How Will The Playoff Teams Finish?

BTW the Ducks and Wild are back to within a point of the playoffs...all bets are off in the West.

PS the Ducks have two games left against the Oil...they are separated by three points.

The Teemunator was kept off the scoresheet tonight but George "Brainiac" Parros had a big goal.

asq2 wrote:I don't even think I need to bother posting any-more. Everything hem writes is pretty much identical to my opinion. :D

Haha! You know what they say about great minds, right?

I'd love to think they can make it. A place at the playoff table would be worth our draft standing taking a hit, but to have to settle for a lower pick AND miss the playoffs is like being kicked in the face....and the junk.

davetherave wrote:BTW the Ducks and Wild are back to within a point of the playoffs...all bets are off in the West.

PS the Ducks have two games left against the Oil...they are separated by three points.

The Teemunator was kept off the scoresheet tonight but George "Brainiac" Parros had a big goal.

The West is insane....it will come down to the last day of the regular season to decide not only the participants, but also the seedings. I would love to see the Hawks match up against the BJ's and Van/Cal battle it out.

davetherave wrote:BTW the Ducks and Wild are back to within a point of the playoffs...all bets are off in the West.

PS the Ducks have two games left against the Oil...they are separated by three points.

The Teemunator was kept off the scoresheet tonight but George "Brainiac" Parros had a big goal.

Dangit!

We needed I wanted Colorado and Phoenix to win.

I guess there's not much hope of improving our draft position.

None at all, so might as well cheer the boys on.

hemlock wrote:

davetherave wrote:BTW the Ducks and Wild are back to within a point of the playoffs...all bets are off in the West.

PS the Ducks have two games left against the Oil...they are separated by three points.

The Teemunator was kept off the scoresheet tonight but George "Brainiac" Parros had a big goal.

The West is insane....it will come down to the last day of the regular season to decide not only the participants, but also the seedings. I would love to see the Hawks match up against the BJ's and Van/Cal battle it out.

The Blackhawks had a big win today...they are now back on top in fourth. Sharp was sharp, Havvy was savvy, and Slammin' Sammy Pahlsson is helping to batten down the D in front of The Bulin Wall.

So right now we have Flames-Jackets and Hawks-Nucks matchups...potentially very exciting and too close to call.

But still lots of hockey left before the Dance of the Silver Cup.

:D :D :D

Neely4Life wrote:None at all, so might as well cheer the boys on.

It will kill me if we finish directly behind the Leafs and they take Schenn, though.

asq2 wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:None at all, so might as well cheer the boys on.

It will kill me if we finish directly behind the Leafs and they take Schenn, though.

I dont even think we get top 10 anymore. I thought for sure we would, but I think thats about as likely as the playoffs.

Damned if you do, Damned if you dont.

Yippie

hemlock wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:I dont think they will make it, but if they win out, they are in the playoffs, thats the point.

Its excitting though and Im glad this team didnt tank to be honest, it is actually looking good for next year and something to get excitted about.

That's a nice switcheroo. And no, check the math, if they win out, it's still not a guarantee. Even if we win out, and Florida wins all their games except against us, they still have us beat.

Of course it's looking good for next season, it would have had we continued to play .500 hockey instead of reeling off 5 or 6 useless wins.

But what are the odds of Florida winning every game except those against Ottawa? Especially since over the last 10, Florida is playing 0.500 hockey. They play Philadelphia twice, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Washington. Atlanta also comes up twice, and they've been hot enough to perhaps be a challenge. Let's give them 9-10 points, thus they end up at 89-90.

Last 10, Montreal is running an icy cold 0.400 - and they are due to face NYR, Chicago, Ottawa, Boston, Pittsburgh over their last ten. Toronto will be a test for them also, given their play recently. Even 0.500 is really stretching; I'd give them 8-9 points tops. This leaves them at 89-90.

Ottawa is running a blazing 0.900, tops in the league, so yes, a stinker is overdue. More than one, perhaps. Assume that Ottawa gets 13-14 points of the remaining 20, and you've accounted for recent play, and a few no-shows. Keep it to only one stinker, and they get 15-16 points. Suddenly, it's possible to end up with the same 89 points (not highly likely; just possible).

If Ottawa has to drop a load, they have to sure that their stinker(s) aren't against Florida or Montreal, then there's still that flicker of hope.

Bottom line is that if you factor in each other teams recent records (and adjust for the fact that 0.900 can't be sustained), and you end up with three teams in a logjam for 8/9/10 - Ottawa, Florida, Montreal.

Add: elsewhere, I posted incorrect math - I had neglected to account for the inability to sustain the current record, so I had Ottawa ending at 90-92/93 points.

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Damned if you do, Damned if you dont.

Yippie

Most some yes. I'd gladly have a throw away season every few years. Simply because adding valuable assets like a blue chip prospect for nothing simply doesn't happen if you win all the time. We are not the Red Wings, and will never entice huge FA's to come here for less ala, Hossa.

When we have the opportunity to add a quality asset, that opportunity should not be passed up. I for one don't buy the winning now builds excitement for next season. Yes it does, but I think people would be more excited about the addition of a Hedman, MPS etc, more than they would about a few wins at the end of a throw-away year. At least I would anyway.

Acrobat wrote:

hemlock wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:I dont think they will make it, but if they win out, they are in the playoffs, thats the point.

