Playoff Opponent Update: Florida’s still prowling

Mar 20, 2023 - 12:30 PM

Another week, another update!

Current Wildcards: New York Islanders (80 points, 6-3-1 in last 10), Pittsburgh Penguins (78 points, 5-4-1 in last 10)

It was a bad day to be a wild card team in the east yesterday; The Rangers imposed their will on the Penguins to a hysterical degree, and the Isle spent a long time in a closer game than expected against San Jose before they realized who they were playing. This left Pittsburgh with points on the board they could’ve used to keep Florida at bay, but that’s what happens if you don’t bring your A-game with the games left for you.

The Islanders may in fact begin to overtake the Pens for good over the next two weeks; as the Isle’s schedule eases up quite a bit after Tuesday and Pittsburgh's just gets...worse. If you assume things continue as intended, it’s looking like The Penguins will end up being the Bruins first round opponent.

But that’s assuming that...

Taking up the rear: Florida Panthers (77 points, 7-2-1 in last 10)

...loses pace.

Florida has retained it’s torrid pace from last week (though having four days off ending with the Habs definitely helped) and proved they’re still capable of being the all-encompassing offense engine they were last year. They have a back to back on the road against Detroit and Philly, and the end of the month some real easy pickin’s if they keep their current pace. All of this is HEAVILY dependent on their goal scoring remaining as torrid as it is on the other hand, because I think we’re more than aware that goaltending and defense remains their Achilles’ Heel.

Pretty much out of it: Ottawa Senators (71 Points, 4-5-1 in Last 10)

A lot of Ontario-based sportswriters and media personalities really, and I mean like really wanted this team to be good enough to make the playoffs as they know that the Battle of Ontario would lead to a windfall of clicks and likes and engagement the likes of which could completely clear them from mere small-time writers into major purveyors of content people want to see. Were I a writer for the Leafs or Sens, I’d probably want that too!

But it’s not happening. Not this year.

Really the biggest issue that the Sens keep facing is that their defense as a concept: not just players, but backchecking, penalty kill, you name it, is currently not good enough to hang with the East’s best: after beating Seattle two weeks ago they spent the intermittent time getting pasted by every other Canadian team and Colorado. They also get to face the Penguins today, namely a team trying to stem the bleeding.

So hey! good luck! You might get lucky!

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We’ll get in touch with you next week to let you know where things stand!