th for a date against the Bruins in the first round.
The late game will likely mean the least, as the Flames and Canucks go head-to-head one last time this season. The Canucks have already clinched top spot in the league and the Flames are still in the running for a solid playoff spot with some extra luck on Sunday night, with the Blackhawks losing and the Flames beating the Avalanche. It still doesn't look too good for the Flames, but anything can happen in the last week of the season, even if it defies all the odds.
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