Its excitting though and Im glad this team didnt tank to be honest, it is actually looking good for next year and something to get excitted about.

That's a nice switcheroo. And no, check the math, if they win out, it's still not a guarantee. Even if we win out, and Florida wins all their games except against us, they still have us beat.

Of course it's looking good for next season, it would have had we continued to play .500 hockey instead of reeling off 5 or 6 useless wins.

But what are the odds of Florida winning every game except those against Ottawa? Especially since over the last 10, Florida is playing 0.500 hockey. They play Philadelphia twice, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Washington. Atlanta also comes up twice, and they've been hot enough to perhaps be a challenge. Let's give them 9-10 points, thus they end up at 89-90.

Last 10, Montreal is running an icy cold 0.400 - and they are due to face NYR, Chicago, Ottawa, Boston, Pittsburgh over their last ten. Toronto will be a test for them also, given their play recently. Even 0.500 is really stretching; I'd give them 8-9 points tops. This leaves them at 89-90.

Ottawa is running a blazing 0.900, tops in the league, so yes, a stinker is overdue. More than one, perhaps. Assume that Ottawa gets 13-14 points of the remaining 20, and you've accounted for recent play, and a few no-shows. Keep it to only one stinker, and they get 15-16 points. Suddenly, it's possible to end up with the same 89 points (not highly likely; just possible).

If Ottawa has to drop a load, they have to sure that their stinker(s) aren't against Florida or Montreal, then there's still that flicker of hope.

Bottom line is that if you factor in each other teams recent records (and adjust for the fact that 0.900 can't be sustained), and you end up with three teams in a logjam for 8/9/10 - Ottawa, Florida, Montreal.

Add: elsewhere, I posted incorrect math - I had neglected to account for the inability to sustain the current record, so I had Ottawa ending at 90-92/93 points.

About the same as Ottawa reeling off 10 more wins to end the season. Particularly since we face, Philly, NJ, and Boston. Not to mention 2 other desperate teams in Florida and Montreal. It's simply foolish to think we can reel 10 more off in a row. Florida is 6 points ahead right now. Even if we win 7 of our 10, that means Florida only has to win 4. The Habs would have to win even less. We may catch Buffalo, and perhaps another of either Florida or Montreal, but catching all of them is an insanely tall oder.

Edit: Let's not forget that out of Buffalo, Montreal and Florida, the only team we have tie-break on is Buffalo. And they are the one team we'll most likely pass, if any. This means that we have to outright outpoint both Florida and Montreal, making the job just a little tougher.

hemlock wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:Damned if you do, Damned if you dont.

Yippie

Most some yes. I'd gladly have a throw away season every few years. Simply because adding valuable assets like a blue chip prospect for nothing simply doesn't happen if you win all the time. We are not the Red Wings, and will never entice huge FA's to come here for less ala, Hossa.

When we have the opportunity to add a quality asset, that opportunity should not be passed up. I for one don't buy the winning now builds excitement for next season. Yes it does, but I think people would be more excited about the addition of a Hedman, MPS etc, more than they would about a few wins at the end of a throw-away year. At least I would anyway.

You (we here) are in the minority. Most fans wouldn't recognize the value of a potential franchise pick. Thus it's more valuable to the team as a business to have people excited now. Besides, they need people to buy the season tickets now, and this is getting them excited, so management keeps looking short-term.

I believe that most of us (including myself) agree that a high pick would have been nice. The point being made now is that the top ten pick is likely gone - like it or not - but that there is a small, small chance of slipping into the dance. Murray is as good as anyone out there at sorting through the mid-range picks to find the best of the bunch, so we may as well enjoy the ride, and hope for the best, whatever that is.

My 79 year old mother who went with me to see her 1st Live NHL hockey game last night--the Sens playing the Isles--believes that these young men still have a shot, "but only if they listen to their coach".

Mom is always right.

hemlock wrote:
About the same as Ottawa reeling off 10 more wins to end the season. Particularly since we face, Philly, NJ, and Boston. Not to mention 2 other desperate teams in Florida and Montreal. It's simply foolish to think we can reel 10 more off in a row. Florida is 6 points ahead right now. Even if we win 7 of our 10, that means Florida only has to win 4. The Habs would have to win even less. We may catch Buffalo, and perhaps another of either Florida or Montreal, but catching all of them is an insanely tall oder.

That was why I qualified it with "not highly likely; just possible", and indicated elsewhere the "1.0%".

I mentioned above the recent records of each except Buffalo, who I believe is only 2 pts up on Ottawa and playing at 0.350 over the last 10. I agree that Ottawa would be in must-win situations
against Florida and Montreal, but I'd question the challenge that they'd represent (mainly Montreal).

I agree that it's an incredibly tall order, but they've gone from 13pts out to 7 pts out in short order, with much of the movement being in the last three weeks. If they can move up 5-6 pts in 3 weeks, is it inconceivable to move up another 7 points in 3 weeks? (especially when the teams above are playing worse than before?)

The inconceivable is now conceivable.

davetherave wrote:The inconceivable is now conceivable.

So... at what point do you start to believe...

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:The inconceivable is now conceivable.

So... at what point do you start to believe...

You always believe...because you'll never achieve if you don't believe. 8)