HOLTY’S BLOG: 600 GAMES

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It’s not often that you get just one point out of a possible eight and actually improve your potential playoff situation, but that is exactly what happened this past week for the Condors.

You may want the Condors in a playoff spot at this moment, as do I, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint and as I’ll remind you, it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want.

Now for the blog…

– Holty you’re a little off your rocker with this playoff stuff. Actually, let’s look at the facts. Bakersfield is 5-4-1 in their last 10. Tucson and Stockton are 1-8-1. Even Texas, who has won their last three, is 5-5-0 over 10. The Condors have gained on all of them. Going to need to be better than .500 over the last 24 games to get in however.

– So what’s the number then? Last year, San Jose got in with 73 points. That would mean the Condors would have to go 15-9-0 (or 30 points) to get to that benchmark. I think that’s the minimum. And I think Texas becomes the competition. They now have a goaltender and they can still score.

– The Pacific Division race is really the only race in the AHL with more than two teams with a shout. In the Atlantic, Hershey and Bridgeport will decide the final spot (separated by one point). The North is dumpster fire with I suppose three teams still with a chance, but two are under .500. And in the Central, Cleveland has five games in hand on Iowa (who was just swept in California), and they are five points in the rear.

– Expect a much better effort from the Condors on Friday against San Diego. As we talked with Gerry on Unleashed this week, nobody was happy with that game on Sunday down there. Sure, the Gulls are playing great hockey right now, but that’s no excuse for the lack of execution. And if you’re following the trends, the Condors are prime for two wins this weekend.

– Good conversation with veteran D Mark Fayne from Unleashed on a wide range of topics including free agency, Boston, and his best non-hockey job. As a reminder, you can watch all Unleashed segments on Condors.TV.

– Every week, the Oilers site takes a look at prospects in the system and this week’s is on Griffin Reinhart. Check it out. He has really had a nice season despite dealing with a nagging injury.

– Speaking of Edmonton, it’s a free Center Ice week, so flip them on tonight against the Flyers at 6 p.m. Here was Iiro Pakarinen talking to the media after their win on Tuesday in which he had an assist.

– Just a heads up, March 1 is the NHL trade deadline. Last year, the Condors were only affected by Martin Gernat going to San Diego. We’ll see if anything happens this year. Condors have five games until then. Here is Peter Chiarelli talking about the deadline and his potential plans.

– Ryan Hamilton will play in his 600th AHL game on Saturday. That’s quite a milestone. He had 258 with Toronto, 163 with Houston (RIP Aeros), 73 in Oklahoma City, and now 106 in Bakersfield.

– Tip-A-Condor is Tuesday at Temblor Brewing Company. Tickets are only $35, include dinner, a fun night with the players, and help the Kern County Shrine Club. Buy them here.


– Lock of the week? Montreal fired Michel Therrien Tuesday and replaced him with Claude Julien. That’s a WWE-type story line. Anyways the Habs return from the bye week Saturday against the hapless Jets. There isn’t a line yet, but Montreal -1.5 easy.

Until next time Condorstown…

Ryan Holt a.k.a. Holty is the Voice of the Condors in his sixth season. Charlotte just unveiled a Sunday brunch before their game against the Condors on Sunday, March 5. It’s probably because he’s in town. Follow him on Twitter, @CondorsHolty, for more nonsense or shoot him an e-mail to rholt@bakersfieldcondors.com