I went seven for eight last round in terms of picking the correct teams. (Damn Sabres!) Well, anyways, it's about time for my next round of picks, I'll be holding off on the Sharks and Red Wings game because that's really gonna be an insane series. I'll be posting more analysis on the individual series from the conference quarter-final match-ups later as I have gained some more time, however, that'll come over the next few days. Anyways, here's my picks below.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Quick picks tonight
2 game 7's but I am a very busy guy, so here's my picks.
#5 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #4 Pittsburgh Penguins
Dwayne Roloson has never lost in an elimination game and the Pens have a horrible record at home in game 7's for the run of the franchise.
Lightning 4-2
#6 Montreal Canadiens vs #3 Boston Bruins
Lucic is back and as long as the Bruins don't keep visiting the sin bin and giving the Habs 5-on-3 power plays, we'll have to go with the Bruins. Price performed in Montreal, will he be able to in Boston for game 7?
Bruins 3-1
One of these games are going into overtime...
#5 Tampa Bay Lightning vs #4 Pittsburgh Penguins
Dwayne Roloson has never lost in an elimination game and the Pens have a horrible record at home in game 7's for the run of the franchise.
Lightning 4-2
#6 Montreal Canadiens vs #3 Boston Bruins
Lucic is back and as long as the Bruins don't keep visiting the sin bin and giving the Habs 5-on-3 power plays, we'll have to go with the Bruins. Price performed in Montreal, will he be able to in Boston for game 7?
Bruins 3-1
One of these games are going into overtime...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Looking ahead to Tuesday's games
Sorry folks, I've been extremely busy and will be for the better part of the next week. Here's my picks, I will have last night's game recaps later this evening!
#3 Boston Bruins vs #6 Montreal Canadiens
Boston has every opportunity to shut the door now and end this series.
Boston 4-2
#7 Buffalo Sabres vs #2 Philadelphia Flyers
It's MILLER TIME!
Buffalo 3-0
#8 Chicago Blackhawks vs #1 Vancouver Canucks
History won't happen in back-to-back years and the Canucks have finally gotten their act together.
Vancouver 6-5 OT
#3 Boston Bruins vs #6 Montreal Canadiens
Boston has every opportunity to shut the door now and end this series.
Boston 4-2
#7 Buffalo Sabres vs #2 Philadelphia Flyers
It's MILLER TIME!
Buffalo 3-0
#8 Chicago Blackhawks vs #1 Vancouver Canucks
History won't happen in back-to-back years and the Canucks have finally gotten their act together.
Vancouver 6-5 OT
Analyzing the Red Wings - Coyotes series
So, the first series that ended was on 4/20. (Insert joke here) Anyways, the Red Wings swept the Yotes 4-0 and just from analyzing the series, there were a lot of things coming in that was in the favor of the Red Wings, but most importantly, the one thing that would've kept the Coyotes in the series didn't show up. You'll see what I mean.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Looking ahead to Monday's games
So we're got a pair of game 7's. In both instances, the team that is up is going on the road in an attempt to claim passage to the next round. I think one of them will tonight, as for the other, we shall see...
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Tampa Bay Lightning
Last time we saw these two play, Tampa was effectively ripping Pittsburgh a new one. It was an 8-2 blowout loss and Pittsburgh appeared to have no interest in the game. The Pens will have to figure out a way to stop the power play and prevent Tampa from crashing the net, otherwise, this is going back to Pittsburgh.
Tampa wins 5-2
#2 San Jose Sharks vs #7 Los Angeles Kings
Jonathan Quick stole one from San Jose, I don't think he'll have a repeat performance. The Sharks return with Niemi in net and hope to crash the net and get some pressure on Quick.
San Jose 4-3
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Tampa Bay Lightning
Last time we saw these two play, Tampa was effectively ripping Pittsburgh a new one. It was an 8-2 blowout loss and Pittsburgh appeared to have no interest in the game. The Pens will have to figure out a way to stop the power play and prevent Tampa from crashing the net, otherwise, this is going back to Pittsburgh.
Tampa wins 5-2
#2 San Jose Sharks vs #7 Los Angeles Kings
Jonathan Quick stole one from San Jose, I don't think he'll have a repeat performance. The Sharks return with Niemi in net and hope to crash the net and get some pressure on Quick.
San Jose 4-3
Looking back on Sunday's Games
I was 2 for 3 today, which is okay, considering how good my picks have been recently. I'm thinking that Buffalo's meltdown on defense is the answer as to why they couldn't win their game. Interesting note however, since the lockout, no team that was won their first round in 7 games has ever made it to the Stanley Cup. Last four teams to do that were Calgary in 2004, Vancouver in 1994, Pittsburgh in 1992, and Edmonton in 1990. Obviously if history serves you well, Pittsburgh and Edmonton won the cups their respective years, but in the new NHL, you're not going to the Stanley Cup if your first round series lasts 7 games, much less win it.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Looking ahead to Sunday's Games
All of these are game 6's and it's quite possible that we may be down to 11 teams in the Chase for Lord Stanley's Cup by the end of the night, but I doubt it. Today's going to be a great day in hockey
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs #7 Buffalo Sabres
The Flyers are now down Jeff Carter and on their third goalie in Michael Leighton. The Sabres have come out in all their wins and scored early to win. Without Jeff Carter, the Flyers' leading goal scorer, they will have to rely on Danny Briere and Claude Giroux. The Flyers could win this if they crash the crease and create havoc in front of the net for Miller, but we don't know how Leighton will perform, nor do we know how the Flyers will respond after losing Game 5 in overtime. This is probably Buffalo's best chance to take this series. Jason Pominville will be out today, but their offense goes through Vanek.
Buffalo wins 3-2
#4 Anaheim Ducks vs #5 Nashville Predators
Game 6, this is Nashville's chance to finally win a series, and I believe that it will happen today. There's no suspensions and the Predators played well without Erat. Jarkko Ruutu will be back so we don't know how the Predators will respond to him. One this is certain though, Pekka Rinne will have two chances to shut down the Ducks high flying offense of Perry, Getzlaf, Selanne, Koivu, and Ryan. Either he does it tonight, or in Game 7. The Ducks have to figure out how to stop Mike Fisher, because he is the key cog for the Predators offense.
Nashville wins 5-3
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs #8 Chicago Blackhawks
This is going to be a crazy game, and by far the best of the night. Luongo has been getting lit up the past two games and you can be certain that him and his team are not very happy about it. The Blackhawks' offense has erupted these past two games as well as their defensive prowess. The Canucks need to figure something out. I have a feeling that tonight they will try different strategies throughout the night and whatever works is what they'll use in Game 7.
Chicago wins 4-1
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs #7 Buffalo Sabres
The Flyers are now down Jeff Carter and on their third goalie in Michael Leighton. The Sabres have come out in all their wins and scored early to win. Without Jeff Carter, the Flyers' leading goal scorer, they will have to rely on Danny Briere and Claude Giroux. The Flyers could win this if they crash the crease and create havoc in front of the net for Miller, but we don't know how Leighton will perform, nor do we know how the Flyers will respond after losing Game 5 in overtime. This is probably Buffalo's best chance to take this series. Jason Pominville will be out today, but their offense goes through Vanek.
Buffalo wins 3-2
#4 Anaheim Ducks vs #5 Nashville Predators
Game 6, this is Nashville's chance to finally win a series, and I believe that it will happen today. There's no suspensions and the Predators played well without Erat. Jarkko Ruutu will be back so we don't know how the Predators will respond to him. One this is certain though, Pekka Rinne will have two chances to shut down the Ducks high flying offense of Perry, Getzlaf, Selanne, Koivu, and Ryan. Either he does it tonight, or in Game 7. The Ducks have to figure out how to stop Mike Fisher, because he is the key cog for the Predators offense.
Nashville wins 5-3
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs #8 Chicago Blackhawks
This is going to be a crazy game, and by far the best of the night. Luongo has been getting lit up the past two games and you can be certain that him and his team are not very happy about it. The Blackhawks' offense has erupted these past two games as well as their defensive prowess. The Canucks need to figure something out. I have a feeling that tonight they will try different strategies throughout the night and whatever works is what they'll use in Game 7.
Chicago wins 4-1
Looking back at Saturday's playoff games...
As I begin writing this, I've seen four NHL games today, still in the middle of the Sharks and Kings game... maybe the Sharks will come back. I'm sure Dan will post something about the Sharks at some point, but now there's 14 NHL teams left in the chase for Lord Stanley's Cup. I'm not gonna lie, but I took a nap after the Caps victory because watching that exhausted me. I'm sure most hockey fans would agree that it is quite exhausting to ride the wave of emotions in a hockey game, especially when you win the series.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Looking ahead to Saturday's games
EDIT: I just realized that the first game started at noon instead of 3:00PM.. silly me..
So there's four games today and three of them could end the series if the home team wins. The one exception is the Bruins-Habs rivalry which would be surprising if it ended before game 6.
So there's four games today and three of them could end the series if the home team wins. The one exception is the Bruins-Habs rivalry which would be surprising if it ended before game 6.
Looking back at Friday Night's Games...
Wow... two games last night and both went into overtime. Both road teams won and both times by the score of 4-3. In both games, the team that scored first won and the game-winning goal was scored by a forward. Anyways, moving away from the similarities and onto the individual games...
Friday, April 22, 2011
Looking ahead to tonight's games...
You know... so far this week, I've been pretty good with the picks. It might be luck, it might be that I am not so much a homer anymore, I don't know, but I feel as though I'm better off judging the Western Conference than the Easter Conference because I am impartial to the West. I love a lot of teams out there, but I'm not fixed to any one team that being said... let's look at my track record...
Looking back at Thursday's Playoff Games...
Well, last night I went 3-for-3. I picked the Bruins, Blackhawks, and Sharks, and they all delivered. I kinda of did expect the Bruins game to be close, but they score on an empty netter again to end it. I did not expect the Blackhawks to blow out the Canucks, but I guess with Dave Bolland, that's why it's happening. Also, I fully expected the Sharks to beat up on the Kings after coming back down 4-0 in game 3. On to the analysis....
RADIO!
I will be on the show THE REAL DEAL on GW District Radio. You can listen to it live at www.gwradio.com/listenlive
I will also be putting up a CoverItLive webchat during the show for listeners who want their questions answered. Today is going to be my last show on radio for the immediate future. I will be focusing more towards the site this summer and adding more writers whom I hope all of you will enjoy. I hope to see all of you soon!
I will also be putting up a CoverItLive webchat during the show for listeners who want their questions answered. Today is going to be my last show on radio for the immediate future. I will be focusing more towards the site this summer and adding more writers whom I hope all of you will enjoy. I hope to see all of you soon!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Looking ahead to tonight's games....
So, we've seen the race cut down from 16 to 15 teams. It could go down to 14 tonight. The first round has been quite interesting thus far. We have two game 4's and a game 5 tonight, but it's that game 5 where we could lose the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Looking back at Wednesday's Playoff Games...
So last night had some crazy games, double overtimes, a team got swept, there were some high-scoring games and oh yeah, Ryan Miller came to play! While I didn't catch the games, I can tell you why each team won. It's just a numbers game.
NHL signs with NBC and Versus!
So this is old news, but the NHL signed a 10 year contract with NBC/Versus for 200 million dollars a year. There will be over 100 games broadcasted between both stations. I'm hoping that they're not jacking the local feeds and will actually be using their own crew. It's a bit distasteful for fans of one team having to watch the other team's feed when they could be watching their own. I believe that it is ideal to have the NHL on a channel that will prominently feature them. There's a guaranteed six hours of NHL coverage on Versus per day on game days and 2 hours on non-game days. With shows like Hockey Central and NHL Overtime, there's no way you can ignore a network that will be putting your sport on first. ESPN has so many sports that many of it's games are being shoved online. You look at all the soccer matches that are shown on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. They put baseball on ESPN2, unless it's Sunday Night. There's absolutely no room for hockey on ESPN. Even better is the fact that NBC will have the NHL, the only sport NBC has is football, and that's only on Sunday night. If you look at all the major sports though, the NHL still only has two channels on which it is broadcast.
NFL: NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN
NBA: ABC, TNT, ESPN
MLB: FOX, TBS, ESPN
NHL: NBC, VERSUS
The good thing is that Versus is becoming more and more available across major television carriers. I think this is a great decision for the NHL and I don't have to worry about NHL coverage being pre-empted for other sports. Plus ESPN has crappy analysts when it comes to hockey, you get better coverage here.
NFL: NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN
NBA: ABC, TNT, ESPN
MLB: FOX, TBS, ESPN
NHL: NBC, VERSUS
The good thing is that Versus is becoming more and more available across major television carriers. I think this is a great decision for the NHL and I don't have to worry about NHL coverage being pre-empted for other sports. Plus ESPN has crappy analysts when it comes to hockey, you get better coverage here.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Crushing Coals
Tired of another article raving about how great Albert Pujols is? Tired of hearing about the ridiculous starts of Joey Votto, Matt Kemp, and Troy Tulowitzki? Oh thank you Matthew Berry and Sherlock Holmes for telling us these players are hot, because it was such a difficult decision to start Joey Votto over Gaby Sanchez.
Not.
Anyway if you are tired of these advice as much as I am, fear no further. I won’t bother you with an article telling you that Starlin Castro is the 3rd best shortstop in baseball (but he still is), because chances are, unless you play in a 2 man league, that he isn’t available (if he is you should really join a better league). You won’t find any big-name players on my articles, but I will help you find a diamond amongst coals (recall when superman crushed coal to make diamond).
Not.
Anyway if you are tired of these advice as much as I am, fear no further. I won’t bother you with an article telling you that Starlin Castro is the 3rd best shortstop in baseball (but he still is), because chances are, unless you play in a 2 man league, that he isn’t available (if he is you should really join a better league). You won’t find any big-name players on my articles, but I will help you find a diamond amongst coals (recall when superman crushed coal to make diamond).
Looking ahead to Wednesday's games....
So there's nobody that's going to be five games tonight! Damn! That's awesome! Anyways, the home team is down in every series in the East. In the west, we have one team on the brink and another that has the lower seed with home ice advantage. Anyways, I wanna come back from work and see some fireworks because I won't be able to see the games while I am (ironically) officiating hockey. Anyways...
Looking back at Tuesday's Playoff Games...
Well, I predicted the two winners, although the scores were a bit off (I honestly did not expect such high scoring games) 20 goals were scored last night and that's more than all the Game 1's last Wednesday, and last Wednesday had 5 games! I saw the first game to a degree and I caught most of the Sharks-Kings game starting in the 2nd period.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Bay Area Primetime!
Welcome to the first of many posts regarding bay area sports team. If you are like me, you will have found it ridiculous that ESPN does not have an ESPN Bay Area channel. If Dallas can have ESPN Dallas, then the bay should have ESPN Bay Area. With so many sports teams (Raiders, 49ers, A's, Giants, Warriors, Sharks, Earthquake, Stanford and Cal), that is just another example of east coast bias. So, this section of GTFOS will be dedicated to anything and everything related to the bay area sports teams.
As a background of myself, my name is Daniel McClain, and I was born and raised in the SF bay area. I have been an avid fan of all bay area sports, and was so happy to see the SF Giants win it all last year. I am in graduate school at the George Washington University, and will be receiving my Master in Tourism Administration this spring. I will end up back in the bay area some time, following my favorite sports teams there.
As a background of myself, my name is Daniel McClain, and I was born and raised in the SF bay area. I have been an avid fan of all bay area sports, and was so happy to see the SF Giants win it all last year. I am in graduate school at the George Washington University, and will be receiving my Master in Tourism Administration this spring. I will end up back in the bay area some time, following my favorite sports teams there.
Looking ahead to Tuesday's games....
Two games on Tuesday night, both on Versus and right after each other. I will catch some of the first one and mostly all of the second one. My buddy Dan will be blogging about the Sharks game on the bayarea site, so head over there at some point after the 1st period.
Look back at Monday's playoff games...
I didn't see anything until after 9:20pm Eastern Time. I was at work, went to get dinner, ended up watching the Bruins-Canadiens game on my computer while the Flyers-Sabres game was on Versus, then the Pens-Lightning game was joined in progress, and finally the Red Wings-Coyotes game. Here's my thoughts and analysis. Interesting to note however, that the road team won all the games today...
Monday, April 18, 2011
Nats Weekend Roundup (Winning! Duh...)
Head on over to our Washington/Baltimore page to see my insight on the National's sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers from this weekend.
Looking ahead to Monday's Match-ups
So, here's my thoughts on today's match-ups. I don't know all the injuries yet, but I will update as soon as I find out. Also, I'll throw in my prediction of the game with the score and all.
My name is...
Chris! Nice to meet you. I just joined the team here at GTFOS! and look forward to feeding your brains with delicious nuggets of sports. You'll mostly see me under the Washington/Baltimore page writing about the Nationals, Redskins, and Capitals and their respective leagues but don't get scared if I happen to write about other things as well.
