WEEK 18 (thru Friday)

A hush fell over the FHL press room when Connor McDavid pondered the question “Are you going to play on Saturday?” When the league’s best player answered, “Oh what the heck, I have nothing better to do, why not” - four GM’s groaned and one GM screamed “HELL YES!!” - the McDavid-powered Wild Ducks beginning play on Saturday with a much better shot at erasing an 8.3 point deficit, and laying claim to the 2020-21 FHL Cup.

The Battle for the FHL Cup
None of the contenders recorded a point on a one-game Friday, the race for the FHL Cup now consisting of four games; three games featuring the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks; one game pitting the Edmonton Oilers against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Oilers/Canucks game is the Lumberjacks last chance to add points to their YTD total. Oilers Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mikko Koskinen will be scouring Saturday for points. The Lumberjacks don’t have any Flames or Canucks. If the Jacks are still leading at the conclusion of today’s game, they’ll have nothing - not even a stick or a stone - to protect their 1st place fort.

Trailing by 4.0 points, the Ice Hogs will be bringing three Canucks (Jayce Hawryluk, Tyler Myers, Travis Hamonic) and one Flame (Mikael Backlund) to the Final Four. Winning the FHL Cup won’t be easy - it never is - but the Hogs have a legitimate shot at what would be their 3rd FHL Cup championship.

The Wild Ducks started acquiring Canucks in Week 14, soon after the league released it’s amended schedule. The result: the Wild Ducks' roster is loaded with six Canucks, and one player from the Calgary Flames. The Ducks also have two Oilers in McDavid and James Neal. Thus far, the hoarding of Canucks has not paid dividends; the ragtag, junior varsity squad failing to find the scoresheet on most nights. That said, in sheer numbers alone, the Ducks look extremely dangerous heading into the final five days of the season.

Rocky Rocks last chance to make a dent in the FHL Cup race was Jake Muzzin. The Toronto rearguard was held to one assist on Friday; the Rocks moving to within 9.2 points of 1st place. They’ll get no closer as the Rocks are done for the season - the team void of Canucks, Flames and Oilers (Mike Smith won't play on Saturday).

At a glance, the Cherry Pickers appear to have the worst chance of hoisting the Cup - the team seated in 5th place overall, 10.9 points back. The Pickers however have the best of the Canucks in Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and Thatcher Demko. They also have a very capable Flame in Rasmus Andersson, the young defenseman known to deposit pucks on occasion. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Pickers, but don’t count them out just yet.

The Bout for the Money
There’s absolutely no quit in the Misconducts, the veteran franchise moving to within 15.8 points of 3rd place ($120.00) after netting 4.0 points on Friday; GM Smalley hauling two very heavy Oilers (Leon Draisaitl, Tyson Barrie) and one Flame (Noah Hanifin) to the show-me-the-money showdown.

The Scrap for the Laughing Bag
No way Baba Booey gets stuck with the Laughing Bag, thought almost everyone - the team spending most of the season a good distance from the FHL basement. With four games remaining, the Booeys are in very real danger of being strapped with the league’s booby prize.

Baba Booey is currently 8.3 points better than the last place Polar Bears. Good news, yes. The bad news: the only card remaining in Baba Booey’s deck is goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The Polar Bears' deck is stacked; Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Dillon Dube, Milan Lucic, Alex Chiasson and Quinn Hughes all slinging pucks for the Bears.

The Boulder Flyers are in a better position after a 4.0 point Friday; the 10th place team - currently 13.1 points clear of last place - bringing three, possibly four players to the crazy-strange final week of a crazy-strange season.

LINK: Standings