I think we're the front runners right now I really do, but I'm most afraid of the Islanders.
Might come as surprise, just think their goaltending is tops and I'm expecting them to get hot. Although Barzal is hurt and not sure when he gets back.
Are you removing Pittsburgh from the discussion and only talking about the 8th seed? Anyways, here's how I would rank the contenders for those 2 wild card spots:
NYIslanders - they have trouble scoring but getting Horvat was a solid pick up and Sorokin keeps them in every game, he should be a Vezina finalist especially if they make it
Buffalo - their trajectory this season has been very similar to Ottawa with a poor start preceding better play for 40 odd games now. They can really light the lamp but suffer from inconsistent efforts due to their youth. If I had to pick who I'd like to see in one of these 2 spots making the playoffs with Ottawa, it's Buffalo. We've been suffering for 5 years, they've drafted in the top 10 for ten straight seasons and last time they won a series was the one before Ottawa beat them to go to the Finals 16 years ago.
Florida - playing better lately and if they can do that consistently over the stretch, they will get in
Pittsburgh - have not been that great lately but made some deadline pickups to strengthen their case. Would love to see them miss, they've had a great run with lots of success but not really SC contenders anymore
Washington - they had a slump and sold some guys off but can't be counted out. Ovechkin was gone but he's back and Sandin was a good add for the future with ability to replace some of what they lost.
Detroit - they are not good, end of story. 2 years in a row they started out hot and had people looking at their rebuild as a better example than Ottawa's, but they wilted as both seasons went on and the recent sell off points to a realization that they are still a few years away.