I decided to join GTFOS! because I really feel that it can be a leading contributor to sports fans' daily lives in the near future, especially here in the DC area. I hope you enjoy our posts, and please feel free to contribute with your comments and participate in our live chats. And please share us with everybody you know!
Your new friend,
Chris
I decided to join GTFOS! because I really feel that it can be a leading contributor to sports fans' daily lives in the near future, especially here in the DC area. I hope you enjoy our posts, and please feel free to contribute with your comments and participate in our live chats. And please share us with everybody you know!
Your new friend,
Chris
Looking back at Sunday's playoffs games...
So I saw the first game in almost it's entirety (was cooking lunch and couldn't leave the stove unattended). I saw some of the Preds/Ducks matchup while at work, and I completely missed the Canucks/Blackhawks game because of work... I will say though, looking up on the computer monitor and seeing Mike Fisher and Ryan Getzlaf go at it reminded me of the Getzlaf-Thornton fight of a few years back. Not quite as intense, but the message was the same, top Center on each team going at it to send a message that they're not afraid to get at it.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Looking back at Saturday's playoff games
I caught most of yesterday's games. Phoenix-Detroit on NBC, Buffalo-Philly on the internet, and the rest on Versus. While I did not see the entirety of the game due to other work I was doing, I did see bits and pieces when I looked up and caught what was going on.... and here's my analysis.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Look back at the third night of playoff games....
Last night was pretty interesting, I got to see most of the games, missed the Ducks-Predators game which was easily, by far, the most intriguing game of the night. But below I've got the analysis on all the games from last night.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Looking back on the second night of playoff games....
#7 Buffalo Sabres vs #2 Philadelphia Flyers (1-0)
Ryan Miller stole thing game. No doubt about it. The Flyers were given six power plays, and pumped 35 shots on net, but still Miller and the Sabres prevailed. Look at what I predicted, Miller can steal this series and it's starting to look like he will do so. Look for the Flyers to come back in Game 2 with a new strategy to beat Miller.
#6 Montreal Canadiens vs #3 Boston Bruins (2-0)
Carey Price beat the Bruins. He brought his A game and Timmy Thomas's defense couldn't help him. Turnovers are a big part of why the Bruins lost. They couldn't keep a handle on the puck and made mistakes that cost them. Look for their defense to improve for the second game and shut down Brian Gionta from here on out.
#7 Los Angeles Kings vs #2 San Jose Sharks
Well, I didn't expect this game to go into overtime, but it did. Justin Williams is back and healthy and going to make this series difficult for the Sharks to advance. I still expect them to advance, and if last night is any indication, these are not the same Sharks that consistently flop in the playoffs, they're here to stay and win. Joe Pavelski scored his 3rd playoff game winner late into the first overtime to end what has been a crazy set of game 1's so far.
Ryan Miller stole thing game. No doubt about it. The Flyers were given six power plays, and pumped 35 shots on net, but still Miller and the Sabres prevailed. Look at what I predicted, Miller can steal this series and it's starting to look like he will do so. Look for the Flyers to come back in Game 2 with a new strategy to beat Miller.
#6 Montreal Canadiens vs #3 Boston Bruins (2-0)
Carey Price beat the Bruins. He brought his A game and Timmy Thomas's defense couldn't help him. Turnovers are a big part of why the Bruins lost. They couldn't keep a handle on the puck and made mistakes that cost them. Look for their defense to improve for the second game and shut down Brian Gionta from here on out.
#7 Los Angeles Kings vs #2 San Jose Sharks
Well, I didn't expect this game to go into overtime, but it did. Justin Williams is back and healthy and going to make this series difficult for the Sharks to advance. I still expect them to advance, and if last night is any indication, these are not the same Sharks that consistently flop in the playoffs, they're here to stay and win. Joe Pavelski scored his 3rd playoff game winner late into the first overtime to end what has been a crazy set of game 1's so far.
The first night of the NHL playoffs
#8 New York Rangers vs #1 Washington Capitals Game 1: Capitals win 2-1 in OT
I will say this, compared to what happened earlier this season between these two teams, the Capitals came to play. They shut down the Rangers and held them to 25 shots over 78 minutes and change which is really good considering most teams get 25 shots in an entire game. In addition the Rangers blocked 28 shots and the Capitals blocked 32 shots. The Caps also missed 19 shots on net. That's a lot of shots for the Caps during the course of the game. Surprisingly, Lundqvist only let in two goals during the course of the game and Neuvirth showed why Boudreau went with him over Varly by only allowing one goal on a defensive breakdown.
I will say this, compared to what happened earlier this season between these two teams, the Capitals came to play. They shut down the Rangers and held them to 25 shots over 78 minutes and change which is really good considering most teams get 25 shots in an entire game. In addition the Rangers blocked 28 shots and the Capitals blocked 32 shots. The Caps also missed 19 shots on net. That's a lot of shots for the Caps during the course of the game. Surprisingly, Lundqvist only let in two goals during the course of the game and Neuvirth showed why Boudreau went with him over Varly by only allowing one goal on a defensive breakdown.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
So... this is what I picked at the beginning of the season
This is what I predicted at the beginning of the season on hockeybuzz.com
Here's the link
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=80844&page=18
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Buffalo Sabres
4. Boston Bruins
5. New Jersey Devils
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Ottawa Senators
8. New York Rangers
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Atlanta Thrashers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. New York Islanders
13. Tampa Bay Lightning
14. Florida Panthers
15. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Nashville Predators
8. Chicago Blackhawks
9. Calgary Flames
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. Minnesota Wild
12. Anaheim Ducks
13. Columbus Blue Jackets
14. Dallas Stars
15. Edmonton Oilers
Conference Quarter-Finals
East:
Caps over Rangers in 7
Pens over Sens in 5
Flyers over Sabres in 6
Bruins over Devils in 7
West:
Sharks over Blackhawks in 6
Canucks over Predators in 6
Blues over Red Wings in 6
Kings over Coyotes in 7
Conference Semi-Finals
East:
Caps over Flyers in 7
Pens over Bruins in 6
West:
Blues over Sharks in 6
Canucks over Kings in 6
Conference Finals
Caps over Pens in 7
Canucks over Blues in 6
Stanley Cup Finals
Caps over Canucks in 7
Hart: Ovechkin
Rocket: Ovechkin
Norris: Doughty
Vezina: Halak
Selke: Kesler
Calder: Marcus Johansson
Yo Eklund, send me like 20 kilos of whatever you're smoking
Eklund is the guy who runs hockeybuzz, obviously, I don't think he's the smartest guy in the room, but his picks were ridiculous. It's actually kinda scary how close I came. Three of the teams I picked didn't make it (Blues, Senators, and Devils). The three teams that made it instead are the Ducks, Canadiens, and Lightning. Kinda weird how I picked the four eastern conference home teams and actually nailed what two of the series would end up being. It was going to be Kings vs Coyotes going into the last weekend. I think I did a pretty good job at the start of the season!
Here's the link
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=80844&page=18
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Buffalo Sabres
4. Boston Bruins
5. New Jersey Devils
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Ottawa Senators
8. New York Rangers
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Atlanta Thrashers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. New York Islanders
13. Tampa Bay Lightning
14. Florida Panthers
15. Toronto Maple Leafs
Western Conference
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Nashville Predators
8. Chicago Blackhawks
9. Calgary Flames
10. Colorado Avalanche
11. Minnesota Wild
12. Anaheim Ducks
13. Columbus Blue Jackets
14. Dallas Stars
15. Edmonton Oilers
Conference Quarter-Finals
East:
Caps over Rangers in 7
Pens over Sens in 5
Flyers over Sabres in 6
Bruins over Devils in 7
West:
Sharks over Blackhawks in 6
Canucks over Predators in 6
Blues over Red Wings in 6
Kings over Coyotes in 7
Conference Semi-Finals
East:
Caps over Flyers in 7
Pens over Bruins in 6
West:
Blues over Sharks in 6
Canucks over Kings in 6
Conference Finals
Caps over Pens in 7
Canucks over Blues in 6
Stanley Cup Finals
Caps over Canucks in 7
Hart: Ovechkin
Rocket: Ovechkin
Norris: Doughty
Vezina: Halak
Selke: Kesler
Calder: Marcus Johansson
Yo Eklund, send me like 20 kilos of whatever you're smoking
Eklund is the guy who runs hockeybuzz, obviously, I don't think he's the smartest guy in the room, but his picks were ridiculous. It's actually kinda scary how close I came. Three of the teams I picked didn't make it (Blues, Senators, and Devils). The three teams that made it instead are the Ducks, Canadiens, and Lightning. Kinda weird how I picked the four eastern conference home teams and actually nailed what two of the series would end up being. It was going to be Kings vs Coyotes going into the last weekend. I think I did a pretty good job at the start of the season!
Analyzing the Quarterfinal Match-ups
#1 Washington Capitals vs #8 New York Rangers
Prediction: Washington in 6
Every series Bruce Boudreau has coached has been a seven-game series, even when they weren't supposed to be. Why should this be any different? The Capitals went 7 games two years ago when they played New York and this is going to be a tough, low-scoring series, hopefully they end it in 6.
Regular season series:
November 9th, 2010: Capitals @ Rangers 5-3
December 12th, 2010: Capitals @ Rangers 0-7
January 24th, 2011: Rangers @ Capitals 2-1 SO
February 25th, 2011: Rangers @ Capitals 6-0
Rangers: 3-1-0
Capitals: 1-2-1
You can see the blowouts by the Rangers on the Caps this season, however, the first blowout loss was when the Capitals were on that terrible losing streak in December and the second blowout loss was the last time the Capitals would lose before going on a nine game winning streak and losing only three games in regulation after that loss. The Rangers lost the next three games after that before beating Ottawa and demolishing Philadelphia. The one thing that can be observed is that when Lundqvist is on his game, teams will take more risks to try to score giving the Rangers more opportunities to counter-attack, and that's how they get those big blowout wins.
Forwards: Advantage: Capitals
The Capitals have some of the best forwards in the league in Semin, Backstrom, and of course, the great Alexander Ovechkin. The Rangers have only one forward who eclipsed 50 points, and that was Brandon Dubinsky with 54. Semin also got 54 points, but in far fewer games. The Rangers had five players score over 20 goals, indicating that they have spread out the scoring, while the Capitals only had three players score 20+, however, they have a lot of players back from last season while the Rangers missed the playoffs last season and have plenty of hungry new youngsters. Not to mention, the Capitals have two go-to goalscorers in Ovechkin and Semin.
Defensemen: Advantage: Rangers
The Rangers have some of the best defensemen in the league who are willing to lay their body out to block shots. As a team they blocked over 1300 shots. The Caps weren't far behind with 1257, but the Rangers defensemen are notorious for putting their bodies on the line. While the Capitals have more scorers on defense, the Rangers have better defensemen who play defense which should lead to an interesting match-up. Mike Green may be back, but he'll need to play defense as hard as he was before he was concussed.
Goaltending: Advantage: Rangers
Henrik Lundqvist would've won the Vezina had it not been for some dude named Tim Thomas. Lundqvist had been on a tear during the regular season with a 2.28 GAA and 11 shutouts. The Capitals will send out Michal Neuvirth who has a 2.45 GAA and 4 shutouts. Lundqvist has a 14-16 record with 3 shutouts and a 2.66 GAA, not to mention, the last time he was in the playoffs, the Rangers lost to these same Capitals.
Power Play: Advantage: Capitals
Although they Capitals and Rangers Power-Play are very close 17.5% for the Caps and 16.9% for the Rangers, the Capitals have had fewer power-play opportunities as well as having Mike Green back to anchor one of the units. While Dennis Wideman won't be anchoring one of the power-plays, John Carlson can fill in perfectly at the other point with Ovie at point on both power plays. The Rangers are going to be missing the services of Ryan Callahan who led the team with 10 power play goals. Marian Gaborik has only had 1 power play goal in the playoffs in 11 games since the lockout. I don't expect much out of him, even though he was second with 7 goals.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Capitals
They were #2 in the PK this season with an 85.6 %. The Rangers were 10th with 83.7%. The big difference is that the Capitals have been short-handed 40 more times this season, which roughly equates to an additional minor every other game. Plus, the Capitals have about 16 of their players rotating on the power play while the Rangers have only 12 (and that includes Callahan being injured, who was 3rd on the team in ice time per game on the PK)
X-Factor: Michal Neuvirth. He has never lost a series since coming to America, although those series have been in the AHL and OHL, he's been unstoppable in the post-season. He averaged a GAA under 2 in the AHL playoffs and a save percentage above .925%, let's see if he can bring it to the playoffs, otherwise, it'll be Varly replacing him after game 1.
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs #7 Buffalo Sabres
Prediction: Sabres in 6.
I think that Ryan Miller is going to steal this from the Flyers, especially if the Sabres can split the first two games. While the Flyers will be pounding the puck at net, Buffalo showed that they can hang with Philly in their last two meetings. There is no beating Ryan Miller, especially after last year's early 1st round exit.
Regular Season Series:
October 26th, 2010: Sabres at Flyers (3-6)
January 11th, 2011: Flyers at Sabres (5-2)
March 5th, 2011: Sabres at Flyers (5-3)
April 8th, 2011: Flyers at Sabres (3-4) OT
Flyers: 2-1-1
Sabres: 2-2-0
Forwards: Advantage: Flyers
The Flyers have two 30-goal scorers and 5 20-goal scorers. There top three lines can all score, not to mention, they all know how to play physical. The Sabres are missing Derek Roy who got injured earlier this season, but they added Brad Boyes during the trade deadline. Drew Stafford has got his first 30-goal season. Behind him, Pominville and Ennis also got 20 goals for the Sabres this year. Thomas Vanek will need to have a monster playoffs if the Sabres want to win this.
Defensemen: Advantage: Flyers
The Flyers have Chris Pronger, who helped them get to the cup last year and he's been to the Cup 3 times since the lockout ended and won once with with Ducks. He's the key to the Flyers defense. The Sabres will counter with Jordan Leopold and Tyler Myers, who are young guys that want a championship. The Flyers defensive corps did it last year and are looking to repeat a trip to the cup this year.
Goaltending: Advantage: Sabres
Buffalo won the division last year, but Miller got taxed during the Olympics, this year, he's been resting a bit more with Enroth playing more games down the stretch. Philadelphia's goaltending situation is a huge issue. Since February 1st, the Flyers are 14-11-7. Goaltending is a big reason they lost their grip on the Conference and ended up in second after a huge lead halfway through the season. Ryan Miller can steal a series on his own if given the opportunity. He nearly got the Sabres to the Stanley Cup in 2006 if it weren't for Cam Ward out-dueling him that year.
Power-Play: Advantage: Sabres
Buffalo had the #9 power-play with 19.4% and Philly was 16.6%. Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek have scored double-digit goals for the Sabres while Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux lead the Flyers with 8 goals a piece. Mike Richards and Claude Giroux both have 20+ points on the power play, but Thomas Vanek has 28 points on the PP and the Sabres as a team have a ton of players with double-digit points on the PP. Much like the Capitals have a ton of players who can play the PK, the Sabres have a ton of players who can play the the power-play and that's why they're so good.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Flyers
Buffalo had a PK or 83%, Philly had a PK of 82.8%, but Philly didn't have Chris Pronger towards the end of the season. After Chris Pronger was shelved, the Flyers PK dropped down to 78%. With a healthy Chris Pronger returning, this Flyers PK is much better. Not to mention, they do have 13 SHG.
X-Factor: Danny Briere
Simply put, Danny Briere brings it in the playoffs. When he averages about a point per game, he can take a team into the conference finals, when he does more and averages over 1.25 points per game, he can take a team to the Stanley Cup. What better team than the one he originally had success with to be able to shut him down? Lindy Ruff has had Danny Briere and knows how he plays, if Briere can average over a point per game, this team will advance, if not...
#3 Bruins vs #6 Canadiens
Prediction: Bruins in 7
Unless Chara gets arrested when get gets back to Canada, the Bruins are going to physically beat down the Canadiens. Everyone knows what to expect after the Canadiens last season had that miraculous run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Regular Season Series:
November 11th, 2010: Canadiens @ Bruins (3-1)
December 16th, 2010: Bruins @ Canadiens (3-4)
January 8th, 2011: Bruins @ Canadiens (2-3) OT
February 9th, 2011: Canadiens @ Bruins (6-8)
March 8th, 2011: Bruins @ Canadiens (1-4)
March 24th, 2011: Canadiens @ Bruins (0-7)
Canadiens: (4-2-0)
Bruins: (2-3-1)
Forwards: Advantage: Bruins
The Canadiens have not had much in terms of scoring. Much like the Rangers, they have only one player who has 50+ points in Tomas Plekanec, while teh Bruins had several players reach mark. Milan Lucic led all Bruins with 30 goals while Brian Gionta led the Habs with 29. Both teams have gotten contributions up and down the lineup, but the Bruins have better depth when it comes to scoring.
