DGB Mailbag: 4 Nations fights, Ovechkin's record-breaker and the Jack Adams curse

We havent done a mailbag since just after the season started.

Remember back then? When the Rangers and Bruins were elite, the Predators were ready to contend, the Canadiens and Blue Jackets were write-offs and the Sabres were going to take the Capitals playoff spot? Good times.

In related news, its possible were all dumb.

Advertisement On that note, lets see what was on your mind this time around.

Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and style.

In the weeks leading up to the 2010 Olympics, David Backes (probably the greatest American in the history of the world) fought three members of the Canadian team to generate some excitement and set the tone.

He may have challenged more, but the three who accepted were Corey Perry , Jonathan Toews and Rick Nash.

Do you think the premature announcement of the 4 Nations rosters will lead to some bad international blood spilling out in NHL games? What would be the five most likely matchups? Brent B.

Ah yes, the great David Backes fight tour of 2010.

Lets remember how it went .

That would be good Canadian boy Rick Nash, bruising his knuckles on Backes face so badly that he could barely hold his gold medal a few weeks later.

I remember it fondly.

Whos on deck for the 2025 version? The obvious candidate here is Brad Marchand since hes already talking smack .

Lets match him up with the similarly sized Vincent Trocheck, who seems like he could use a chance to blow off some steam.

Next up, lets go with Brady Tkachuk against Sam Bennett, mainly so we can see if Matthew would feel conflicted.

Weve already seen Sidney Crosby vs.

Kyle Connor this year, so lets book the rematch.

Jordan Binnington can pretend to want to fight all three American goalies at the same time.

And well close with Sam Reinhart vs.

Jack Eichel , just so fans in Buffalo have something to cheer about.

Also, J.T.

Miller vs.

Elias Pettersson in a steel cage for some reason.

And, of course, the one bout every Team Canada fan is begging to see right now: Wendel Clark vs.

Dave Cameron.

Whats the longest losing streak not winless streak, but most consecutive zero-point games by a team that eventually won the Cup that year? Jason K.

First things first: In a league with no ties, a winless streak is a losing streak, no matter what the league says.

The fact that the loser point fairy occasionally shows up to sprinkle pity points in the air above your tear-stained little faces doesnt change the fact that you lost.

Save this pedantry for LeBruns mailbag.

Advertisement But on to the question: I was pretty sure I knew the answer for this one, but it turns out to be relatively easy to look up on Stathead .

And sure enough, the answer is the 1966-67 Maple Leafs, who strung together 10 straight losses midway through the season, but still comfortably made the playoffs ahead of the awful Wings and Bruins.

The next longest losing streaks by a Cup winner: Seven games, by the 1920-21 Senators Six, by the 1985-86 Canadiens Five, by five different teams: The 1937-38 Black Hawks, the 1964-65 Canadiens, the 1983-84 Oilers , the 2008-09 Penguins , and the 2013-14 Kings who somehow managed to do it twice in the same month and then immediately lost four more.

I read your article on Jack Adams coaches and their poor results in future years .

I thought Id point you to your colleague John Hollingers explanation for a similar phenomenon in the NBA .

Synergy at The Athletic ! Nick P.

I hadnt seen that, but unsurprisingly, John nails it.

The key passage Nick highlighted is here: But as I alluded to, theres a bigger story here, about the hidden danger of surprise seasons.

If youre wondering why the average job timespan of a Coach of the Year award winner is barely two years, look here, because were talking about two highly correlated groups with the Coach of the Year often being the one whose team was the biggest surprise.

Hockey is no different.

And in the years where the Jack Adams goes not to the best coach but rather the coach of the most surprising team, it shouldnt be shocking when that team stops surprising us, especially when we know a lot of the NHLs surprises are really just unsustainable flukes.

A different, and admittedly more controversial way to put it: Were just bad at picking the Jack Adams winner.

Note that Im saying we here even though the award is voted on by the broadcasters and not the writers.

Maybe the fact that Jack Adams finalists keep getting fired within a year or two (or less) isnt a glitch or a curse or a weird coincidence, but rather evidence of how we keep picking the wrong guys.

Advertisement Do you think Gary Bettman and the boys are going to regret implementing this you can only win the lottery twice rule as Chicago continues to circle the drains in the NHL standings? They were already gifted what was supposed to be the next generational talent and it doesnt seem to be working.

Bill P.

