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Lord Stanley's Pool 2016 has ended in a close fought tie. A playoff season with unlikely results included an unlikely toe-to-toe battle in the final round and a fitting tie. There is so much that could have - should have - happened in these playoffs but if you could have predicted it all, you too would be at the top of the pool. Congratulations to Dan Salerno and Jessica Thompson on winning and Hugh MacPhie for third. Check out the Key to the Pool, Dream Team, some remarkable long odds for a repeat champion and more in the Final Pool Analysis.
After a 12-year wait, Shoot for Gold: World Cup Challenge is back this September! Following the same rules as other Shoot for Gold pools, it will be a fun, compact pool lasting just two weeks but remembered forever. Stay tuned! Pool ends tied after even battle in final round 6/13/2016 12:23:00 AM Congratulations to Dan Salerno and Jessica Thompson, co-winners of Lord Stanley's Pool! Dan and Jessica matched each other point-for-point in the final round, with an empty-net assist in Game 6 sealing their fate. It is Dan's first finish among the leaders and a welcome back after being away from the pool since 2012. For Jessica, it is three times lucky... an amazing perfect record finishing in the money (top three) all three years she has entered. It is her second victory, also winning in 2014 and finishing third last year. Hugh MacPhie wins the third prize in his first time entering the pool. Congratulations! Penguins win fourth Cup 6/13/2016 12:17:00 AM The Pittsburgh Penguins have won their fourth Stanley Cup. With a game 6 victory in San Jose, they have won all four on the road. Captain Sidney Crosby set up both Penguins goals and won the Conn Smythe Trophy for leading them there. Fourteen of the pool's 261 entries picked the Penguins to win, though it did not factor on the leaderboard. The leading Penguins entry was Brett Kirkpatrick, whose ten-point bonus lifted him into a tie for sixth place. Empty netter keeps it tied 6/10/2016 4:51:00 AM Joe Thornton's questionably-offside empty-net assist was all it took to keep the pool tied after Martin Jones had 44 saves to earn his point in the pool. This allowed Dan Salerno to remain tied with Jessica Thompson on top of the standings. Earlier in the game, Phil Kessel's assist on Evgeni Malkin's goal did the same to keep Jessica tied with Dan. And so the pool is still tied! Matching Malkin 6/7/2016 2:41:00 AM Dan Salerno got what he needed to take the lead - a Pittsburgh win with Evgeni Malkin collecting two points. Unfortunately for Dan, Phil Kessel who normally plays on a different line, matched Malkin point for point to ensure that Jessica Thompson remained tied with Dan. With only one Pittsburgh win remaining, Dan's advantage is narrowing - any San Jose wins are likely to give Jessica the edge. As it stands the pool is likely to end in a tie! Counter-intuitive 6/5/2016 3:29:00 AM Half way through the final round, we are back to a tie for first. This isn't all that unexpected, but how we got here wasn't exactly logical. Pittsburgh wins were meant to favour Dan Salerno and San Jose wins for Jessica Thompson, because one of Jessica's players is Martin Jones, who wouldn't get a point in a Penguins win, and would in a Sharks win. Jessica should be hoping for a long series in the event of a Penguins Cup win. But the opposite has held true. Jessica took the point advantage in Pittsburgh's two wins, while Dan tied it up in the San Jose win with Joe Thornton's two points out-weighing Jones' victory. We will see if logic prevails in the final games. Jessica takes one-point lead 6/2/2016 4:59:00 AM Phil Kessel's point has given Jessica Thompson sole posession of first again, and moved Hugh MacPhie to within five points of second-place Dan Salerno. In the case of a Penguins Cup win, where Jessica (and Hugh) would not benefit from the Cup bonus, it is Kessel who needs to step up as Martin Jones won't be getting points in Pittsburgh victories. Dan needs to cheer for the Penguins - and needs Evgeni Malkin to turn it on. |
Pittsburgh's game 1 win gave Hugh MacPhie the points he needed to move into third place, a podium spot he is likely to retain barring a San Jose shutout or two. Hugh has been slowly creeping up the top ten since round two and is peaking at just the right time. Record set for most points by defence 5/31/2016 2:10:00 AM Stuart MacIntyre has broken the pool record for most points by defensemen, now with 36 after a two-point night by Brent Burns. The previous record was 35, set last year on the strength of Duncan Keith's 21-point playoff. Burns now has 22 and needs just three more to reach the top five defenseman performances in playoff history. Stuart broke the record but others are not far behind - if Kris Letang gets three more points we'll see a block of 14 entries with the final record total. Pool tied going into final showdown 5/30/2016 1:49:00 AM It's come down to two entries that are tied going into the final round. Jessica Thompson, who is going for a podium three-peat, and Dan Salerno are neck and neck with all of the focus on Jones and Kessel versus Burns and Malkin. Check out the round 3 analysis to see the podium contenders, projected final scores, who was hot and not in the last round, and more. Good luck in the final round! Setting the stage for the final 5/27/2016 9:47:00 AM That's a wrap for round three, which seemed to go by in the blink of an eye but it crystallized the final questions for the pool going into the Cup round. The Penguins-Sharks final will start on Monday with the final showdown for the pool. Round three analysis and the contender breakdown will be posted soon, stay tuned! Dan Salerno reaches up to tie the leader 5/27/2016 9:43:00 AM With two points in the final game of the round, Dan Salerno has reached up to tie for first place with Jessica Thompson, setting up a heated final round showdown. With all other players on their entries the same, it will be Joe Thornton and Evgeni Malkin for Dan versus Martin Jones and Phil Kessel for Jessica. Jessica also has the potential Cup bonus if the Sharks win. Good luck to both! Comments, questions, suggestions? E-mail Mitch.
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