Defensemen: Advantage: Canadiens
The Bruins have Zdeno Chara, the Habs have P.K. Subban, the rest of the Bruins D is not as strong as the rest of the Canadiens D. Chara is the best defenseman in this series, but the Canadiens defensemen are much the same from last year and their corps managed to shut down the Caps and Pens and help take this team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Goaltending: Advantage: Bruins
This isn't even a debate, Carey Price had a career year, but Tim Thomas broke the save percentage record, not to mention, he's going to win the Vezina. I think that about sums it up in a nutshell.
Power Play: Advantage: Canadiens
Montreal had a 19.7% power play, the Bruins had a 16.2%. Because the Canadiens have fast forwards, they draw a lot of power plays (25 more than Boston this season). They also had 7 more PPGs than Boston, but the biggest difference is that Boston is an abysmal 15.4% on the power play at home, good for 25th in the league. That is something the Canadiens will have a huge advantage over.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Canadiens
You'd think with Chara, the Bruins would have it? But the numbers tell a different story. Montreal 84.4% and Boston had 82.6%, however, Montreal is better killing off penalties on the road as they have the #1 road unit PK. With Boston have a the home advantage, this strongly goes in the favor of the Habs.
X-Factor: Milan Lucic
This dude does it all, fight, score, set up teammates, btw, he also had 9 points in six games against Montreal with season with 18 PIMs (10 of those have gotta be from fighting). He is going to set the tone for the Bruins against the Habs. If he performs well, this team will follow, if he doesn't, well... and by setting the tone, I mean one of three things: scoring, setting up goals, and fighting. He'll pull one of those off early in game 1 to set it up for the Bruins.
#4 Penguins vs #5 Lightning
Prediction: Lightning in 6
The Penguins have been up and down since Sid and Geno hit the shelves. Crosby on January 5th, Malkin on February 4th. Since then they're 15-10-4, now you may think that's not bad, but 6 of those wins are via shootout. There's not going to be a shootout at any point in the stanley cup playoffs. Not only that, they have shown an inability to beat playoff teams in regulation which they have done once since February 6th, the first game Sid and Geno hit the shelf together. With that in mind, you have to really wonder if the Penguins can play the full 60 minutes and win against the Lightning without their two superstars.
Regular Season Series:
October 27th, 2010: Penguins @ Lightning (3-5)
November 12th, 2010: Lightning @ Penguins (1-5)
January 5th, 2010: Lightning @ Penguins (1-8)
March 31st, 2010: Penguins @ Lightning (1-2)
Penguins (2-2)
Lightning (2-2)
Forwards: Advantage: Lightning
Stamkos and St. Louis both put up 90+ points this season, Lecavalier and Purcell each got 50 points, despite Lecavalier missing time this season. The one thing going in the favor of the Lightning is that their top 9 forwards are healthy. Not only that, only Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal scored more than 20 points after teh all-star break with Kennedy scoring 14 goals. The Lightning had five guys break the 20 point barrier and Vinny Lecavalier went on a tear with 17 goals in his final 30 games while Marty St. Louis put up 28 assists and 39 points.
Defensemen: Advantage: Penguins
While the Lightning have some good defensemen, the Penguins have a lot of two-way defensemen in Paul Martin, Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, and now Ben Lovejoy to a degree. The Lightning defensemen are underrated, but there's no big names up there. The Lightning defenemsen have not fared well down the stretch compared to the Pens
defensemen, and that is where this series may be won.
Goaltending: Advantage: None
Some of you Pens lovers may be blasting me on this decision, but Marc-Andre Fleury who's expected to start has been outperformed by Brent Johnson late into the season, the Bolts will lean heavily on Dwayne Roloson who hasn't been in the playoffs since he took the Oilers to the Cup in 06. I believe he wants to prove that he's still got it and that's why this is a toss-up
Power Play: Advantage: Lightning
This isn't even close. Tampa Bay at 20.5% and Pittsburgh at 15.8%. Outside of Tyler Kennedy, nobody's produced on the PP for the Pens since the all-star break. For the Bolts Lecavalier has scored 9 goals since the all-star break on the PP and Gagne and Moore each have four goals, Marty is still setting up on the PP with 14 assists since the all-star break.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Pens
Even without Sid and Geno, the Pens have the #1 PK unit in the league. Tampa Bay has the #8 unit, but the big difference is that Pittsburgh has 13 shorties on the season. Matt Cooke isn't going to be here for the series, but he's got 3 SHG, and Dupuis has 4. Craig Adams and Talbot have a few, so it's going to be a matter of containing one of the league's best PP for the Pens.
X-Factor: Steven Stamkos
He's been cold since the All-Star break with 7 goals and 17 assists over 30 games while he had 35 goals going into the break. He needs to turn it back up if the Bolts are to advance, he's the top line center and he needs to produce for them to win.
Western Conference
#1 Canucks vs #8 Blackhawks
Prediction: Canucks in 7 (maybe 6)
Is this the year the Canucks finally beat the Blackhawks? With the Sedin twins, Kesler, Burrows, an almost healthy defensive corps and a depleted Blackhawks team from last year that barely squeaked into the playoffs this season. I think the Canucks can win it with superior goaltending.
Regular Season Series:
October 20th, 2010: Canucks @ Blackhawks (1-2) SO
November 20th, 2010: Blackhawks @ Canucks (7-1)
December 3rd, 2010: Canucks @ Blackhawks (3-0)
February 4th, 2010: Blackhawks @ Canucks (3-4)
Canucks (2-1-1)
Blackhawks (2-2)
Forwards: Advantage: Canucks
The Blackhawks have four great forwards in Toews, Kane, Sharp, and Hossa. The Canucks counter with the Sedin twins, Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows. The Sedins nearly ran away with the scoring title this season if it weren't for Marty St. Louis and Corey Perry didn't go nuts at the end of the season. Kesler and the Sedins anchor two separate lines and as a result, there's a plethora of scoring for the Canucks forwards who will have 7 forwards with double digit goals against the Blackhawks nine double-digit goal scorers. But you can't shut down both the Sedin line and Kesler line. The Canucks are one of the best two-way teams and their forwards all know how to play defense, including Kesler who should win the Selke this year.
Defensemen: Advantage: Canucks
Edler is back for the Canucks, and that's going to be trouble for the Blackhawks. The top six for the Canucks should be Ehrhoff, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Salo, and Ballard, and that's gotta be the best defensive corps in the entire playoffs. The Blackhawks still have Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, along with a healthy Brian Campbell, but they lost Dustin Byfuglien who was a big piece of their team last year. The rest of the Blackhawks D can play defense, but they do not compare to the Canucks D.
Goaltending: Advantage: Canucks
Roberto Luongo has a gold medal, now he wants a Stanley Cup. Corey Crawford played an awful lotta games down the stretch for the Blackhawks to make it to the playoffs, starting in 29 of a possible 32 games while Luongo got some rest by only having to play in 22 of the 32 games. I think the edge goes to Luongo.
Power Play: Advantage: Canucks
They had the #1 unit, Chicago was #4. 24.3% to 23.1%, but the difference is... the Sedins... with 40 pts for Daniel and 35 for Henrik on the power play. Kesler also put up 30 points and the Blackhawks have no one that put up that many points on the PP for them. Their highest scorer was sharp with 26 points, but they did get a lot of contributions from many players on the team.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Canucks
Vancouver was #3 with a 85.6% kill while Chicago had an awful 79.2% PK, good for 25th in the league. I seriously doubt Chicago will be able to shut down the Canucks potent power-play.
X-Factor(s): Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane got this team a Stanley Cup last year and in the series against the Canucks, they both came out to play, so this year they need to bring it again, otherwise Vancouver is going to run over them.
#2 Sharks vs #7 Kings
Prediction: Sharks in 5
The Sharks, on paper, dominate the Kings without Anze Kopitar and maybe Justin Williams who, if he plays, will have a very bad shoulder. This is by far the easiest series to pick.
Regular Season Series:
November 15th, 2010: Kings @ Sharks (3-6)
December 27th, 2010: Kings @ Sharks (4-0)
January 1st, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (1-0)
January 26th, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (2-3) SO
March 24th, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (3-4) SO
April 4th, 2011: Kings @ Sharks (1-6)
Sharks (3-1-2)
Kings (3-3-0)
Forwards: Advantage: Sharks
Here's the top three lines Marleau(73)-Thronton(70)-Setoguchi(41), Clowe(62)-Couture(56)-Heatley(64),Mitchell(23)-Pavelski(66)-Wellwood(13). Please tell me that is not insane! The Kings highest scorer that is guarantted to be healthy is Dustin Brown with 57 points and then Ryan Smyth(47) and Jarret Stoll(43), while they have a potent line to throw out, nothing can stand up to the Sharks lines, cept maybe the Canucks.
Defensemen: Advantage: Sharks
The Kings top two defensemen are Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty, both hit 40 points, cept Johnson had a -21, and Doughty had a +13. Most of Johnson's points came on the PP, so he's not had much sucess 5v5. Dan Boyle is the leading point scorer for the Sharks D, but their defensemen have +/- levels in teh positive. Their top four D will be good, Ian White was acquired at the trade dealine and has been solid and Wallin/Huskins should rotate the #6 spot.
Goaltending: Advantage: Niemi
Guess who won the Stanley Cup last year? Niemi did! That's all you need to know!
Power Play: Advantage: Sharks
#2 PP in the league with a 23.5% while the Kings have a 16.1% PP conversion. The Sharks have five players that scored 52 goals on the PP between them in Marleau, Heatley, Pavelski, Couture, and Thornton. The Power Play goes through Jack Johnson on the Kings, but without Kopitar the #2 guy on the PP is a big loss.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Kings
They have the #4 PK in the league at 85.5% and San Jose has the #24 PK in the league with a 79.6%. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau each have a pair of shorties, but the advantage still goes to the Kings.
X-Factor: There is no X-Factor, you can guar-an-damn-tee the Sharks advance, or insert Antti Niemi and copy what I said earlier about him.
#3 Red Wings vs #6 Coyotes
Prediction: Red Wings in 7
Come on, this is the Detroit Red Wings we're talking about, when was the last time they didn't advance past the first round? (2006) Not only that, they're playing the same team they played last year in the first round, and even though they went 7 games, I don't expect the Red Wings to lose.
Regular Season Series:
Red Wings @ Coyotes (2-1)OT
Coyotes @ Red Wings (4-2)
Coyotes @ Red Wings (2-3)OT
Red Wings @ Coyotes (4-5)SO
Coyotes (2-0-2)
Red Wings (2-1-1)
Forwards: Advantage: Red Wings
Even without big Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings have a ton of formidable forwards. Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Filppula, Eaves and Helm. They have depth and they know how to play as a unit. The Coyotes have goal scorers, and they have a lot of players with double-digit goals, but they don't have any players that can take over a game like the Red Wings do. I like Doan, Vrbata, and especially Stempniak, along with Korpikoski, Pyatt, Whitney, and Hanzal, but they don't have the experience and game-changers.
Defensemen: Advantage: Red Wings
The Coyotes have Keith Yandle, they don't have Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, and Ruslan Salei. Good luck Phoenix, you added Ranger reject Michal Rozsival. The only bright spot is Ed Jovanovski is back, but he has yet to regain the form that once made him famous.
Goaltending: Advantage: Coyotes
Jimmy Howard has been having a terrible season compared to what was expected of him. On the other hand, Ilya Bryzgalov has been having a great season. He played these same Red Wings last season, and I'm sure he wants to beat them this year.
Power Play: Advantage: Red Wings
The Red Wings have the #5 PP at 22.3%, the Yotes have the #23 PP at 15.9%. The Red Wings are gonna have Holmstrom and Franzen in front of the net. Good luck with that Phoenix, there's a reason why they're potent year after year.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Red Wings
Red Wings were #17 at 82.3% and the Yotes were #26 with 78.4%. I give it to the Red Wings because they have better two-way players than the Yotes
X-Factors: Ilya Bryzgalov & Henrik Zetterberg
If Bryz has a monster series, don't be surprised if the Yotes beat the Wings, but he'll make this series go 7 and give the Coyotes a chance to steal this series.
If Henrik comes back, he can make a huge difference for the Wings. He won't play game 1, but his presence is huge if the Red Wings are to come outta this series unscathed.
#4 Ducks vs #5 Predators - Predators in 7
I honestly think this is a series that the Predators can steal with Rinne in net. I like Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan, but Pekka Rinne was the #2 goalie in SV% this season. Would've been #1 if Thomas didn't go nuts.
Regular Season Series:
Ducks @ Predators (1-4)
Predators @ Ducks (4-5)
Predators @ Ducks (4-1)
Ducks @ Predators (4-5)
Predators (3-1-0)
Ducks (1-3-0)
Forwards: Advantage: Ducks
They have Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, and Bobby Ryan. Those guys put up monster points and had great seasons, not to mention Perry scoring 50 goals this season. Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn led the Preds with 50 points a piece, so it's safe to say that the Ducks hold the advantage here.
Defensemen: Advantage: Predators
Ducks have Lubomir Visnovsky, the Preds have Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, two of the best two-way defensemen in the league. They are capable of shutting down any top-line in the league and with Rinne in net, that makes their life so much easier. Toni Lydman had a nice +32 for the Ducks, but then u look at Cam Fowler with a -25 and u see that their defensive corps is all over the place
Goaltending: Advantage; Predators
Pekka Rinne or the revolving door of goalies in Anaheim? Going with Pekka Rinne. 33 wins and a 2.12 GAA with a .930 save percentage. Pekka's stats again the Ducks? 3-0, 2.21 GAA, and a .945 save percentage. I think I like Pekka Rinne in this situation.
Power Play: Advantage: Ducks
They had the #3 power play with 23.5% while the Preds were at 26th with a 15.2%. Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry had 30 power play goals between them. Nuff said.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Predators
Preds were #5 in the league with a 84.9% while the ducks were 19th with 81.3%. I think this is something the Preds will get to exploit at some point during the series because the PK for the Ducks is definitely worse than that with Hiller not in net.
X-Factor: Pekka Rinne (see above)
That's all I got for the quarter-finals, lets see if I'm right!
Prediction: Washington in 6
Every series Bruce Boudreau has coached has been a seven-game series, even when they weren't supposed to be. Why should this be any different? The Capitals went 7 games two years ago when they played New York and this is going to be a tough, low-scoring series, hopefully they end it in 6.
Regular season series:
November 9th, 2010: Capitals @ Rangers 5-3
December 12th, 2010: Capitals @ Rangers 0-7
January 24th, 2011: Rangers @ Capitals 2-1 SO
February 25th, 2011: Rangers @ Capitals 6-0
Rangers: 3-1-0
Capitals: 1-2-1
You can see the blowouts by the Rangers on the Caps this season, however, the first blowout loss was when the Capitals were on that terrible losing streak in December and the second blowout loss was the last time the Capitals would lose before going on a nine game winning streak and losing only three games in regulation after that loss. The Rangers lost the next three games after that before beating Ottawa and demolishing Philadelphia. The one thing that can be observed is that when Lundqvist is on his game, teams will take more risks to try to score giving the Rangers more opportunities to counter-attack, and that's how they get those big blowout wins.
Forwards: Advantage: Capitals
The Capitals have some of the best forwards in the league in Semin, Backstrom, and of course, the great Alexander Ovechkin. The Rangers have only one forward who eclipsed 50 points, and that was Brandon Dubinsky with 54. Semin also got 54 points, but in far fewer games. The Rangers had five players score over 20 goals, indicating that they have spread out the scoring, while the Capitals only had three players score 20+, however, they have a lot of players back from last season while the Rangers missed the playoffs last season and have plenty of hungry new youngsters. Not to mention, the Capitals have two go-to goalscorers in Ovechkin and Semin.
Defensemen: Advantage: Rangers
The Rangers have some of the best defensemen in the league who are willing to lay their body out to block shots. As a team they blocked over 1300 shots. The Caps weren't far behind with 1257, but the Rangers defensemen are notorious for putting their bodies on the line. While the Capitals have more scorers on defense, the Rangers have better defensemen who play defense which should lead to an interesting match-up. Mike Green may be back, but he'll need to play defense as hard as he was before he was concussed.
Goaltending: Advantage: Rangers
Henrik Lundqvist would've won the Vezina had it not been for some dude named Tim Thomas. Lundqvist had been on a tear during the regular season with a 2.28 GAA and 11 shutouts. The Capitals will send out Michal Neuvirth who has a 2.45 GAA and 4 shutouts. Lundqvist has a 14-16 record with 3 shutouts and a 2.66 GAA, not to mention, the last time he was in the playoffs, the Rangers lost to these same Capitals.