I appreciate this question because it offers a nice chance to remind everyone that the new lottery rules dont work the way you think they do.

As you probably remember, the leagues most recent set of changes to the lottery process included what you could basically call the Oilers Rule: that no team could move up more than twice in five years.

One team could only have so much luck, right? So when the Blackhawks finish dead last this year and then win the lottery to pick first overall yet again, that will at least mean theyre done for a few years, right? Well, no.

The key detail a lot of fans miss is that the two-in-five limitation only applies to moving up in the order.

If the last-place team wins the lottery, like the Sharks did last year, they dont actually move up, so it doesnt count against them.

In other words, when Bettman pulls out the frozen envelope with the Blackhawks logo inside after their last-place finish in a few months, hell be feeling just fine about the whole thing.

And hell no doubt explain the Hawks logo is supposed to be cold thats why theyre in every outdoor game.

I loved your article on the best game for Ovechkin to break the goal record , but in your opinion, what type of goal would be the best record-breaker? Empty-netter with a two-goal lead, right? And regardless of type, what are the odds theres an offside review on it? Curtis L.

Empty net for sure.

Probably with a four-goal lead with 12 minutes to play against Patrick Roy and the Islanders.

Advertisement As far as the review, we had this conversation in the comment section of that post.

Some readers argued that would be the worst possible outcome, but I disagree.

This league insists on having dumb reviews to just get it right? Then we cant pick and choose when to enforce the rules.

I hope Ovechkins record-breaker gets overturned by review.

I hope it happens six times in a row, on a different nit-picky infraction each time.

It might be the only way we get rid of this dumb system , and Im perfectly willing to sacrifice Ovis big moment to have it happen.

But yeah, Im going with an empty-net goal that gets wiped out by a goaltender interference review.

Ill admit Im still ironing out a few of the details.

At some point during his career the NHL decides that Zdeno Chara and his shortest forward teammate have to swap sticks.

Whos it work best out for? Terry P.

Nobody, because theres a 100 percent chance that at some point Chara gets set up for a one-time clapper, force of habit and muscle memory kick in and he tries it, and he whiffs because Brad Marchands stick is still three feet off the ice and he face-plants.

Then we all point and laugh.

Then Chara gets up and goes full Elden Ring boss on everyone and its over for all of us.

Your thoughts on the 2024-25 Maple Leafs so far? David E.

Theyve been fine.

Certainly toward the upper end of reasonable expectations.

Craig Berube has done a good job, even as some of the narratives about him transforming the team have been overdone.

This was a solid defensive team under Sheldon Keefe too, only with less reliable goaltending, and its even possible theyve shifted their focus too far in that direction given how much trouble theyve had generating offense when it matters.

But for now, sure, its been an A- first half.

Advertisement Does it matter? Not really, because nothing that happened this season was going to matter until the playoffs start.

Thats still the case, and its why I cant summon much more enthusiasm for this team than the lukewarm paragraph above.

The remade blue line is good, although well see if its good enough.

The goaltending has certainly been better, although lets see if both guys can make it to April healthy and still playing well before we start engraving the Jennings.

The Auston Matthews injury is worrying, to put it mildly, but theyve got three months to get him right before anything meaningful is on the line.

One piece of genuinely good news is that theyre in the running for top spot in the Atlantic and maybe even the conference, which should always have been the goal for a team that typically settled for second or third and the tough matchup that went with it.

If they could finish first and play a team like Detroit or Pittsburgh or even Columbus or Montreal in the opening round, that would help them finally find their playoff footing.

(And if they lost, at least we wouldnt have to hear about running it back yet again.) So basically: Grudging approval, guarded optimism, and lets see where this goes.

Its about the best I can do for this bunch.

If the Vikings and Bills meet in the Super Bowl (where both are 0-4) in franchise history, who should sports fans cheer for based purely on their respective NHL teams history? Bill M.

Ill be honest, it hadnt occurred to me that this matchup was a realistic possibility until I read Bills question, and now I really want it to happen.

All decent sports fans want the Lions to win, if only so we can watch Dan Campbell eat the trophy on live television, but Vikings vs.

Bills would be fascinating.

As for your question, I wasnt sure, so I came up with a list of criteria.

Yeah, thats going to be Buffalo in a landslide.

Sorry Minnesota , better luck next century.

(Top photo of Kyle Connor and Sidney Crosby : Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.