This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
It certainly wasn't pretty, but with a point in a 6-5 overtime loss to Toronto, the Ducks became the third Western Conference team to clinch a playoff berth. This would've been a pipe dream a month into the regular season, but a major second-half turnaround vaulted them to the top.
If the rules could be bent, Bob Murray has to be the team's MVP. When people were calling for Bruce Boudreau's head, he resisted. When people were calling for a big trade to shake up the team, he resisted. Instead, he simply sat back, remained stubbornly patient and observed.
He did make a few small moves, however, ones that fly under the radar now but could turn into strokes of genius in the playoffs. He corrected his first mistake by shipping Carl Hagelin to Pittsburgh for David Perron, ending a short-lived experiment, and then made two underrated moves by trading for Jamie McGinn from Buffalo and Brandon Pirri from Florida. The two players play a style the Ducks love, and the addition of top prospect Nick Ritchie from the AHL gives them yet another bruising winger who can score. The emergence and increasing trust in Rickard Rakell shouldn't be overlooked, either, because he gives the Ducks depth at center, something they've longed for since Andy McDonald and Ryan Getzlaf formed a Cup-winning 1-2 punch.
Of the three California teams, the Ducks are in the best position to remain Stanley Cup contenders in the immediate and foreseeable future. The Sharks stick around but never seem to be a major threat, and the team has enough holes to keep Doug Wilson constantly busy. The Kings have the key pieces but remain in a cap crunch, and they just don't have the same quality pool of prospects the Ducks have. That's important because young players come with cheap entry-level contracts, which then allows the team to invest long-term in its veterans but also to make a splash in free agency or at the trade deadline.
A recent slide by the Kings have the Ducks within three points of the division lead, but winning the division may not be such an enviable task. The winner of the Pacific Division – assuming a Central Division team wins the Western Conference crown – will have to play the better of the two wild card teams, and if Nashville (6-2-2 in past 10) overtakes Chicago (3-5-2 in past 10), that sets up a Ducks-Blackhawks matchup in the opening round. Not exactly a cakewalk and the worst case scenario for whoever wins the Pacific.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Devils (Keith Kinkaid), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Canucks (Jacob Markstrom) at Blues (Brian Elliott), 8:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Washington Capitals
T.J. Oshie, RW (flu) – will not play.
John Carlson, D (lower body) – practicing but no return date set.
New Jersey Devils
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) – out for the season.
David Schlemko, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Jacob Josefson, C (wrist) – no return date set.
Jiri Tlusty, LW (wrist surgery) – no return date set.
Jordin Tootoo, RW (upper body) – no return date set.
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – skated Thursday; no return date set.
Jon Merrill, D (upper body) – out for a few more weeks.
Tyler Kennedy, LW (lower body) – did not play Thursday; questionable.
Cory Schneider, G (knee) – will not play.
New York Islanders
Jaroslav Halak, G (groin) – out until the playoffs.
Adam Pelech, D (undisclosed) – expected to return end of March.
Mikhail Grabovski, C (undisclosed) – no return date set.
Marek Zidlicky, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Valtteri Filppula, C (upper body) – no return date set.
Ryan Callahan, RW (lower body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Vancouver Canucks
Radim Vrbata, RW (knee) – out for the season.
Alexander Edler, D (broken leg) – out for the season.
Brandon Prust, LW (ankle) – out for the season.
Brandon Sutter, C (broken jaw) – out for the season.
Luca Sbisa, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Chris Tanev, D (back) – no return date set.
Markus Granlund, C (upper body) – no return date set.
Derek Dorsett, RW (undisclosed) – did not play Thursday; no return date set.
St. Louis Blues
Jay Bouwmeester, D (upper body) – day-to-day; questionable.
Alexander Steen, LW (upper body) – no return date set.
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) – no return date set.
Hot
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – Under his watch, the Wild just won't go away. After an embarrassing loss to the Devils, the Wild have rattled off four straight wins, including a 6-2 thrashing of Calgary in which Parise scored a hat trick and notched an assist. He hasn't been quite the same since spraining his MCL, and at age 31 may not have many 30-goal seasons ahead of him, if any, but he's doing his hardest to make the postseason.
Kyle Palmieri, LW, NJ – He has two two-goal games in his past three games, and is currently riding a four-game point streak. The 25-year-old is in his prime and sits one goal shy of 30, a noteworthy mark considering how difficult it is to score these days. He leads all Devils in scoring with 52 points on the season, and without Lee Stempniak or Mike Cammalleri, he's the team's main trigger man. He'll rack up the goals until the end of the season.
Cold
Jonathan Quick, G, LA – He's lost three straight games, all of them on the road against lesser opponents, and in each of them posted a sub-.900 save percentage. Even with Norris candidate Drew Doughty and Selke candidate Anze Kopitar, it goes without saying that Quick is the Kings' most important player. If he can't stop the pucks, the Kings just won't win many games. They're not the type of team that wins games by outscoring their opponents.
Phil Kessel, RW, PIT – Phil da Thrill had a stellar game against Carolina with two points and seven shots on net last Thursday, but hasn't done much since and wasn't a big contributor during the Pens' six-game winning streak. After the Carolina game, he managed just five shots over his next three games – supremely underwhelming numbers for a sniper. He has just 21 goals on the season and is far too inconsistent to be a fantasy stalwart.
Recommended Pickup
Boone Jenner, RW, CLS – He's owned in less than half of Yahoo leagues but in reality is just as useful as a Scott Hartnell or even Brandon Saad. Jenner's the type of heavy forward the Blue Jackets like and plays a style that John Tortorella loves, and he wears an 'A' with good reason. He has three goals in his past four games and 27 goals on the season. Teams out of the playoff race tend to play better at the end of the season when there's less pressure to win games, which bodes well for Jenner and the BJ's.