Power Play: Advantage: Capitals
Although they Capitals and Rangers Power-Play are very close 17.5% for the Caps and 16.9% for the Rangers, the Capitals have had fewer power-play opportunities as well as having Mike Green back to anchor one of the units. While Dennis Wideman won't be anchoring one of the power-plays, John Carlson can fill in perfectly at the other point with Ovie at point on both power plays. The Rangers are going to be missing the services of Ryan Callahan who led the team with 10 power play goals. Marian Gaborik has only had 1 power play goal in the playoffs in 11 games since the lockout. I don't expect much out of him, even though he was second with 7 goals.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Capitals
They were #2 in the PK this season with an 85.6 %. The Rangers were 10th with 83.7%. The big difference is that the Capitals have been short-handed 40 more times this season, which roughly equates to an additional minor every other game. Plus, the Capitals have about 16 of their players rotating on the power play while the Rangers have only 12 (and that includes Callahan being injured, who was 3rd on the team in ice time per game on the PK)
X-Factor: Michal Neuvirth. He has never lost a series since coming to America, although those series have been in the AHL and OHL, he's been unstoppable in the post-season. He averaged a GAA under 2 in the AHL playoffs and a save percentage above .925%, let's see if he can bring it to the playoffs, otherwise, it'll be Varly replacing him after game 1.
#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs #7 Buffalo Sabres
Prediction: Sabres in 6.
I think that Ryan Miller is going to steal this from the Flyers, especially if the Sabres can split the first two games. While the Flyers will be pounding the puck at net, Buffalo showed that they can hang with Philly in their last two meetings. There is no beating Ryan Miller, especially after last year's early 1st round exit.
Regular Season Series:
October 26th, 2010: Sabres at Flyers (3-6)
January 11th, 2011: Flyers at Sabres (5-2)
March 5th, 2011: Sabres at Flyers (5-3)
April 8th, 2011: Flyers at Sabres (3-4) OT
Flyers: 2-1-1
Sabres: 2-2-0
Forwards: Advantage: Flyers
The Flyers have two 30-goal scorers and 5 20-goal scorers. There top three lines can all score, not to mention, they all know how to play physical. The Sabres are missing Derek Roy who got injured earlier this season, but they added Brad Boyes during the trade deadline. Drew Stafford has got his first 30-goal season. Behind him, Pominville and Ennis also got 20 goals for the Sabres this year. Thomas Vanek will need to have a monster playoffs if the Sabres want to win this.
Defensemen: Advantage: Flyers
The Flyers have Chris Pronger, who helped them get to the cup last year and he's been to the Cup 3 times since the lockout ended and won once with with Ducks. He's the key to the Flyers defense. The Sabres will counter with Jordan Leopold and Tyler Myers, who are young guys that want a championship. The Flyers defensive corps did it last year and are looking to repeat a trip to the cup this year.
Goaltending: Advantage: Sabres
Buffalo won the division last year, but Miller got taxed during the Olympics, this year, he's been resting a bit more with Enroth playing more games down the stretch. Philadelphia's goaltending situation is a huge issue. Since February 1st, the Flyers are 14-11-7. Goaltending is a big reason they lost their grip on the Conference and ended up in second after a huge lead halfway through the season. Ryan Miller can steal a series on his own if given the opportunity. He nearly got the Sabres to the Stanley Cup in 2006 if it weren't for Cam Ward out-dueling him that year.
Power-Play: Advantage: Sabres
Buffalo had the #9 power-play with 19.4% and Philly was 16.6%. Drew Stafford and Thomas Vanek have scored double-digit goals for the Sabres while Jeff Carter and Claude Giroux lead the Flyers with 8 goals a piece. Mike Richards and Claude Giroux both have 20+ points on the power play, but Thomas Vanek has 28 points on the PP and the Sabres as a team have a ton of players with double-digit points on the PP. Much like the Capitals have a ton of players who can play the PK, the Sabres have a ton of players who can play the the power-play and that's why they're so good.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Flyers
Buffalo had a PK or 83%, Philly had a PK of 82.8%, but Philly didn't have Chris Pronger towards the end of the season. After Chris Pronger was shelved, the Flyers PK dropped down to 78%. With a healthy Chris Pronger returning, this Flyers PK is much better. Not to mention, they do have 13 SHG.
X-Factor: Danny Briere
Simply put, Danny Briere brings it in the playoffs. When he averages about a point per game, he can take a team into the conference finals, when he does more and averages over 1.25 points per game, he can take a team to the Stanley Cup. What better team than the one he originally had success with to be able to shut him down? Lindy Ruff has had Danny Briere and knows how he plays, if Briere can average over a point per game, this team will advance, if not...
#3 Bruins vs #6 Canadiens
Prediction: Bruins in 7
Unless Chara gets arrested when get gets back to Canada, the Bruins are going to physically beat down the Canadiens. Everyone knows what to expect after the Canadiens last season had that miraculous run to the Eastern Conference finals.
Regular Season Series:
November 11th, 2010: Canadiens @ Bruins (3-1)
December 16th, 2010: Bruins @ Canadiens (3-4)
January 8th, 2011: Bruins @ Canadiens (2-3) OT
February 9th, 2011: Canadiens @ Bruins (6-8)
March 8th, 2011: Bruins @ Canadiens (1-4)
March 24th, 2011: Canadiens @ Bruins (0-7)
Canadiens: (4-2-0)
Bruins: (2-3-1)
Forwards: Advantage: Bruins
The Canadiens have not had much in terms of scoring. Much like the Rangers, they have only one player who has 50+ points in Tomas Plekanec, while teh Bruins had several players reach mark. Milan Lucic led all Bruins with 30 goals while Brian Gionta led the Habs with 29. Both teams have gotten contributions up and down the lineup, but the Bruins have better depth when it comes to scoring.
Defensemen: Advantage: Canadiens
The Bruins have Zdeno Chara, the Habs have P.K. Subban, the rest of the Bruins D is not as strong as the rest of the Canadiens D. Chara is the best defenseman in this series, but the Canadiens defensemen are much the same from last year and their corps managed to shut down the Caps and Pens and help take this team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Goaltending: Advantage: Bruins
This isn't even a debate, Carey Price had a career year, but Tim Thomas broke the save percentage record, not to mention, he's going to win the Vezina. I think that about sums it up in a nutshell.
Power Play: Advantage: Canadiens
Montreal had a 19.7% power play, the Bruins had a 16.2%. Because the Canadiens have fast forwards, they draw a lot of power plays (25 more than Boston this season). They also had 7 more PPGs than Boston, but the biggest difference is that Boston is an abysmal 15.4% on the power play at home, good for 25th in the league. That is something the Canadiens will have a huge advantage over.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Canadiens
You'd think with Chara, the Bruins would have it? But the numbers tell a different story. Montreal 84.4% and Boston had 82.6%, however, Montreal is better killing off penalties on the road as they have the #1 road unit PK. With Boston have a the home advantage, this strongly goes in the favor of the Habs.
X-Factor: Milan Lucic
This dude does it all, fight, score, set up teammates, btw, he also had 9 points in six games against Montreal with season with 18 PIMs (10 of those have gotta be from fighting). He is going to set the tone for the Bruins against the Habs. If he performs well, this team will follow, if he doesn't, well... and by setting the tone, I mean one of three things: scoring, setting up goals, and fighting. He'll pull one of those off early in game 1 to set it up for the Bruins.
#4 Penguins vs #5 Lightning
Prediction: Lightning in 6
The Penguins have been up and down since Sid and Geno hit the shelves. Crosby on January 5th, Malkin on February 4th. Since then they're 15-10-4, now you may think that's not bad, but 6 of those wins are via shootout. There's not going to be a shootout at any point in the stanley cup playoffs. Not only that, they have shown an inability to beat playoff teams in regulation which they have done once since February 6th, the first game Sid and Geno hit the shelf together. With that in mind, you have to really wonder if the Penguins can play the full 60 minutes and win against the Lightning without their two superstars.
Regular Season Series:
October 27th, 2010: Penguins @ Lightning (3-5)
November 12th, 2010: Lightning @ Penguins (1-5)
January 5th, 2010: Lightning @ Penguins (1-8)
March 31st, 2010: Penguins @ Lightning (1-2)
Penguins (2-2)
Lightning (2-2)
Forwards: Advantage: Lightning
Stamkos and St. Louis both put up 90+ points this season, Lecavalier and Purcell each got 50 points, despite Lecavalier missing time this season. The one thing going in the favor of the Lightning is that their top 9 forwards are healthy. Not only that, only Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal scored more than 20 points after teh all-star break with Kennedy scoring 14 goals. The Lightning had five guys break the 20 point barrier and Vinny Lecavalier went on a tear with 17 goals in his final 30 games while Marty St. Louis put up 28 assists and 39 points.
Defensemen: Advantage: Penguins
While the Lightning have some good defensemen, the Penguins have a lot of two-way defensemen in Paul Martin, Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, and now Ben Lovejoy to a degree. The Lightning defensemen are underrated, but there's no big names up there. The Lightning defenemsen have not fared well down the stretch compared to the Pens
defensemen, and that is where this series may be won.
Goaltending: Advantage: None
Some of you Pens lovers may be blasting me on this decision, but Marc-Andre Fleury who's expected to start has been outperformed by Brent Johnson late into the season, the Bolts will lean heavily on Dwayne Roloson who hasn't been in the playoffs since he took the Oilers to the Cup in 06. I believe he wants to prove that he's still got it and that's why this is a toss-up
Power Play: Advantage: Lightning
This isn't even close. Tampa Bay at 20.5% and Pittsburgh at 15.8%. Outside of Tyler Kennedy, nobody's produced on the PP for the Pens since the all-star break. For the Bolts Lecavalier has scored 9 goals since the all-star break on the PP and Gagne and Moore each have four goals, Marty is still setting up on the PP with 14 assists since the all-star break.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Pens
Even without Sid and Geno, the Pens have the #1 PK unit in the league. Tampa Bay has the #8 unit, but the big difference is that Pittsburgh has 13 shorties on the season. Matt Cooke isn't going to be here for the series, but he's got 3 SHG, and Dupuis has 4. Craig Adams and Talbot have a few, so it's going to be a matter of containing one of the league's best PP for the Pens.
X-Factor: Steven Stamkos
He's been cold since the All-Star break with 7 goals and 17 assists over 30 games while he had 35 goals going into the break. He needs to turn it back up if the Bolts are to advance, he's the top line center and he needs to produce for them to win.
Western Conference
#1 Canucks vs #8 Blackhawks
Prediction: Canucks in 7 (maybe 6)
Is this the year the Canucks finally beat the Blackhawks? With the Sedin twins, Kesler, Burrows, an almost healthy defensive corps and a depleted Blackhawks team from last year that barely squeaked into the playoffs this season. I think the Canucks can win it with superior goaltending.
Regular Season Series:
October 20th, 2010: Canucks @ Blackhawks (1-2) SO
November 20th, 2010: Blackhawks @ Canucks (7-1)
December 3rd, 2010: Canucks @ Blackhawks (3-0)
February 4th, 2010: Blackhawks @ Canucks (3-4)
Canucks (2-1-1)
Blackhawks (2-2)
Forwards: Advantage: Canucks
The Blackhawks have four great forwards in Toews, Kane, Sharp, and Hossa. The Canucks counter with the Sedin twins, Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows. The Sedins nearly ran away with the scoring title this season if it weren't for Marty St. Louis and Corey Perry didn't go nuts at the end of the season. Kesler and the Sedins anchor two separate lines and as a result, there's a plethora of scoring for the Canucks forwards who will have 7 forwards with double digit goals against the Blackhawks nine double-digit goal scorers. But you can't shut down both the Sedin line and Kesler line. The Canucks are one of the best two-way teams and their forwards all know how to play defense, including Kesler who should win the Selke this year.
Defensemen: Advantage: Canucks
Edler is back for the Canucks, and that's going to be trouble for the Blackhawks. The top six for the Canucks should be Ehrhoff, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Salo, and Ballard, and that's gotta be the best defensive corps in the entire playoffs. The Blackhawks still have Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, along with a healthy Brian Campbell, but they lost Dustin Byfuglien who was a big piece of their team last year. The rest of the Blackhawks D can play defense, but they do not compare to the Canucks D.
Goaltending: Advantage: Canucks
Roberto Luongo has a gold medal, now he wants a Stanley Cup. Corey Crawford played an awful lotta games down the stretch for the Blackhawks to make it to the playoffs, starting in 29 of a possible 32 games while Luongo got some rest by only having to play in 22 of the 32 games. I think the edge goes to Luongo.
Power Play: Advantage: Canucks
They had the #1 unit, Chicago was #4. 24.3% to 23.1%, but the difference is... the Sedins... with 40 pts for Daniel and 35 for Henrik on the power play. Kesler also put up 30 points and the Blackhawks have no one that put up that many points on the PP for them. Their highest scorer was sharp with 26 points, but they did get a lot of contributions from many players on the team.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Canucks
Vancouver was #3 with a 85.6% kill while Chicago had an awful 79.2% PK, good for 25th in the league. I seriously doubt Chicago will be able to shut down the Canucks potent power-play.
X-Factor(s): Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane got this team a Stanley Cup last year and in the series against the Canucks, they both came out to play, so this year they need to bring it again, otherwise Vancouver is going to run over them.
#2 Sharks vs #7 Kings
Prediction: Sharks in 5
The Sharks, on paper, dominate the Kings without Anze Kopitar and maybe Justin Williams who, if he plays, will have a very bad shoulder. This is by far the easiest series to pick.
Regular Season Series:
November 15th, 2010: Kings @ Sharks (3-6)
December 27th, 2010: Kings @ Sharks (4-0)
January 1st, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (1-0)
January 26th, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (2-3) SO
March 24th, 2011: Sharks @ Kings (3-4) SO
April 4th, 2011: Kings @ Sharks (1-6)
Sharks (3-1-2)
Kings (3-3-0)
Forwards: Advantage: Sharks
Here's the top three lines Marleau(73)-Thronton(70)-Setoguchi(41), Clowe(62)-Couture(56)-Heatley(64),Mitchell(23)-Pavelski(66)-Wellwood(13). Please tell me that is not insane! The Kings highest scorer that is guarantted to be healthy is Dustin Brown with 57 points and then Ryan Smyth(47) and Jarret Stoll(43), while they have a potent line to throw out, nothing can stand up to the Sharks lines, cept maybe the Canucks.
Defensemen: Advantage: Sharks
The Kings top two defensemen are Jack Johnson and Drew Doughty, both hit 40 points, cept Johnson had a -21, and Doughty had a +13. Most of Johnson's points came on the PP, so he's not had much sucess 5v5. Dan Boyle is the leading point scorer for the Sharks D, but their defensemen have +/- levels in teh positive. Their top four D will be good, Ian White was acquired at the trade dealine and has been solid and Wallin/Huskins should rotate the #6 spot.
Goaltending: Advantage: Niemi
Guess who won the Stanley Cup last year? Niemi did! That's all you need to know!
Power Play: Advantage: Sharks
#2 PP in the league with a 23.5% while the Kings have a 16.1% PP conversion. The Sharks have five players that scored 52 goals on the PP between them in Marleau, Heatley, Pavelski, Couture, and Thornton. The Power Play goes through Jack Johnson on the Kings, but without Kopitar the #2 guy on the PP is a big loss.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Kings
They have the #4 PK in the league at 85.5% and San Jose has the #24 PK in the league with a 79.6%. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau each have a pair of shorties, but the advantage still goes to the Kings.
X-Factor: There is no X-Factor, you can guar-an-damn-tee the Sharks advance, or insert Antti Niemi and copy what I said earlier about him.
#3 Red Wings vs #6 Coyotes
Prediction: Red Wings in 7
Come on, this is the Detroit Red Wings we're talking about, when was the last time they didn't advance past the first round? (2006) Not only that, they're playing the same team they played last year in the first round, and even though they went 7 games, I don't expect the Red Wings to lose.
Regular Season Series:
Red Wings @ Coyotes (2-1)OT
Coyotes @ Red Wings (4-2)
Coyotes @ Red Wings (2-3)OT
Red Wings @ Coyotes (4-5)SO
Coyotes (2-0-2)
Red Wings (2-1-1)
Forwards: Advantage: Red Wings
Even without big Henrik Zetterberg, the Red Wings have a ton of formidable forwards. Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Filppula, Eaves and Helm. They have depth and they know how to play as a unit. The Coyotes have goal scorers, and they have a lot of players with double-digit goals, but they don't have any players that can take over a game like the Red Wings do. I like Doan, Vrbata, and especially Stempniak, along with Korpikoski, Pyatt, Whitney, and Hanzal, but they don't have the experience and game-changers.
Defensemen: Advantage: Red Wings
The Coyotes have Keith Yandle, they don't have Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, and Ruslan Salei. Good luck Phoenix, you added Ranger reject Michal Rozsival. The only bright spot is Ed Jovanovski is back, but he has yet to regain the form that once made him famous.
Goaltending: Advantage: Coyotes
Jimmy Howard has been having a terrible season compared to what was expected of him. On the other hand, Ilya Bryzgalov has been having a great season. He played these same Red Wings last season, and I'm sure he wants to beat them this year.
