On April 1st, 5 unbelievable stories from the 2015-16 season
In the spirit of April Fools' Day, here are five narratives from the 2015-16 season you'd have surely believed were pranks a year ago.
1. 1st-place Panthers
The Florida Panthers were a decent hockey club in 2014-15, finishing with 91 points and a positive Corsi For rating. They missed the playoffs, yeah, but it was clear Gerard Gallant was selling something worth buying.
Fast forward a year: the Panthers are in first place in the Atlantic with 10 days to go, Jaromir Jagr leads the team in scoring, and Roberto Luongo's .924 save percentage is sixth among goalies who've played at least 50 games.
It's going to rain rats in Florida in the playoffs. That ain't no joke.
2. Scoring Stars
Sorry if the Dallas Stars missed all that talk about larger nets, bigger ice, and smaller goalie equipment. They were busy scoring all the goals.
Sure, scoring's down, but the Stars aren't complainers - they're doers. Dallas has a whopping 256 goals with four games to go - 36 more than the next highest-scoring Western playoff team, and 19 more than the presidential Washington Capitals.
The Stars have allowed 221 goals, far more than any other playoff team in the NHL, and that's troubling. But for a team to allow that many and still end up with the West's best goal differential (plus-35) is both surprising and good for the game.
3. Holtby takes down Brodeur
It isn't surprising that Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby is going to break Martin Brodeur's single-season record of 48 wins in a season by a goalie - Washington's that good. What's shocking is the fact Holtby can break the record in 65 starts. Brodeur needed 78.
Holtby's 46-9-5 and the Capitals have six games to play. He won't start them all, but you know he wants that record, and 50. If he wins his next three starts, he'll have won 49 in 65. If he wins his next four, 50 in 66. Remarkable.
4. The Oilers will finish last, and probably draft 1st
You will have to pry last place from the cold, dead hands of the Edmonton Oilers.
Even with Connor McDavid - undoubtedly the league's best rookie, whether he wins the award to prove it or not - in the fold, the club heads into the final two weeks of the season in last place in the NHL. Yeah, McDavid was hurt, but be honest - you didn't think the Oilers would be this bad, again.
While the Oilers are officially tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton has played two more games than Toronto, and the Maple Leafs, as is their custom, are playing decent hockey to close the season.
Should the Oilers finish last, they'll have the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the coming entry draft, where it's expected Auston Matthews will be selected first overall. Should the Oilers win the lottery again, it will be the fifth year in seven they will draft first.
5. The Red Wings will miss the playoffs
Everything ends. It's the way of the world. And the Detroit Red Wings are on the outside of the playoff picture April 1, their streak of consecutive playoff appearances set to end at 24.
But don't blame Jeff Blashill, who had the unenviable task of replacing Mike Babcock behind the Red Wings' bench. Instead, look no further than Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard.
Goaltending has been Detroit's demise. When the Red Wings needed Mrazek and Howard the most, they failed. Mrazek posted an .884 save percentage in nine March starts, while Howard was even worse, his .886 save percentage in five starts and eight games is his worst in any month of the season.