The longest-serving member of the Edmonton Oilers could not stop smiling after his team clinched a playoff spot for the first time in his career.
That would be Jordan Eberle, who's appeared in 501 regular-season games for the Oilers since being selected in the first round of the 2008 NHL, and who will finally make his postseason debut in a few weeks.
To Eberle's credit, he turned the attention outward following Tuesday's win over the Los Angeles Kings, crediting a fan base that's suffered through a playoff drought that predates even him.
"It's been long years but the best thing is the fans have stuck with it," he said from the bench postgame. "We finally got there this year, now it's finally (clinched) and we can enjoy it."
Head coach Todd McLellan also pointed to Eberle's years of service with the club - as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who arrived in 2011 - but echoed the sentiment that the fans deserve recognition for their loyalty.
"There's a couple here who have been here through a lot of pain and couldn't be more excited for the opportunity that lies ahead of them," he said, per the team's website. "Maybe even more importantly, how about our fans? They've been there for 10 years, the rink has been sold out, they've gone through a lot of pain and they've stuck with us. I'm not sure that happens in any other city in the NHL, but it happens here in Edmonton."
The Oilers, of course, haven't appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since advancing to Game 7 of the 2006 Final.
The days of throwing jerseys on the ice in Edmonton are officially over.
With the 2017 playoffs two weeks away, the Pacific Division remains the closest race in the league, with the top four clubs - Anaheim, San Jose, Edmonton, and Calgary - separated by just a handful of points.
Which team claims the division title is anyone's guess, as all four clubs in the running have the potential to make waves down the final stretch.
That being the case, let's take a closer look at how these four rank at each position, and which team has the best shot at claiming the division:
In Net
1. Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton's Cam Talbot has been dominating in net all season long. He's posted seven shutouts on the season - tied for second-most in the league - while taking on a monster workload that has seen him earn 38 wins through 68 appearances. He may be the Oilers' MVP this season, and he's surely the Pacific's best goalie.
2. Anaheim Ducks
John Gibson is right behind. He hasn't had to endure the same workload, playing in just 49 games, but he boasts the best save percentage in the Pacific (.921), and has five shutouts as well. He's been sidelined since the end of February, but the Ducks have still surged, as Jonathan Bernier has dominated in Gibson's place.
3. Calgary Flames
Brian Elliott couldn't have had a worse start in Flames colors, but the veteran managed to right the ship at the perfect time. He's been on a tear since the beginning of February, ranking second in the division in save percentage (.932) and wins (10 in 16 games) as the Flames salvaged their season. There couldn't be a better time to heat up and live up to the hype.
4. San Jose Sharks
Fresh off a Stanley Cup Final appearance last season, Martin Jones has taken a slight step back this year. His save percentage is the worst of the four Pacific contenders' starters, and even Bernier, Peter Budaj, and Ryan Miller have bested him in that department. His numbers have dropped even lower as of late - he's sporting a .894 percentage through eight March appearances.
The Blue Line
1. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks boast the best blue-liner in the West right now - and perhaps the league - in Brent Burns. The bearded one has dominated offensively this year, racking up 28 goals and 73 points through 76 games. Defensively, the Sharks have allowed the fewest shots against per game of these four Pacific clubs, as well as the fewest goals against per game.
2. Calgary Flames
The Pacific's top offensive defender aside from Burns has been, surprisingly, Dougie Hamilton. He's got a career-high 48 points on the year, while he and Mark Giordano have emerged as one of the best pairings in the league. The rest of the group is holding their own as well, as the Flames are allowing the second-fewest shots per game among the Pacific contenders.
3. Anaheim Ducks
Cam Fowler is in the midst of one of the best offensive seasons of his career, notching a career-best 11 goals alongside his 37 points. He's also logging the second-most minutes per game among all Pacific blue-liners, just a hair above Burns. But overall, the Ducks are in the middle of the divisional pack when it comes to the number of shots they're letting through each game.
4. Edmonton Oilers
Andrej Sekera is having a far better second go-round in Edmonton, and the second-best season of his career. But the Oilers' blue-line issues are well-documented. While they've taken a step forward, they're still allowing the most shots per game among their fellow Pacific contenders, and leaning heavily on Talbot.
Up Front
1. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have the league's leading scorer in McDavid, but that's only part of the picture. Leon Draisaitl has emerged as an elite threat in his own right, topping the 70-point plateau and helping Edmonton's offense climb into the league's top 10. And between Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Milan Lucic, and the surprising Pat Maroon, the Oilers have some pretty dangerous depth options as well.
2. Calgary Flames
Calgary might not have a marquee, league-leading star like their provincial rivals do, but Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are both among the top seven scorers in the Pacific - and they're not even playing on the team's best line. That distinction goes to the "Triple M" trio of Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik, and Matthew Tkachuk, who have combined for 139 points and have been one of the most dominant lines in the league all year long.
3. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks' and Sharks' offenses are fairly even up to this point. The Sharks are slightly higher in goals per game and shots per game, but the discrepancy is very slight. Anaheim has a slight edge when it comes to depth, however, as their 2016-17 crew features seven forwards with double-digit goal totals, as opposed to the Sharks' three.
4. San Jose Sharks
That leaves San Jose last among these four clubs in the forwards department, which should indicate just how dangerous the Pacific is becoming, given the fact the Sharks boast some elite talents in Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Logan Couture. In terms of total offense, they likely have a slight edge over Anaheim due to Burns' dominance from the back end. But if we're talking forwards only, then Calgary, Edmonton, and Anaheim come out ahead.
Which team takes the division?
With all that in mind, it seems the Pacific belongs to the Oilers for the time being. Fresh off clinching their first playoff berth in a decade, Edmonton has officially made good on its rebuild, and looks set to be among the cream of the Pacific crop for a fair while.
The Oilers are far ahead of the rest in terms of offense, with both the best No.1 option and plenty of depth behind him, and they've also got the best goaltender in the division in Talbot - which makes their subpar defense less of an issue.
McDavid and Co. are going to be a handful over the final two weeks and in the playoffs, and if they can keep building up their blue line, this might just become an annual thing.
Bill Foley, owner of the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL's newest franchise, confirmed to Yahoo's Josh Cooper that the summer expansion draft will be a made-for-TV special.
"We're going to be integrated into the NHL awards ceremony so it's going to be on live national TV," Foley said. "They're going to do an NHL award and then they're going to cut back to us and we're going to announce a couple of expansion drafts and have some jumbotron video of the guys we're drafting."
The NHL Awards have been in Sin City since 2009, usually held at a world-class hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. A venue for this year's ceremony in June has not yet been named, but if it were up to the Golden Knights owner, the team's new home, T-Mobile Arena, could play the perfect host.
"We have 88 days until the expansion draft and to do our announcement, that's going to be a gigantic event for us in Las Vegas at (T-Mobile Arena)," Foley added. "We're going to try to fill the arena to the extent we can fill every seat so people can really see what's going on with the expansion draft."
As for the Golden Knights, general manager George McPhee will soon have his chance to pore over each team's protection list, due June 17. The Golden Knights will submit their chosen players June 20, with selections announced the following day, evidently before a television audience.
The Unites States women's national team is ready to get to work after taking care of important business off the ice.
After agreeing to a four-year deal with USA Hockey that ensures a meaningful level of support for the program, the players collaborated on an inspiring video shared by Hilary Knight in advance of the 2017 Women's World Championship, set to begin Friday in Plymouth, Mich.
The helper moved Markov into a tie for second place in all-time scoring by Montreal blue-liners:
Player
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
Larry Robinson
1202
197
686
883
Guy Lapointe
777
166
406
572
Andrei Markov
985
119
453
572
Doug Harvey
890
76
371
447
Serge Savard
917
100
312
412
The Canadiens drafted Markov in the sixth round of 1998. He made his NHL debut two seasons later and has spent his entire career with the Montreal organization, becoming one of the best blue-liners in franchise history over that time.
"He's just got such a good mind for the game, the way he does things," Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty told Eric Engels of Sportsnet. "He's just got little techniques; the way he holds his stick in certain situations; the passes he makes. I said to Alex Galchenyuk I never want (Markov) to retire because that's at least 10 goals a year, and the left shots all feel the same."
The 38-year-old Markov is a pending unrestricted free agent, but there is little doubt he'll explore other opportunities this summer, leaving the only team he has ever known.
Thankfully, the captain doesn't have to worry.
"I'm not planning to retire," Markov said. "I'm planning to continue playing, as long as I enjoy playing."
Auston Matthews, of course, scored four times in the first two periods of the team's season opener in Ottawa, not only becoming the first player to score four goals in his NHL debut, but kick-starting what's become a historic rookie season.
In Tuesday's win over the Panthers, Matthews broke Clark's rookie record for goals in a season with his 35th, and still has seven games left on the schedule in which to improve on that total.
Clark will always hold a special place in Leafs lore, but Toronto now belongs to a kid who learned how to play the game in Arizona.
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
The Carolina Hurricanes experienced the tiniest of bumps thanks to a win over the Detroit Red Wings, who saw their 25-season playoff streak come to an end. Unfortunately for the former, the late surge probably won't be enough.
Here's where they all stand after Tuesday's action.
Team
Result
Playoff Chances
Change
Bruins
W 4-1 vs. Predators
74.1%
+8.2%
Maple Leafs
W 3-2 vs. Panthers
84.6%
+4.4%
Hurricanes
W 4-1 vs. Red Wings
6.8%
+0.2%
Lightning
Idle
24.5%
-7.7%
Islanders
Idle
10.9%
-4.8%
The Western Conference race is over, by the way. The Los Angeles Kings haven't been eliminated, but their chances are down to 0.1 percent.