Power Play: Advantage: Red Wings
The Red Wings have the #5 PP at 22.3%, the Yotes have the #23 PP at 15.9%. The Red Wings are gonna have Holmstrom and Franzen in front of the net. Good luck with that Phoenix, there's a reason why they're potent year after year.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Red Wings
Red Wings were #17 at 82.3% and the Yotes were #26 with 78.4%. I give it to the Red Wings because they have better two-way players than the Yotes
X-Factors: Ilya Bryzgalov & Henrik Zetterberg
If Bryz has a monster series, don't be surprised if the Yotes beat the Wings, but he'll make this series go 7 and give the Coyotes a chance to steal this series.
If Henrik comes back, he can make a huge difference for the Wings. He won't play game 1, but his presence is huge if the Red Wings are to come outta this series unscathed.
#4 Ducks vs #5 Predators - Predators in 7
I honestly think this is a series that the Predators can steal with Rinne in net. I like Perry, Getzlaf, and Ryan, but Pekka Rinne was the #2 goalie in SV% this season. Would've been #1 if Thomas didn't go nuts.
Regular Season Series:
Ducks @ Predators (1-4)
Predators @ Ducks (4-5)
Predators @ Ducks (4-1)
Ducks @ Predators (4-5)
Predators (3-1-0)
Ducks (1-3-0)
Forwards: Advantage: Ducks
They have Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Teemu Selanne, and Bobby Ryan. Those guys put up monster points and had great seasons, not to mention Perry scoring 50 goals this season. Martin Erat and Sergei Kostitsyn led the Preds with 50 points a piece, so it's safe to say that the Ducks hold the advantage here.
Defensemen: Advantage: Predators
Ducks have Lubomir Visnovsky, the Preds have Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, two of the best two-way defensemen in the league. They are capable of shutting down any top-line in the league and with Rinne in net, that makes their life so much easier. Toni Lydman had a nice +32 for the Ducks, but then u look at Cam Fowler with a -25 and u see that their defensive corps is all over the place
Goaltending: Advantage; Predators
Pekka Rinne or the revolving door of goalies in Anaheim? Going with Pekka Rinne. 33 wins and a 2.12 GAA with a .930 save percentage. Pekka's stats again the Ducks? 3-0, 2.21 GAA, and a .945 save percentage. I think I like Pekka Rinne in this situation.
Power Play: Advantage: Ducks
They had the #3 power play with 23.5% while the Preds were at 26th with a 15.2%. Teemu Selanne and Corey Perry had 30 power play goals between them. Nuff said.
Penalty Kill: Advantage: Predators
Preds were #5 in the league with a 84.9% while the ducks were 19th with 81.3%. I think this is something the Preds will get to exploit at some point during the series because the PK for the Ducks is definitely worse than that with Hiller not in net.
X-Factor: Pekka Rinne (see above)
That's all I got for the quarter-finals, lets see if I'm right!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Here's how the Western Conference will shake out
Currently,
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Nashville Predators
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Los Angeles Kings
8. Chicago Blackhawks
9. Dallas Stars
there's two games that will have a significant impact on the standings
Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks - 12:30pm
Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild - 6pm (the last game of the regular season)
Chicago needs to simply earn a point to advance to the playoffs
Let's look at all the scenarios.
1. IF Dallas wins AND Chicago loses in regulation
Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars
San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
2. IF Dallas loses (regulation or overtime) AND Chicago loses in regulation
Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
3. IF Chicago loses in overtime/shootout
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
4. IF Chicago wins in regulation or overtime
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Phoenix Coyotes
Detroit Red Wings vs Nashville Predators
Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks
5. However, IF Chicago wins in a shootout, things get interesting...
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Nashville Predators
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks
If I did that right, based on tie-breaking procedure #3 regarding two or more tied clubs, it's the great amount of percentage points won in all games played excluding odd games. The Predators and Coyotes played 4 games against each other, the Predators and Blackhawks played 6 games against each other, and the Coyotes and Blackhawks played 4 games against each other. So the Predators and Blackhawks have a total of 20 points to earn, while the Coyotes have a total of 16 points to earn. So if I did this right, the Coyotes earn 9 out of a possible 16 points, the Predators earn 10 out of a total of 20 points, and the Blackhawks earn a total of 13 points out of a possible 20. So the Blackhawks would finish 5th. As a result, Nashville would drop to 7th and Phoenix would bump up to 6th. Crazy shit involving tie-breakers eh?
1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Nashville Predators
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Los Angeles Kings
8. Chicago Blackhawks
9. Dallas Stars
there's two games that will have a significant impact on the standings
Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks - 12:30pm
Dallas Stars vs Minnesota Wild - 6pm (the last game of the regular season)
Chicago needs to simply earn a point to advance to the playoffs
Let's look at all the scenarios.
1. IF Dallas wins AND Chicago loses in regulation
Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars
San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
2. IF Dallas loses (regulation or overtime) AND Chicago loses in regulation
Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
3. IF Chicago loses in overtime/shootout
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators
4. IF Chicago wins in regulation or overtime
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Phoenix Coyotes
Detroit Red Wings vs Nashville Predators
Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks
5. However, IF Chicago wins in a shootout, things get interesting...
Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks vs Nashville Predators
Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes
Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks
If I did that right, based on tie-breaking procedure #3 regarding two or more tied clubs, it's the great amount of percentage points won in all games played excluding odd games. The Predators and Coyotes played 4 games against each other, the Predators and Blackhawks played 6 games against each other, and the Coyotes and Blackhawks played 4 games against each other. So the Predators and Blackhawks have a total of 20 points to earn, while the Coyotes have a total of 16 points to earn. So if I did this right, the Coyotes earn 9 out of a possible 16 points, the Predators earn 10 out of a total of 20 points, and the Blackhawks earn a total of 13 points out of a possible 20. So the Blackhawks would finish 5th. As a result, Nashville would drop to 7th and Phoenix would bump up to 6th. Crazy shit involving tie-breakers eh?
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Eastern Conference Match-ups Set!
Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres
Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning
The west will be decided tonight! Most of it anyways... cept the 8th spot, that won't be decided until tomorrow...
Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabres
Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens
Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tampa Bay Lightning
The west will be decided tonight! Most of it anyways... cept the 8th spot, that won't be decided until tomorrow...
Looking towards Saturday's games in the NHL....
New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers - 12:30pm
This is the Rangers' last game of the season. They must earn at least a point to have any chance of winning the 8th spot.
Ottawa Senators vs Boston Red Sox - 1:00pm
With a win, the Bruins have a shot at the #2 seed, with a regulation loss, they lock in the #3 seed.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes - 7:00pm
With a win, the Canes earn the #8 seed. The Lightning are already locked into the #5 seed. The Canes can earn a playoff berth if the Rangers lose to the Devils in regulation before this game.
New York Islanders vs Philadelphia Flyers - 7:00pm
The Flyers need to win to ensure they lock up the #2 seed.
Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs - 7:00pm
The Habs need to win to lock up the #6 seed so they can face their bitter rivals the Bruins, otherwise they'll have to face either the Pens, Flyers, or Caps, two of whom they beat last year in the playoffs
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets - 7:00pm
Sabres have a shot at the #6 seed and take on their bitter rivals in the Boston Bruins
Nashville Predators vs St. Louis Blues - 8:00pm
Nashville has a shot at winning home-ice in the first round with the win
Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings - 10:30pm
Could be a potential first round match-up depending on what happens in the Predators game.
Phoenix Coyotes vs San Jose Sharks - 10:30pm
San Jose can earn the #2 seed with a win and Phoenix could clinch home-ice in the first round.
Tomorrow is going to be a great day!
This is the Rangers' last game of the season. They must earn at least a point to have any chance of winning the 8th spot.
Ottawa Senators vs Boston Red Sox - 1:00pm
With a win, the Bruins have a shot at the #2 seed, with a regulation loss, they lock in the #3 seed.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Carolina Hurricanes - 7:00pm
With a win, the Canes earn the #8 seed. The Lightning are already locked into the #5 seed. The Canes can earn a playoff berth if the Rangers lose to the Devils in regulation before this game.
New York Islanders vs Philadelphia Flyers - 7:00pm
The Flyers need to win to ensure they lock up the #2 seed.
Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs - 7:00pm
The Habs need to win to lock up the #6 seed so they can face their bitter rivals the Bruins, otherwise they'll have to face either the Pens, Flyers, or Caps, two of whom they beat last year in the playoffs
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets - 7:00pm
Sabres have a shot at the #6 seed and take on their bitter rivals in the Boston Bruins
Nashville Predators vs St. Louis Blues - 8:00pm
Nashville has a shot at winning home-ice in the first round with the win
Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings - 10:30pm
Could be a potential first round match-up depending on what happens in the Predators game.
Phoenix Coyotes vs San Jose Sharks - 10:30pm
San Jose can earn the #2 seed with a win and Phoenix could clinch home-ice in the first round.
Tomorrow is going to be a great day!
Around the MLB Friday April 8th
Haven't done this for a few days, but it's back on! I was a bit busy, but now we're good.
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox (6-9)
W: John Lackey (1-1)
L: Bartolo Colon (0-1)
SV: Jonathan Papelbon (1)
Boston has finally gotten a win, and it's at their bitter rival's expense! Cano got the Yanks on the board early, but Pedroia responded with a solo shot in the bottom half of the first. After Gardner pushed the lead to 3-1 by driving in Granderson, the Red Sox exploded in the 2nd inning and knocked Phil Hughes out of the game to the tune of 5 runs, 6 hits, and a throwing error by Curtis Granderson. Hughes simply did not have it today and got rocked. After that, the Yankees responded with runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th to draw to 6-6, but the new Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled in Kevin Youkilis to give the Red Sox the lead again. J.D Drew added a two RBI single in the 7th off Boone Logan and that was it for the Yanks as the Red Sox bullpen shut down the Yanks after Lackey was done. Not a good start but Lackey, but it was enough.
Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers (2-5)
W: Max Scherzer (2-0)
L: Kyle Davies (0-1)
SV: Jose Valverde (2)
The Tigers finally had their home opener and opened it with a bang! Victor Martinez hit a three-run double and Jhonny Peralta followed with a double of his own to drive in Victor Martinez for 4 runs in the first inning. That was all Scherzer would need as he pitched a quality start and limited the Royal's damage to one run over 6 innings.
Oakland Athletics vs Minnesota Twins (1-2)
W: Carl Pavano(1-1)
L: Brett Anderson (0-1)
SV: Joe Nathan (3)
This was truly a pitcher's duel, and Brett Anderson had this game... until the 8th inning. I'm sure this is one that the Athletics knew they should've had. Brett Anderson though was still solid, as was Carl Pavano, nearly matching each other throughout the game. The Twins managed to get on a roll and play small ball against the A's in the eighth and that's what won it.
Washington Nationals vs New York Mets
W: Jordan Zimmerman (1-1)
L: R.A. Dickey (1-1)
The Mets' home opener was spoiled thanks to Jordan Zimmerman and that Nats. Zimmerman helped his own cause with a two-run RBI single and ironically, all the Nats runs were scored with the bases loaded. The Mets allowed 18 runners on base and if they can't get their pitching in gear, they won't be winning games anytime soon.
St. Louis Cardinals vs San Francisco Giants (4-5) 12th inning
W: Dan Runzler (1-1)
L: Brian Tallet (0-1)
The hometown fans were in for a treat with the Giants winning in 12. While the Cards only scored on singles, the Giants got solo shots from Tejada and Burrell. Jonathan Sanchez only gave up 1 run over 5 innings while his counterpart gave up 4 runs over 5 and 2/3 of an inning, Brian Wilson could not hold the lead and blew his first save of the year. Brian Tallet put himself in hot water and an error by Pujols did not help in the bottom of the 12th. Aaron Rowand came up with 1 out and the bases loaded and hit a single to win it for the defending champions.
Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles
This game was postponed and will be played tomorrow as part of a double-header, which means I'm going to be in front of the TV from 4 to 10 tomorrow!
Florida Marlins vs Houston Astros (4-3)
W: Ricky Nolasco (1-0)
L: Wilton Lopez (0-1)
SV: Leo Nunez (2)
The Marlins could not solve Wandy Rodriguez. Bring on the bullpen! Wilton Lopez blew the game for the Astros and Chris Coghlan put the icing on the cake with a homer in the top of the ninth for a two-run lead as the Astros would homer in the bottom of the ninth, but Nunez would hold on for the save and the win for the Marlins. Ricky Nolasco had 10 runners on base, but limited the damage to two runs over 8 innings. He only had 2 K's which is a concern for fantasy owners
Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates (3-4) 13th inning
W: Garrett Olson (1-1)
L: Franklin Morales (0-1)
You know why the Rockies lost this game? Because Gonzo and Tulo went 0-for-11. They also went a combined 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. In fact, the team went 1-for-15 with RISP, a Jason Giambi 3-run homer accounted for all their runs. After Ohlendorf was pulled due to injury, the Rockies should've feasted on the Pirates bullpen, instead, the Pirates bullpen held down the Rockies by now allowing a run and Tabata doubled in Rodriguez to win the game.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves (3-6)
W: Tim Hudson (2-0)
L: Cliff Lee (1-1)
SV: Craig Kimbrel (3)
The Braves are hitting? They got 12 hits, 10 off Lee and chased him in the fourth. After the Phillies surged to a 3-0 lead in their first two at-bats. Alex Gonzalez and Martin Prado hit doubles to pace the Braves in the second and Chipper Jones hit a 3-RBI double in the 4th to end Cliff Lee's day early. The Phillies muster 4 hits off Hudson after the second and Hudson has his second win of the season. It's quite surprising how well the Braves are performing this season.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox (9-7)
W: Adam Russell (1-0)
L: Matt Thornton (0-1)
SV: Kyle Farnsworth (1)
The day Manny retires, the Rays finally win! Looks like he was the problem afterall! Matt Thornton gave up 5 runs, all unearned... two easy outs resulted in a bad throw and a dropped ball. As a result, the Rays got five extra at-bats and Dan Johnson connected for a 3-run homer to give the Rays the 9-7 lead. Gordon Beckham continued to hit for the White Sox and Mark Teahen had a solid day as well, unfortunately, the White Sox defense did them in.
Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers (7-4)
W: Carlos Zambrano (1-0)
L: Randy Wolf (0-2)
SV: Carlos Marmol (3)
Jeff Baker had a monster game leading off for the Cubbies. He had a three-run homer and singled in Soriano for a 4 hit, 4 rbi outing. Marlon Byrd had two doubles and Geovany Soto had a 2-run homer to center to pace the Cubs as the Brew Crew simply couldn't keep. Although, a timely error in the fourth inning helped the Cubs score three runs and another run in the sixth thanks to a wild pitch.
Cincinnati Reds vs Arizona Diamondbacks (2-13)
W: Ian Kennedy (1-0)
L: Travis Wood (1-1)
The Diamondbacks brought their big-boy bats, except for Melvin Mora, who didn't record a hit. Willie Bloomquist and Justin Upton scored for the D-backs in the 1st followed by Miguel Montero scoring on a wild pitch in the 2nd and the beat down was on. Wood ended up giving up six runs, and a reliever by the name of Matt Maloney was tagged for 7 runs thanks to 3 home runs. Joey Votto hit a homer to give the Reds a little respectability, but they got wrecked. Ian Kennedy went 8 innings and only gave up 1 run while striking out 9. It was a quite a good showing on his part.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Los Angeles Angels (3-2)
W: Octavio Dotel (1-0)
L: Ervin Santana (0-1)
SV: Jon Rauch (2)
Both pitchers had great outings as Kyle Drabek gave up one earned run over 6 innings for a very good quality start and Ervin Santana went 8 innings, giving up 3 runs while striking out 7. While the Angels scored early against Drabek, the Blue Jays got to Ervin in the sixth and Jayson Nix finally hit a homer in the 8th to give the Blue Jays the lead and eventually the win. Vernon Wells has had a terrible start for his new team batting under .100 and the same could be said of Wells' replacement Rajai Davis who's hitting under the Mendoza line. But on the flip side, Kyle Drabek is having a phenomenal start to the season while Ervin Santana has simply had bad lucky when it comes to winning, he's thrown two quality starts, but hasn't had the run support, nor the bullpen to earn the win.
Cleveland Indians vs Seattle Mariners (12-3)
W: Carlos Carrasco
L: Jason Vargas
Jason Vargas got shelled! 7 runs in 3 and 1/3, then his replacement Wilhelmsen got shelled for 5 (4 earned) in 1 and 2/3. By the end of the fifth, the Indians had scored all the runs they would need, including 10 runs in the fourth inning. 13 batters came to the plate in the 4th inning which resulted in the following stat line: 10 runs, 10 hits, 8 singles, 1 double, 1 homer. Hafner put the icing on the cake with a three run bomb to end the scoring in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Mariners continued their non-existent offense from last season with only 6 hits and scoring on Herrmann who just kept loading the bases, he might be a problem down the line....
Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres (2-2) Suspended
In a game that had rain delays equivalent to those of an actual game, we were left with Matt Kemp leading off the 9th with a single. That's where they'll start today. Clayton Richard only got one inning before the rain delay, while Ted Lilly stayed in and pitched 4 1/3 before another rain delay ended his night. Both of the Dodgers runs were unearned as they scored on a throwing error in the fourth and Casey Blake ended up advancing on a passed ball where he eventually scored. The Padres got all their runs in the bottom of the 5th with a rally, sending 7 men to the plate and scoring by playing small ball. We'll see how this game ends...
