NHL Tank Daily: Ducks add another point to move further behind Blue Jackets, Blackhawks for last place
The Anaheim Ducks were the clear leaders to finish the season in 32nd place when the weekend began.
By the end of it, they cast some doubt on that.
The Ducks picked up two points on the weekend, losing in overtime on Saturday and Sunday, and slightly altered the tanking landscape. The Ducks moved to 30th place with their two results and gave way to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks in the standings.
It still feels very much like a three-team race for 32nd place and the best odds at winning the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery, but the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks do have the inside track now. Both have a league-worst .354 points percentage and have three games remaining. If the two teams remain tied in points percentage, the Blue Jackets would finish last as they own the tiebreaker with fewer regulation wins. The Ducks will need the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks to accumulate at least two points in their final games to move out of 30th place.
All in all, it should make for an interesting final week of the season.
Standings
Lowest points percentage with first tiebreaker being regulation wins and second tiebreaker being regulation/overtime wins (ROW):
32. Blue Jackets: .354 points percentage, 15 regulation wins, 23 ROW
31. Blackhawks: .354 points percentage, 17 regulation wins, 23 ROW
30. Ducks: .362 points percentage, 13 regulation wins, 20 ROW
29. Sharks: .380 points percentage, 16 regulations wins, 21 ROW
Remaining games
Blackhawks 3:Minnesota (H), Pittsburgh (A), Philadelphia (H)
Blue Jackets 3:Philadelphia (A), Pittsburgh (H), Buffalo (H)
Ducks 2:Vancouver (H), Los Angeles (H)
Sharks 3:Winnipeg (A), Calgary (A), Edmonton (A)
Sunday’s results
Avalanche 5, Ducks 4, OT: The Ducks were so close to winning both of their weekend games in regulation. The Arizona Coyotes forced overtime against them with a late goal on Saturday. On Sunday, the Avalanche overcame a 4-2 deficit in the third period to push the game into overtime. Both times, the Ducks lost in overtime.
Monday’s schedule
Sharks at Jets, 7 p.m. ET: The Sharks will be playing a motivated Jets team. The Jets need three points in their final three games as of now to clinch a playoff spot. The Sharks need to lose the rest of the way to have any shot at finishing in the bottom three. The Sharks are on a two-game losing streak.
Wild at Blackhawks, 9 p.m. ET: The Blackhawks are more concerned about their AHL affiliate winning than their NHL team right now. They’re expected to send two of their top prospects, Lukas Reichel and Alex Vlasic, back to the Rockford IceHogs on Monday. The Blackhawks have struggled offensively, but Reichel has been a bright spot. His absence will likely be felt. The Blackhawks have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
NHL lottery explainer
The worst 11 teams by points percentage are placed in a lottery to determine the draft order. The 32nd-placed team has a 25.5 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, the 31st team a 13.5 percent, 30th 11.5 percent and that continues to drop to three percent for the 11th-placed team. A team can jump spots in the lottery, but it cannot fall more than two spots. In other words, the worst team will not draft later than third overall.
The top-four draft prospect updates
Connor Bedard, Matvei Michkov, Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson are the unanimous top-four prospects in the 2023 draft. Bedard is the definitive No. 1 prospect. After him, there is some debate on who is the next best prospect. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranks Michkov second, Fantilli third and Carlsson fourth. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler had Fantilli second and Michkov third in his most recent rankings last month.
Connor Bedard: Bedard and the Regina Pats face the Saskatoon Blades in Game 7 of their WHL first-round series on Monday. Bedard has 11 goals and eight assists in six playoff games. He’s registered a point on 19 of the Pats’ 25 goals in the series.
Adam Fantilli: Fantilli finished his college season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games as a freshman at Michigan. He was voted the nation’s top men’s player and given the Hobey Baker Award.
Matvei Michkov: Michkov’s season is over. Russia is scheduled to play Belarus in a series of games in May. He could be called to Russia’s national team for those games. Russia is not allowed to participate in the World Championships.
Leo Carlsson: Carlsson and Örebro dropped their third consecutive game to Skellefteä in the SHL semifinals on Sunday and now trail the series 3-2. Carlsson had an assist, a shot on goal and played 15:39 in the 3-2 overtime loss on Sunday. He has one goal and eight assists in 12 playoff games. Game 6 is on Tuesday.
