This Week In The NHL Bubble: Game 7 Heaven, Ducks' Trade Targets

“This Week In The NHL Bubble” is a weekly post dedicated to highlighting the week’s most interesting stories, stats, highlights, and much more.

St. Louis Feeling Blue

The trade market is heating up, partly as a result of what has transpired for certain clubs within the bubble. Of course, the St. Louis Blues trading Jake Allen to the Montreal Canadiens had far less to do with their disappointing defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, and far more to do with their complicated cap situation as they attempt to create the necessary space to re-sign franchise cornerstone Alex Pietrangelo.

A team like Anaheim should take note of the Blues’ cap imbroglio, and strike a deal if the price is right. Vince Dunn, a 23-year old restricted free agent, would be a logical target for the Ducks to pry out of St. Louis. Yes, Dunn would be yet another left-shooting defenseman to add to Anaheim’s stockpile, but he’s a damn good one, and at his age, there’s a strong chance he’ll get even better.

Jets Changing Course?

The Blues are not the only team that could be a potential dance partner for Anaheim. Patrik Laine’s name has once again been proffered in trade rumors, meaning Ducks’ general manager Bob Murray should at least give Winnipeg’s front office a call to see what it will take to get the Finnish sniper out of the Arctic circle.

Of course, Laine has his foibles. His defensive game simply isn’t good enough, and he’s not a play-driver at five-on-five. Even so, there might only be a handful of players in the entire world that can rival his pure shooting ability. At only 22 years of age, Laine already has three 30-plus goal campaigns to his name. His weaknesses can be insulated, especially at such a verdant age, but his strengths cannot be taught. His lethal shot breaks expected goal models, and his presence would give Anaheim their first pure sniper in years. 

Anaheim has the veteran pieces to interest a Jets’ club that is trying to establish itself as a playoff team, which would mean some potential fan favorites heading north. Murray hasn’t shown a willingness to make a move of that magnitude in quite some time, but Laine might be too good to pass up.

Three Game 7’s

Hockey fans are in for a treat. Three game 7’s will be on tap over the weekend, which should make for some excellent theatre. Dallas takes on Colorado and Vancouver faces off against Vegas at 1 and 6 PM PST, respectively. On Saturday, the Islanders and Flyers finish things off at 4:30 PM PST. All three series have had their own twists and turns, with the Flyers, Canucks, and Avalanche all coming back from 3-1 deficits.

3-1: The Worst Lead in Hockey?

Three separate comebacks and yet some of these feel quite alike. Vegas has heavily out-shot and out-chanced the Canucks, and yet find themselves in a do-or-die game with the season on the line. Ditto for the Islanders. Colorado has been a slightly different story, as third-stringer Michael Hutchinson has somehow captured lightning in a bottle to spur an impressive comeback. Dallas Stars’ head coach Rick Bowness spoke to the emotional difficulties of bubble life as a reason for some big in-game swings, and while that may explain some of it, the sport of hockey can work in very strange ways at times. Funny bounces, hot goaltending, questionable officiating, and beyond can lead to significant shifts in a short sample, even with one side dominating the shot clock.

Tampa Bay Waiting

Jake wrote about the Lightning’s excellence last week, and his words held true this week as Tampa finished off the Bruins on Monday to win the series in five games. While every other second-round series has gone the distance, Nikita Kucherov and company get to rest up as they await the winners of the New York-Philadelphia series. The Islanders have impressed so far this post-season, while the Flyers have been inconsistent. Either way, it’s difficult to imagine the Lightning losing to either team. Factor in how the two Western favorites in Vegas and Colorado have had trouble with their opponents, and it’s no surprise that The Athletic’s projection model currently has Tampa Bay as the overwhelming favorites to win the Stanley Cup with a 42% probability. A lot can still go wrong for them, but it’s nice to see this group finally get their due.