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox (6-9)
W: John Lackey (1-1)
L: Bartolo Colon (0-1)
SV: Jonathan Papelbon (1)
Boston has finally gotten a win, and it's at their bitter rival's expense! Cano got the Yanks on the board early, but Pedroia responded with a solo shot in the bottom half of the first. After Gardner pushed the lead to 3-1 by driving in Granderson, the Red Sox exploded in the 2nd inning and knocked Phil Hughes out of the game to the tune of 5 runs, 6 hits, and a throwing error by Curtis Granderson. Hughes simply did not have it today and got rocked. After that, the Yankees responded with runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th to draw to 6-6, but the new Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled in Kevin Youkilis to give the Red Sox the lead again. J.D Drew added a two RBI single in the 7th off Boone Logan and that was it for the Yanks as the Red Sox bullpen shut down the Yanks after Lackey was done. Not a good start but Lackey, but it was enough.
Kansas City Royals vs Detroit Tigers (2-5)
W: Max Scherzer (2-0)
L: Kyle Davies (0-1)
SV: Jose Valverde (2)
The Tigers finally had their home opener and opened it with a bang! Victor Martinez hit a three-run double and Jhonny Peralta followed with a double of his own to drive in Victor Martinez for 4 runs in the first inning. That was all Scherzer would need as he pitched a quality start and limited the Royal's damage to one run over 6 innings.
Oakland Athletics vs Minnesota Twins (1-2)
W: Carl Pavano(1-1)
L: Brett Anderson (0-1)
SV: Joe Nathan (3)
This was truly a pitcher's duel, and Brett Anderson had this game... until the 8th inning. I'm sure this is one that the Athletics knew they should've had. Brett Anderson though was still solid, as was Carl Pavano, nearly matching each other throughout the game. The Twins managed to get on a roll and play small ball against the A's in the eighth and that's what won it.
Washington Nationals vs New York Mets
W: Jordan Zimmerman (1-1)
L: R.A. Dickey (1-1)
The Mets' home opener was spoiled thanks to Jordan Zimmerman and that Nats. Zimmerman helped his own cause with a two-run RBI single and ironically, all the Nats runs were scored with the bases loaded. The Mets allowed 18 runners on base and if they can't get their pitching in gear, they won't be winning games anytime soon.
St. Louis Cardinals vs San Francisco Giants (4-5) 12th inning
W: Dan Runzler (1-1)
L: Brian Tallet (0-1)
The hometown fans were in for a treat with the Giants winning in 12. While the Cards only scored on singles, the Giants got solo shots from Tejada and Burrell. Jonathan Sanchez only gave up 1 run over 5 innings while his counterpart gave up 4 runs over 5 and 2/3 of an inning, Brian Wilson could not hold the lead and blew his first save of the year. Brian Tallet put himself in hot water and an error by Pujols did not help in the bottom of the 12th. Aaron Rowand came up with 1 out and the bases loaded and hit a single to win it for the defending champions.
Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles
This game was postponed and will be played tomorrow as part of a double-header, which means I'm going to be in front of the TV from 4 to 10 tomorrow!
Florida Marlins vs Houston Astros (4-3)
W: Ricky Nolasco (1-0)
L: Wilton Lopez (0-1)
SV: Leo Nunez (2)
The Marlins could not solve Wandy Rodriguez. Bring on the bullpen! Wilton Lopez blew the game for the Astros and Chris Coghlan put the icing on the cake with a homer in the top of the ninth for a two-run lead as the Astros would homer in the bottom of the ninth, but Nunez would hold on for the save and the win for the Marlins. Ricky Nolasco had 10 runners on base, but limited the damage to two runs over 8 innings. He only had 2 K's which is a concern for fantasy owners
Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates (3-4) 13th inning
W: Garrett Olson (1-1)
L: Franklin Morales (0-1)
You know why the Rockies lost this game? Because Gonzo and Tulo went 0-for-11. They also went a combined 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. In fact, the team went 1-for-15 with RISP, a Jason Giambi 3-run homer accounted for all their runs. After Ohlendorf was pulled due to injury, the Rockies should've feasted on the Pirates bullpen, instead, the Pirates bullpen held down the Rockies by now allowing a run and Tabata doubled in Rodriguez to win the game.
Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves (3-6)
W: Tim Hudson (2-0)
L: Cliff Lee (1-1)
SV: Craig Kimbrel (3)
The Braves are hitting? They got 12 hits, 10 off Lee and chased him in the fourth. After the Phillies surged to a 3-0 lead in their first two at-bats. Alex Gonzalez and Martin Prado hit doubles to pace the Braves in the second and Chipper Jones hit a 3-RBI double in the 4th to end Cliff Lee's day early. The Phillies muster 4 hits off Hudson after the second and Hudson has his second win of the season. It's quite surprising how well the Braves are performing this season.
Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago White Sox (9-7)
W: Adam Russell (1-0)
L: Matt Thornton (0-1)
SV: Kyle Farnsworth (1)
The day Manny retires, the Rays finally win! Looks like he was the problem afterall! Matt Thornton gave up 5 runs, all unearned... two easy outs resulted in a bad throw and a dropped ball. As a result, the Rays got five extra at-bats and Dan Johnson connected for a 3-run homer to give the Rays the 9-7 lead. Gordon Beckham continued to hit for the White Sox and Mark Teahen had a solid day as well, unfortunately, the White Sox defense did them in.
Chicago Cubs vs Milwaukee Brewers (7-4)
W: Carlos Zambrano (1-0)
L: Randy Wolf (0-2)
SV: Carlos Marmol (3)
Jeff Baker had a monster game leading off for the Cubbies. He had a three-run homer and singled in Soriano for a 4 hit, 4 rbi outing. Marlon Byrd had two doubles and Geovany Soto had a 2-run homer to center to pace the Cubs as the Brew Crew simply couldn't keep. Although, a timely error in the fourth inning helped the Cubs score three runs and another run in the sixth thanks to a wild pitch.
Cincinnati Reds vs Arizona Diamondbacks (2-13)
W: Ian Kennedy (1-0)
L: Travis Wood (1-1)
The Diamondbacks brought their big-boy bats, except for Melvin Mora, who didn't record a hit. Willie Bloomquist and Justin Upton scored for the D-backs in the 1st followed by Miguel Montero scoring on a wild pitch in the 2nd and the beat down was on. Wood ended up giving up six runs, and a reliever by the name of Matt Maloney was tagged for 7 runs thanks to 3 home runs. Joey Votto hit a homer to give the Reds a little respectability, but they got wrecked. Ian Kennedy went 8 innings and only gave up 1 run while striking out 9. It was a quite a good showing on his part.
Toronto Blue Jays vs Los Angeles Angels (3-2)
W: Octavio Dotel (1-0)
L: Ervin Santana (0-1)
SV: Jon Rauch (2)
Both pitchers had great outings as Kyle Drabek gave up one earned run over 6 innings for a very good quality start and Ervin Santana went 8 innings, giving up 3 runs while striking out 7. While the Angels scored early against Drabek, the Blue Jays got to Ervin in the sixth and Jayson Nix finally hit a homer in the 8th to give the Blue Jays the lead and eventually the win. Vernon Wells has had a terrible start for his new team batting under .100 and the same could be said of Wells' replacement Rajai Davis who's hitting under the Mendoza line. But on the flip side, Kyle Drabek is having a phenomenal start to the season while Ervin Santana has simply had bad lucky when it comes to winning, he's thrown two quality starts, but hasn't had the run support, nor the bullpen to earn the win.
Cleveland Indians vs Seattle Mariners (12-3)
W: Carlos Carrasco
L: Jason Vargas
Jason Vargas got shelled! 7 runs in 3 and 1/3, then his replacement Wilhelmsen got shelled for 5 (4 earned) in 1 and 2/3. By the end of the fifth, the Indians had scored all the runs they would need, including 10 runs in the fourth inning. 13 batters came to the plate in the 4th inning which resulted in the following stat line: 10 runs, 10 hits, 8 singles, 1 double, 1 homer. Hafner put the icing on the cake with a three run bomb to end the scoring in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Mariners continued their non-existent offense from last season with only 6 hits and scoring on Herrmann who just kept loading the bases, he might be a problem down the line....
Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres (2-2) Suspended
In a game that had rain delays equivalent to those of an actual game, we were left with Matt Kemp leading off the 9th with a single. That's where they'll start today. Clayton Richard only got one inning before the rain delay, while Ted Lilly stayed in and pitched 4 1/3 before another rain delay ended his night. Both of the Dodgers runs were unearned as they scored on a throwing error in the fourth and Casey Blake ended up advancing on a passed ball where he eventually scored. The Padres got all their runs in the bottom of the 5th with a rally, sending 7 men to the plate and scoring by playing small ball. We'll see how this game ends...
Friday, April 8, 2011
Live Blogging... sort of...
I'll be blogging all night on the hockey games tonight since there is a lot of things that will be decided tonight,
so let's hope some people can keep up! Comments are always appreciated!
11:24pm
Game over! The Stars win! Updated standings shortly!
11:23pm
Crazy scramble in front! 22.6 seconds left!
11:23pm
Under a minute left! Budaj has been pulled for the Avalanche!
11:10pm
Just under 8 minutes left in the Stars-Avalanche game!
Possible seeding scenarios
Eastern Conference
#1: Capitals
#2: Flyers, Bruins, or Penguins
#3: Flyers, Bruins, or Penguins
#4: Flyers or Penguins
#5: Lightning
#6: Canadiens or Sabres
#7: Canadiens or Sabres
#8: Hurricanes or Rangers
Western Conference
#1: Canucks
#2: Sharks or Red Wings
#3: Sharks or Red Wings
#4: Predators, Kings, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Ducks
#5: Predators, Kings, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Ducks
#6: Predators, Kings, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Ducks, Stars
#7: Predators, Kings, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Ducks, Stars
#8: Predators, Kings, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Ducks, Stars
10:58pm
Dallas has drawn the game back to 1. They really need this win with Chicago winning tonight as well as Nashville, which means that Dallas has less spots open to chase in the playoffs.
10:36pm
Nashville wins 4-1! They have clinched a berth and now I'm switching to the stars-avalanche game!
Updated standings!
Eastern Conference
1. zyx-Washington Captials
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers
3. yx-Boston Bruins
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning
6. x-Montreal Canadiens
7. x-Buffalo Sabres
8. Carolina Hurricanes
9. New York Rangers
Western Conference
1. pzxy-Vancouver Canucks
2. yx-San Jose Sharks
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings
4. x-Nashville Predators
5. x-Los Angeles Kings
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Anaheim Ducks
9. Dallas Stars
10:33pm
Current Standings
Eastern Conference
1. zyx-Washington Captials
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers
3. yx-Boston Bruins
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning
6. x-Montreal Canadiens
7. x-Buffalo Sabres
8. Carolina Hurricanes
9. New York Rangers
Western Conference
1. pzxy-Vancouver Canucks
2. yx-San Jose Sharks
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings
4. x-Los Angeles Kings
5. Nashville Predators
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Anaheim Ducks
9. Dallas Stars
10;30pm
Switched the Sharks-Coyotes game to NHL Overtime on Versus, I'll still be able to catch the third of the Sharks-Coyotes game
10:26pm
Alright, I've got the Blue Jackets-Predators game and Sharks-Coyotes game on!
10:23pm
Looks like Nashville will be beating Columbus tonight which will clinch a playoff spot for them. They're up 4-1 and on the power play with under 7 left in the thrid
10:21pm
Forgot that Tampa beat Florida, they can't change their seeding, but they'll play either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh
10:08pm
With a Philadelphia loss in overtime, Washington has clinched the #1 seed once again! The road to the Stanley Cup will go through Washington in the East and Vancouver in the West!
10:05pm
Carolina just crushed the Thrashers 6-1! They've moved ahead of the Rangers for the 8th playoff spot!
10:01pm
Thomas Vanek scores to win it in overtime for the Sabres!
10:00pm
The Blackhawks have beaten the Detroit Red Wings 4-2, but they still have not clinched a playoff berth!
9:59pm
The Penguins are back in 4th place!
9:58pm
Buffalo Sabres have clinched a playoff berth! Flyers-Sabres are going to overtime!
9:56pm
Got both the Blackhawks-Red Wings game and Flyers-Sabres game on!
9:53pm
Penguins win in the shootout, right now they are in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference and await the results of the Flyers-Sabres game which also looks like it's going into overtime!
9:47pm
The Penguins have tied the Islanders and are going to the shootout. The Penguins can climb into second place, albeit temporarily with a win in the shootout.
THREE DAYS LEFT!!!!!!
Eastern Conference
1. yx-Washington Capitals 48-22-11 (107pts, 43 ROW, 1 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. y-Boston Bruins 45-24-11 (101pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x-Montreal Canadiens 43-30-8 (94pts, 40 ROW, 1 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-33-5 (91pts, 34 ROW, 1 GL)
9. Carolina Hurricanes 39-30-11 (89pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 53-19-9 (115pts, 49 ROW, 1 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-24-9 (103pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-24-10 (102pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x-Los Angeles Kings 46-28-6 (98pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
6. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-13 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 45-30-5 (95pts, 41 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 43-28-9 (95pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 41-28-11 (93pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
Clinching/Seeding scenarios
Washington Capitals clinch the #1 seed IF:
Philadelphia does not earn 2 points
Philadelphia clinches the Atlantic Division IF:
Philadelpha earns two points AND Pittsburgh earns 1 point or less
Pittsburgh Penguins will clinch the #4 seed IF:
Philadelphia earns 2 points AND Pittsburgh does not earn 2 points
Tampa Bay Lightning will clinch the #5 seed IF:
Tampa Bay does not earn 2 points
OR
Pittsburgh earns at least 1 point
Montreal Canadiens will clinch the #6 seed IF:
Buffalo does not earn any points
Buffalo Sabres will clinch the #7 seed and a playoff berth IF:
They earn at least 1 point
Vancouver Canucks have clinched the #1 seed
San Jose Sharks will clinch the #2 seed IF:
San Jose earns 2 points AND Detroit earns 0 points
Detroit Red Wings will clinch the #3 seed IF:
Detroit earns 0 points AND San Jose earns 2 points
Los Angeles Kings will clinch the #4 seed IF:
Los Angeles earns 2 points AND Nashville earns 0 points
Nashville will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Nashville earns at least one point
OR
Dallas does not earn 2 points
Phoenix will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Phoenix earns at least one points
OR
Dallas does not earn 2 points
Anaheim will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Anaheim earns 2 points
Chicago will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Chicago earns 2 points AND Dallas does not earn 2 points
OR
Chicago earns 1 point AND Dallas does not earn any points.
A lot of things will be decided tonight so make sure you're watching!
1. yx-Washington Capitals 48-22-11 (107pts, 43 ROW, 1 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. y-Boston Bruins 45-24-11 (101pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x-Montreal Canadiens 43-30-8 (94pts, 40 ROW, 1 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-33-5 (91pts, 34 ROW, 1 GL)
9. Carolina Hurricanes 39-30-11 (89pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 53-19-9 (115pts, 49 ROW, 1 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-24-9 (103pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-24-10 (102pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x-Los Angeles Kings 46-28-6 (98pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
6. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-13 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 45-30-5 (95pts, 41 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 43-28-9 (95pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 41-28-11 (93pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
Clinching/Seeding scenarios
Washington Capitals clinch the #1 seed IF:
Philadelphia does not earn 2 points
Philadelphia clinches the Atlantic Division IF:
Philadelpha earns two points AND Pittsburgh earns 1 point or less
Pittsburgh Penguins will clinch the #4 seed IF:
Philadelphia earns 2 points AND Pittsburgh does not earn 2 points
Tampa Bay Lightning will clinch the #5 seed IF:
Tampa Bay does not earn 2 points
OR
Pittsburgh earns at least 1 point
Montreal Canadiens will clinch the #6 seed IF:
Buffalo does not earn any points
Buffalo Sabres will clinch the #7 seed and a playoff berth IF:
They earn at least 1 point
Vancouver Canucks have clinched the #1 seed
San Jose Sharks will clinch the #2 seed IF:
San Jose earns 2 points AND Detroit earns 0 points
Detroit Red Wings will clinch the #3 seed IF:
Detroit earns 0 points AND San Jose earns 2 points
Los Angeles Kings will clinch the #4 seed IF:
Los Angeles earns 2 points AND Nashville earns 0 points
Nashville will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Nashville earns at least one point
OR
Dallas does not earn 2 points
Phoenix will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Phoenix earns at least one points
OR
Dallas does not earn 2 points
Anaheim will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Anaheim earns 2 points
Chicago will clinch a playoff berth IF:
Chicago earns 2 points AND Dallas does not earn 2 points
OR
Chicago earns 1 point AND Dallas does not earn any points.
