It's amazing what two wins can do to the Futility Meter, which we find this morning at -11, 3-6-1:- the team is up from 14th to 12th in the east, and from third-last to fifth-last overall;
- the team is no longer behind the entire western division;
- the first place team no longer has twice the number of points that Ottawa has; and
- the team is within spitting distance of Toronto in the standings again.
I have to admit I am torn here. I like seeing the wins come. I like seeing the top line roll on. I like seeing solid goaltending.
But realistically, this team will only barely make the playoffs as most media estimates have the team requiring at least 60 of the remaining 82 possible points to just squeak in. The team won't go far in the post season, so aside from the playoff gate revenue there is no point to the team even getting in.
The other problem is that beyond the first couple of quality picks or so, the draft turns into a lottery as to whether or not a player will turn into a solid contributor, with the odds against it most of the time. A franchise player only comes along once in a while.
The road to the top goes through the bottom.