A lot of things will be decided tonight so make sure you're watching!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Four days remaining in the NHL season...
Okay, I screwed up the days, needed that Rebecca Black song to remind me which day of the week it is. Thursday's before Friday, Saturday comes after Friday, Sunday comes after Saturday. So there's four days left :-P. Anyways.... to the standings...
Eastern Conference
1. yx - Washington Capitals 48-22-11 (107pts, 43 ROW, 1 GL)
2. x - Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx - Boston Bruins 45-24-11 (101pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x - Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x - Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x - Montreal Canadiens 43-30-7 (93pts, 40 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 39-30-11 (89pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzxy - Vancouver Canucks 52-19-9 (113pts, 48 ROW, 2 GL)
2. yx - San Jose Sharks 47-24-9 (103pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx - Detroit Red Wings 46-28-6 (102pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x - Los Angeles Kings 46-28-6 (98pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
6. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-13 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 45-30-5 (95pts, 41 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 43-28-9 (95pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 41-29-11 (91pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
Seeding:
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals can finish #1 or #2
Philadelphia Flyers can finish #1 thru #4
Boston Bruins can finish #2 or #3
Pittsburgh Penguins can finish #2 thru #5
Tampa Bay Lightning can finish #4 or #5
Montreal Canadiens can finish #6 thru #8
Buffalo Sabres can finish #6 thru out of the playoffs
New York Rangers can finish #6 thru out of the playoffs
Carolina Hurricanes can finish #7 thru out of the playoffs
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks will finish #1
San Jose Sharks can finish #2 or #3
Detroit Red Wings can finish #2 or #3
Los Angeles Kings can finish #4 thru #8
Nashville Predators can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Phoenix Coyotes can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Anaheim Ducks can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Chicago Blackhawks can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Dallas stars can finish #5 thru out of the playoffs
Clinching/Seeding scenarios
Montreal will clinch the #6 seed if Montreal earns two points
Nashville will clinch a playoff berth if Dallas does not earn two points
Phoenix will clinch a playoff berth if Dallas does not earn two points
Anaheim will clinch a playoff berth if Anaheim does not earn two points
That's it for now...
Eastern Conference
1. yx - Washington Capitals 48-22-11 (107pts, 43 ROW, 1 GL)
2. x - Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx - Boston Bruins 45-24-11 (101pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x - Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x - Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x - Montreal Canadiens 43-30-7 (93pts, 40 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 39-30-11 (89pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzxy - Vancouver Canucks 52-19-9 (113pts, 48 ROW, 2 GL)
2. yx - San Jose Sharks 47-24-9 (103pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx - Detroit Red Wings 46-28-6 (102pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
4. x - Los Angeles Kings 46-28-6 (98pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
6. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-13 (97pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 45-30-5 (95pts, 41 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 43-28-9 (95pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 41-29-11 (91pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
Seeding:
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals can finish #1 or #2
Philadelphia Flyers can finish #1 thru #4
Boston Bruins can finish #2 or #3
Pittsburgh Penguins can finish #2 thru #5
Tampa Bay Lightning can finish #4 or #5
Montreal Canadiens can finish #6 thru #8
Buffalo Sabres can finish #6 thru out of the playoffs
New York Rangers can finish #6 thru out of the playoffs
Carolina Hurricanes can finish #7 thru out of the playoffs
Western Conference
Vancouver Canucks will finish #1
San Jose Sharks can finish #2 or #3
Detroit Red Wings can finish #2 or #3
Los Angeles Kings can finish #4 thru #8
Nashville Predators can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Phoenix Coyotes can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Anaheim Ducks can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Chicago Blackhawks can finish #4 thru out of the playoffs
Dallas stars can finish #5 thru out of the playoffs
Clinching/Seeding scenarios
Montreal will clinch the #6 seed if Montreal earns two points
Nashville will clinch a playoff berth if Dallas does not earn two points
Phoenix will clinch a playoff berth if Dallas does not earn two points
Anaheim will clinch a playoff berth if Anaheim does not earn two points
That's it for now...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Four more days of the NHL season...
So here's a look at the updated standings and clinching scenarios
Eastern Conference
1. yx-Washington Capitals 47-22-11 (105 pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-24-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102 pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x-Montreal Canadiens 43-30-7 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91 pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-11 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-19-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 2 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-23-9 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97 pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Los Angeles Kings 45-28-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-9 (93 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 40-28-11 (91 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Philadelphia can finish anywhere from #1 to #4
Boston can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can finish anywhere from #6 to #8
NY Rangers finish be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver will finish #1
San Jose can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Detroit can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Los Angeles can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Clinching/Seeding scenarios:
Washington cannot finish #3 IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime
OR
Boston loses in overtime
OR
Boston loses in regulation
Boston cannot finish #1 IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime
OR
-Boston loses in overtime
OR
-Boston loses in regulation
Phoenix clinches a playoff berth IF:
-Phoenix wins in regulation
OR
-Phoenix wins in overtime
Los Angeles clinches a berth IF:
-Los Angeles wins in regulation
OR
-Los Angeles wins in overtime
Elimination:
Calgary is eliminated IF:
-Calgary loses in regulation
Eastern Conference
1. yx-Washington Capitals 47-22-11 (105 pts, 42 ROW, 2 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-23-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 2 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-24-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 47-25-8 (102 pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-25-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 2 GL)
6. x-Montreal Canadiens 43-30-7 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 2 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 41-29-10 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 2 GL)
8. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91 pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-11 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-19-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 2 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-23-9 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. Nashville Predators 43-26-11 (97 pts, 37 ROW, 2 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Los Angeles Kings 45-28-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-9 (93 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Dallas Stars 40-28-11 (91 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Philadelphia can finish anywhere from #1 to #4
Boston can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can finish anywhere from #6 to #8
NY Rangers finish be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver will finish #1
San Jose can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Detroit can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Los Angeles can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Clinching/Seeding scenarios:
Washington cannot finish #3 IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime
OR
Boston loses in overtime
OR
Boston loses in regulation
Boston cannot finish #1 IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime
OR
-Boston loses in overtime
OR
-Boston loses in regulation
Phoenix clinches a playoff berth IF:
-Phoenix wins in regulation
OR
-Phoenix wins in overtime
Los Angeles clinches a berth IF:
-Los Angeles wins in regulation
OR
-Los Angeles wins in overtime
Elimination:
Calgary is eliminated IF:
-Calgary loses in regulation
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Five days til the end of the NHL season....
So here's a look at the updated standings and clinching scenarios
Eastern Conference
1. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-24-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-24-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, 3 GL)
7. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91 pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Buffalo Sabres 40-29-10 (90 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-23-9 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. Los Angeles Kings 45-28-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-12 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 39-28-11 (89 pts, 34 ROW, 4 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers finish be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can finish anywhere from #8 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver will finish the #1
San Jose can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Detroit can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Phoenix can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Los Angeles can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
Philadelphia can clinch the division and at least the #3 seed IF:
-Philadelphia wins in regulation AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins in regulation AND Pittsburgh loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia wins in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia loses in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
Washington can clinch the division and at least the #3 seed IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime AND Tampa Bay loses in overtime
OR
-Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Montreal can clinch a playoff berth and at least the #8 seed IF:
-Montreal wins in regulation
OR
-Montreal wins in overtime
Phoenix can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Dallas loses in overtime
Los Angeles can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Nashville can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Nashville wins in regulation AND Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Nashville wins in overtime AND Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Nashville loses in overtime AND Dallas loses in regulation
Possible elimination scenarios today:
Toronto can be eliminated IF:
-Toronto loses in regulation
OR
-Toronto loses in overtime
OR
-Toronto wins in shootout
OR
-Buffalo wins in regulation
OR
-Buffalo wins in overtime
OR
-Buffalo loses in overtime
That's it for today folks!
Eastern Conference
1. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-24-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-24-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, 3 GL)
7. New York Rangers 43-32-5 (91 pts, 34 ROW, 2 GL)
8. Buffalo Sabres 40-29-10 (90 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. yx-San Jose Sharks 47-23-9 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
4. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. Los Angeles Kings 45-28-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-12 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 39-28-11 (89 pts, 34 ROW, 4 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can finish anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can finish anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers finish be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can finish anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can finish anywhere from #8 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver will finish the #1
San Jose can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Detroit can finish anywhere from #2 to #3
Phoenix can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Los Angeles can finish anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
Philadelphia can clinch the division and at least the #3 seed IF:
-Philadelphia wins in regulation AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins in regulation AND Pittsburgh loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia wins in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia loses in overtime AND Pittsburgh loses in regulation
Washington can clinch the division and at least the #3 seed IF:
-Washington wins in regulation
OR
-Washington wins in overtime
OR
-Washington loses in overtime AND Tampa Bay loses in overtime
OR
-Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Montreal can clinch a playoff berth and at least the #8 seed IF:
-Montreal wins in regulation
OR
-Montreal wins in overtime
Phoenix can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Dallas loses in overtime
Los Angeles can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Nashville can clinch a playoff berth IF:
-Nashville wins in regulation AND Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Nashville wins in overtime AND Dallas loses in regulation
OR
-Nashville loses in overtime AND Dallas loses in regulation
Possible elimination scenarios today:
Toronto can be eliminated IF:
-Toronto loses in regulation
OR
-Toronto loses in overtime
OR
-Toronto wins in shootout
OR
-Buffalo wins in regulation
OR
-Buffalo wins in overtime
OR
-Buffalo loses in overtime
That's it for today folks!
Looking over Monday's games...
Thank god there were only six games on tap yesterday, you can't imagine how difficult it is to actually keep up with the games and report on them. Fantasy reports will start showing up on April 18th so you're going to see a lot more in depth stuff starting then.
Atlanta Braves vs Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)
W: Peter Moylan (1-0)
L: Takashi Saito (0-1)
SV: Craig Kimbrel (2)
Chris Naverson pitched 3 bit ball and didn't give up a run, unfortunately Takashi Satio gave up 2 jacks in the 8th to Martin Prado and Dan Uggla. Brandon Beachy had a great first start with only a solo homer and 3 more hits against him while striking out 7 batters and walking one. Three guys on the Brewers got hits, Braun, Betancourt, and Weeks. Weeks had a solo shot in the third for his third homer of the year which is quite impressive thus far. With Corey Hart on the DL, both Nyjer Morgan and Carlos Gomez are getting chances to solidify an outfield spot, however, it's a battle of futility between the two as they're both batting under .150.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Chicago Cubs (1-4)
W: Randy Wells (1-0)
L: Joe Saunders (0-1)
SV: Carlos Marmol (2)
So the Diamondbacks started with a solo shot to lead off the game... and that's it... Randy Wells settled in after that and kept the D-backs off the scoreboard, in the meantime, the lineup figured out Joe Saunders after he went through them once, and then got a pair of Kam Mickolio. Not much else to report from the game other than the D-backs shouldn't play the next day after getting snowed out in Colorado, apparently that's where everyone except Bloomquist left their bats.
Detroit Tigers vs Baltimore Orioles (1-5)
W: Jake Arrieta (1-0)
L: Rick Porcello (0-1)
I'm not gonna lie, I REALLY REALLY like the Orioles right now... Their starting pitching has been phenomenal, nothing against Detroit, but they did record the most hits of any team against the Orioles this season, thus far. Brian Roberts hit another bomb (is this 2005 again?) and the Orioles got nine hits including some timely hits with RISP. Matt Wieters also scored on a wild pitch and the Tiger's lone run came on the one innings where Arrieta gave up three consecutive hits. One thing he needs to work on is staying in control once a batter reaches base. Speaking of in control, Porcello was completely out of control once Roberts hit that fluke of a home run (not gonna lie, it just got carried out by the wind, but regardless, a homer is a homer. Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero both struck out in the fiftth because they went up hacking and swung on some poor pitches. Wieters seems a lot more comfortable in the #5 hole, but don't expect it to last long with Luke Scott due back soon. At worst, Wieters would be hitting sixth, but I think they should put Luke in the 6 spot and move Jones down to 8th, as he's hitting a miserable .125 right now.
Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees (3-4)
W: Ivan Nova (1-0)
L: Scott Baker (0-1)
SV: Mariano Rivera (3)
The Yankees were powered early by two run jacks from Posada and A-Rod. It's a shame that it took Baker going once through the order to settle down. I actually saw most of the runs scored in this game. A-Rod hit a bomb to left while Posada drove one to right center. Jim Thome was about 4 feet short of a homer, but he did drive in two runs with his double in the 4th. The Twins look like they're slowly starting to regain their offensive form. Meanwhile, on the Yankees, some of these guys look like they're in mid-season form. The Twins really need to figure out their pitching before it gets out of hand.
Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers (4-6)
W: Derek Holland (1-)
L: Erik Bedard (0-1)
SV: Neftali Feliz (1)
Ah... Bedard's first start in two years... and his defense fails him (Ichiro for once, go figure...), and his lineup couldn't produce enough. I like what I saw from Bedard, but the Rangers' bats are smoking right now, they are just destroying the ball at home and Nelson Cruz just hit his fourth homer of the season in four games. last time to do that was Mark McGwire in 98, and we all know how that went. Still, this Rangers offense is something to fear. ELVIS ANDRUS FINALLY HIT A HOMER! I still don't trust their pitching, and this is a Mariners team that absolutely sucks, so I'm not taking too much from this game.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)
W: Charlie Morton
L: Kyle Lohse
SV: Joel Hanrahan
Are these Pirates real? Or is this simply a byproduct of dumb luck? Regardless, they should hit the panic button in St. Louis, they went 1 for 9 with RISP. It is god awful. The sad part is that Kyle Lohse, minus the sixth inning actually pitched a brilliant game. He just imploded in the seventh and walked batters and gave up hits, then Neil Walker got a double to drive in 2 and McCutchen followed with a 2-run homer. Outside of that, Lohse was good. Pujols is hitting .125! Ouch!
Atlanta Braves vs Milwaukee Brewers (2-1)
W: Peter Moylan (1-0)
L: Takashi Saito (0-1)
SV: Craig Kimbrel (2)
Chris Naverson pitched 3 bit ball and didn't give up a run, unfortunately Takashi Satio gave up 2 jacks in the 8th to Martin Prado and Dan Uggla. Brandon Beachy had a great first start with only a solo homer and 3 more hits against him while striking out 7 batters and walking one. Three guys on the Brewers got hits, Braun, Betancourt, and Weeks. Weeks had a solo shot in the third for his third homer of the year which is quite impressive thus far. With Corey Hart on the DL, both Nyjer Morgan and Carlos Gomez are getting chances to solidify an outfield spot, however, it's a battle of futility between the two as they're both batting under .150.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Chicago Cubs (1-4)
W: Randy Wells (1-0)
L: Joe Saunders (0-1)
SV: Carlos Marmol (2)
So the Diamondbacks started with a solo shot to lead off the game... and that's it... Randy Wells settled in after that and kept the D-backs off the scoreboard, in the meantime, the lineup figured out Joe Saunders after he went through them once, and then got a pair of Kam Mickolio. Not much else to report from the game other than the D-backs shouldn't play the next day after getting snowed out in Colorado, apparently that's where everyone except Bloomquist left their bats.
Detroit Tigers vs Baltimore Orioles (1-5)
W: Jake Arrieta (1-0)
L: Rick Porcello (0-1)
I'm not gonna lie, I REALLY REALLY like the Orioles right now... Their starting pitching has been phenomenal, nothing against Detroit, but they did record the most hits of any team against the Orioles this season, thus far. Brian Roberts hit another bomb (is this 2005 again?) and the Orioles got nine hits including some timely hits with RISP. Matt Wieters also scored on a wild pitch and the Tiger's lone run came on the one innings where Arrieta gave up three consecutive hits. One thing he needs to work on is staying in control once a batter reaches base. Speaking of in control, Porcello was completely out of control once Roberts hit that fluke of a home run (not gonna lie, it just got carried out by the wind, but regardless, a homer is a homer. Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero both struck out in the fiftth because they went up hacking and swung on some poor pitches. Wieters seems a lot more comfortable in the #5 hole, but don't expect it to last long with Luke Scott due back soon. At worst, Wieters would be hitting sixth, but I think they should put Luke in the 6 spot and move Jones down to 8th, as he's hitting a miserable .125 right now.
Minnesota Twins vs New York Yankees (3-4)
W: Ivan Nova (1-0)
L: Scott Baker (0-1)
SV: Mariano Rivera (3)
The Yankees were powered early by two run jacks from Posada and A-Rod. It's a shame that it took Baker going once through the order to settle down. I actually saw most of the runs scored in this game. A-Rod hit a bomb to left while Posada drove one to right center. Jim Thome was about 4 feet short of a homer, but he did drive in two runs with his double in the 4th. The Twins look like they're slowly starting to regain their offensive form. Meanwhile, on the Yankees, some of these guys look like they're in mid-season form. The Twins really need to figure out their pitching before it gets out of hand.
Seattle Mariners vs Texas Rangers (4-6)
W: Derek Holland (1-)
L: Erik Bedard (0-1)
SV: Neftali Feliz (1)
Ah... Bedard's first start in two years... and his defense fails him (Ichiro for once, go figure...), and his lineup couldn't produce enough. I like what I saw from Bedard, but the Rangers' bats are smoking right now, they are just destroying the ball at home and Nelson Cruz just hit his fourth homer of the season in four games. last time to do that was Mark McGwire in 98, and we all know how that went. Still, this Rangers offense is something to fear. ELVIS ANDRUS FINALLY HIT A HOMER! I still don't trust their pitching, and this is a Mariners team that absolutely sucks, so I'm not taking too much from this game.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)
W: Charlie Morton
L: Kyle Lohse
SV: Joel Hanrahan
Are these Pirates real? Or is this simply a byproduct of dumb luck? Regardless, they should hit the panic button in St. Louis, they went 1 for 9 with RISP. It is god awful. The sad part is that Kyle Lohse, minus the sixth inning actually pitched a brilliant game. He just imploded in the seventh and walked batters and gave up hits, then Neil Walker got a double to drive in 2 and McCutchen followed with a 2-run homer. Outside of that, Lohse was good. Pujols is hitting .125! Ouch!
Monday, April 4, 2011
7 days until the NHL season ends....
So here's a look at the updated standings and clinching scenarios
Eastern Conference
1. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-23-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 4 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-24-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 40-29-10 (90 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
8. New York Rangers 42-32-5 (89 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. x-San Jose Sharks 46-23-9 (101 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
4. Los Angeles Kings 45-27-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-12 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 39-28-11 (89 pts, 34 ROW, 5 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can be anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver is the #1
San Jose can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Detroit can be anywhere from #2 to #3
Los Angeles can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can be anywhere from #3 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
San Jose clinches the division and can finish no lower than the #3 seed IF:
-San Jose wins in regulation
OR
-San Jose wins in overtime
Los Angeles clinches a playoff berth IF:
-Los Angeles wins in regulation
OR
-Los Angeles wins in overtime
I think that covers it for today!
A look ahead to Tuesday's matchups that will involve playoff teams
Tampa Bay vs Buffalo
-Tampa Bay will need a win to have a chance at the Southeast division crown while Buffalo will need a win to get them one step closer to the playoffs
Washington vs Toronto
-Washington needs a win to clinch the division while Toronto needs a win to keep any hope of going to the playoffs as a loss will most certainly eliminate them
New Jersey vs Pittsburgh
-The Devils look to play spoiler to prevent the Penguins from having any shot at winning the division
Chicago vs Montreal
-The Blackhawks need a win to hold onto a playoff spot while the Canadiens need a win to hopefully clinch a playoff spot
Colorado vs St. Louis
-No playoff implications
Atlanta vs Nashville
-Nashville needs to win to keep a grip on their playoff spot while the Thrashers look to play spoiler
Columbus vs Dallas
-Dallas needs a win to maintain hope at clinching a playoff spot while Columbus will look to end the season on a high note
Vancouver vs Edmonton
-No Playoff implications, Vancouver has clinched everything
Eastern Conference
1. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-11 (103 pts, 43 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-23-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 4 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 44-24-11 (99 pts, 38 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 40-29-10 (90 pts, 35 ROW, 3 GL)
8. New York Rangers 42-32-5 (89 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. yx-Detroit Red Wings 46-23-10 (102 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
3. x-San Jose Sharks 46-23-9 (101 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
4. Los Angeles Kings 45-27-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-12 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-30-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 3 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-28-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 40-29-11 (91 pts, 31 ROW, 2 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 39-28-11 (89 pts, 34 ROW, 5 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can be anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Montreal can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver is the #1
San Jose can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Detroit can be anywhere from #2 to #3
Los Angeles can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can be anywhere from #3 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#4 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
San Jose clinches the division and can finish no lower than the #3 seed IF:
-San Jose wins in regulation
OR
-San Jose wins in overtime
Los Angeles clinches a playoff berth IF:
-Los Angeles wins in regulation
OR
-Los Angeles wins in overtime
I think that covers it for today!
A look ahead to Tuesday's matchups that will involve playoff teams
Tampa Bay vs Buffalo
-Tampa Bay will need a win to have a chance at the Southeast division crown while Buffalo will need a win to get them one step closer to the playoffs
Washington vs Toronto
-Washington needs a win to clinch the division while Toronto needs a win to keep any hope of going to the playoffs as a loss will most certainly eliminate them
New Jersey vs Pittsburgh
-The Devils look to play spoiler to prevent the Penguins from having any shot at winning the division
Chicago vs Montreal
-The Blackhawks need a win to hold onto a playoff spot while the Canadiens need a win to hopefully clinch a playoff spot
Colorado vs St. Louis
-No playoff implications
Atlanta vs Nashville
-Nashville needs to win to keep a grip on their playoff spot while the Thrashers look to play spoiler
Columbus vs Dallas
-Dallas needs a win to maintain hope at clinching a playoff spot while Columbus will look to end the season on a high note
Vancouver vs Edmonton
-No Playoff implications, Vancouver has clinched everything
Day 4 of the MLB season (so far...)
Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Indians (1-7)
W: Justin Masterson (1-0)
L: John Danks (0-1)
You wanna know how to shut down the White Sox bats? Throw out the master. Justin Masterson. He scattered seven hits and a pair of walks. While he didn't strike out anyone, he did control the White Sox bats with 16 ground balls! On the other side, John Danks was crusing so well, until he left a mistake to Orlando Cabrera and that cost him the win. He had 8 K's and held the Indians to only 6 hits, just one mistake cost him. The Indians also got a triple play on a fluke bunt that got caught. The bullpen for the White Sox couldn't limit the lead and gave up five runs, perhaps their bullpen may be the weak link going forward.
Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees (10-7)
W: Max Scherzer (1-0)
L: Phil Hughes (0-1)
SV: Jose Valverde (1)
In a game with no pitching, Brennan Boesch went nuts to the tune of 4-4, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs. Also got his first home run of the season. Miguel Cabrera got a pair of homers and 4 RBIs for the Tigers who finally out-slugged the Yankees. Mark Teixeira is starting the year on fire with his third homer of the season (one in each game so far!) and Jorge Posada also had a pair of homers for the Yanks. However, it wasn't enough. Scherzer and Hughes both had issues today and hopefully they can fix it by next week. However, somebody better pick up Brennan Boesch, dude is hitting third in the lineup ahead of Miguel Cabrera.
Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays (4-3)
W: Nick Blackburn (1-0)
L: Brett Cecil (0-1)
SV: Joe Nathan (1)
Well, now we know that Joe Nathan is pitching, he might not be back to his old self, just yet... Blackburn managed to shut down the Blue Jay's bats who had scored double-digit runs in the previous two games. Jose Bautista got his second homer of the year, but the Twins were powered by the little guys Denard Span and Danny Valencia. Nick Blackburn managed to control the Jays bats, much like Masterson did to the White Sox.
Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds (3-12)
W: Bronson Arroyo (1-0)
L: Randy Wolf (0-1)
I've given up on Randy Wolf, this guy sucks, moving onto the Reds offense. Johnny Gomes, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Hannigan homered, with Hanningan getting a pair and driving in four RBIs. This team has offense up and down the lineup and will compete for the NL Central crown.
New York Mets vs Florida Marlins (9-2)
W: R.A. Dickey (1-0)
L: Javier Vazquez (0-1)
I didn't get to see this game, but I guess there's a reason Vazquez is no longer in New York and R.A. Dickey looks phenomenal. The Marlins didn't get much production out of their lineup with Runners in Scoring Position going 3 for 14 while the Mets went 2 for 15. The difference today? A lack of defense by the Marlins with several throwing errors while runners were in scoring position that resulted in three unearned runs and the inability to keep the ball in the park on homers by Willie Harris and Ike Davis.
Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals (11-2)
W: Tim Hudson (1-0)
L: Jordan Zimmerman (0-1)
The score is deceiving. Jordan Zimmerman gave up only 2 earned runs in the first six innings, however, it was his bullpen that got shelled by the Braves offense, especially in the 8th inning where the Braves scored 6 runs to blow the game wide open. Brian McCann got four RBIs to pace the Braves. The Nats bullpen needs a ton of work.
Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies (3-7)
W: Roy Oswalt (1-0)
L: Bud Norris (0-1)
Roy Oswalt held the Phillies to two runs through six innings and Ryan Howard did the rest. Ryan Howard hit a three run bomb to start the game and had an RBI double. Hunter Pence got a solo shot for the Astros, but not much else outside of that...
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays (5-1)
W: Zach Britton (1-0)
L: Wade Davis (0-1)
I saw the first five innings and the last inning. Zach Britton looked a lot like the rest of this rotation. Legit. Although he was the first Orioles starter to give up a run, the Orioles gave up 1 run in each game against a Rays team that was top 5 in scoring last season. I like the Orioles this season. If their pitching continues, I like where they're going places.
Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers (1-5)
W: Matt Harrison (1-0)
L: Clay Buchholz (0-1)
Uh-oh... Crawford is batting seventh and this team looks like it's starting in the wrong direction... Buchholz got lit up and the Rangers offense is on fire! Kinsler and Cruz both had HRs today to become the first pair of teammates to homer in the first three games of the season. Mike Napoli and David Murphy both got home runs and Michael Young was the only guy to drive in a run without it being a solo shot.The Red Sox Nation is pretty damn close to hitting the panic button!
Los Angeles Angels vs Kansas City Royals (9-12)
W: Tim Collins (1-0)
L: Jason Bulger (0-1)
This was just an offensive slug fest. 21 runs, 33 hits, 9 doubles, 8 home runs and absolutely no pitching. Matt Treanor won it for the Royals with a homer in the bottom of the 13th. If I'm a Royals fan, there's not much optimism to take from this game, but if I'm an Angels fan, I'm deeply worried about my pitching.
San Diego Padres vs St. Louis Cardinals (0-2)
W: Jamie Garcia (1-0)
L: Dustin Moseley (0-1)
Holy smokes, forget about losing Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia! Complete game shutout! 4 hits, 2 walks and 9 K's! Dustin Moseley was pretty good as well, but Jaime Garcia just came into his sophomore season with a bang! There's still reason to worry about Pujols, but Jaime Garcia needs more performances like this if the Cardinals are to contend of the NL Central.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs (5-4)
W: Jeff Karstens (1-0)
L: Carlos Marmol (0-1)
SV: Joel Hanrahan (2)
First off, I actually saw the end of this game live, and Marmol got screwed by his defense, Castro threw a ball so wide off first base, I could've sworn the first baseman was at least 10 feet off first base and still dove for the ball and barely managed to hold onto it. In all that craziness, Neil Walker scored from 2nd base and barely beat the throw to the plate. At worst, it should've been 4-4 going to the bottom of the 9th. The Pirates also had 16 singles in this game which is mind-boggling! Regardless, the Cubs going 2 for 10 with RISP really hurt them.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies
Postponed due to Snow.. are you kidding me? This series should've been held in Arizona!
Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics (1-7)
W: Gio Gonzalez (1-0)
L: Doug Fister (0-1)
Doug Fister actually had a good start, the pitch count got too high. Gio Gonzalez had some solid stuff and put in a quality start for the win! The Mariners bullpen actually got lit up and blew the game wide open. Coco Crisp was a homer short of the cycle and the only run for the M's came on a solo shot by Ryan Langerhans. The A's got all their runs playing small ball, especially in the seventh, they're gonna be a team to watch out for this year!
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers (5-7)
W: Hiroki Kuroda (1-0)
L: Dan Runzler (0-1)
SV: Jonathan Broxton (3)
Aubrey Huff had a horrible game in Right Field last night. I believe he is the reason the Giants lost this game. In the seventh, all the runs were scored on hits to right field. When Cody Ross comes back, Huff can go back to 1st base, but right now, he's gonna be a problem. He had a night of great catches on Saturday and just didn't have it on Sunday. Zito and Kuroda both had quality starts, but that seventh inning killed the Giants.
W: Justin Masterson (1-0)
L: John Danks (0-1)
You wanna know how to shut down the White Sox bats? Throw out the master. Justin Masterson. He scattered seven hits and a pair of walks. While he didn't strike out anyone, he did control the White Sox bats with 16 ground balls! On the other side, John Danks was crusing so well, until he left a mistake to Orlando Cabrera and that cost him the win. He had 8 K's and held the Indians to only 6 hits, just one mistake cost him. The Indians also got a triple play on a fluke bunt that got caught. The bullpen for the White Sox couldn't limit the lead and gave up five runs, perhaps their bullpen may be the weak link going forward.
Detroit Tigers vs New York Yankees (10-7)
W: Max Scherzer (1-0)
L: Phil Hughes (0-1)
SV: Jose Valverde (1)
In a game with no pitching, Brennan Boesch went nuts to the tune of 4-4, 4 runs, and 4 RBIs. Also got his first home run of the season. Miguel Cabrera got a pair of homers and 4 RBIs for the Tigers who finally out-slugged the Yankees. Mark Teixeira is starting the year on fire with his third homer of the season (one in each game so far!) and Jorge Posada also had a pair of homers for the Yanks. However, it wasn't enough. Scherzer and Hughes both had issues today and hopefully they can fix it by next week. However, somebody better pick up Brennan Boesch, dude is hitting third in the lineup ahead of Miguel Cabrera.
Minnesota Twins vs Toronto Blue Jays (4-3)
W: Nick Blackburn (1-0)
L: Brett Cecil (0-1)
SV: Joe Nathan (1)
Well, now we know that Joe Nathan is pitching, he might not be back to his old self, just yet... Blackburn managed to shut down the Blue Jay's bats who had scored double-digit runs in the previous two games. Jose Bautista got his second homer of the year, but the Twins were powered by the little guys Denard Span and Danny Valencia. Nick Blackburn managed to control the Jays bats, much like Masterson did to the White Sox.
Milwaukee Brewers vs Cincinnati Reds (3-12)
W: Bronson Arroyo (1-0)
L: Randy Wolf (0-1)
I've given up on Randy Wolf, this guy sucks, moving onto the Reds offense. Johnny Gomes, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Hannigan homered, with Hanningan getting a pair and driving in four RBIs. This team has offense up and down the lineup and will compete for the NL Central crown.
New York Mets vs Florida Marlins (9-2)
W: R.A. Dickey (1-0)
L: Javier Vazquez (0-1)
I didn't get to see this game, but I guess there's a reason Vazquez is no longer in New York and R.A. Dickey looks phenomenal. The Marlins didn't get much production out of their lineup with Runners in Scoring Position going 3 for 14 while the Mets went 2 for 15. The difference today? A lack of defense by the Marlins with several throwing errors while runners were in scoring position that resulted in three unearned runs and the inability to keep the ball in the park on homers by Willie Harris and Ike Davis.
Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals (11-2)
W: Tim Hudson (1-0)
L: Jordan Zimmerman (0-1)
The score is deceiving. Jordan Zimmerman gave up only 2 earned runs in the first six innings, however, it was his bullpen that got shelled by the Braves offense, especially in the 8th inning where the Braves scored 6 runs to blow the game wide open. Brian McCann got four RBIs to pace the Braves. The Nats bullpen needs a ton of work.
Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies (3-7)
W: Roy Oswalt (1-0)
L: Bud Norris (0-1)
Roy Oswalt held the Phillies to two runs through six innings and Ryan Howard did the rest. Ryan Howard hit a three run bomb to start the game and had an RBI double. Hunter Pence got a solo shot for the Astros, but not much else outside of that...
Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays (5-1)
W: Zach Britton (1-0)
L: Wade Davis (0-1)
I saw the first five innings and the last inning. Zach Britton looked a lot like the rest of this rotation. Legit. Although he was the first Orioles starter to give up a run, the Orioles gave up 1 run in each game against a Rays team that was top 5 in scoring last season. I like the Orioles this season. If their pitching continues, I like where they're going places.
Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers (1-5)
W: Matt Harrison (1-0)
L: Clay Buchholz (0-1)
Uh-oh... Crawford is batting seventh and this team looks like it's starting in the wrong direction... Buchholz got lit up and the Rangers offense is on fire! Kinsler and Cruz both had HRs today to become the first pair of teammates to homer in the first three games of the season. Mike Napoli and David Murphy both got home runs and Michael Young was the only guy to drive in a run without it being a solo shot.The Red Sox Nation is pretty damn close to hitting the panic button!
Los Angeles Angels vs Kansas City Royals (9-12)
W: Tim Collins (1-0)
L: Jason Bulger (0-1)
This was just an offensive slug fest. 21 runs, 33 hits, 9 doubles, 8 home runs and absolutely no pitching. Matt Treanor won it for the Royals with a homer in the bottom of the 13th. If I'm a Royals fan, there's not much optimism to take from this game, but if I'm an Angels fan, I'm deeply worried about my pitching.
San Diego Padres vs St. Louis Cardinals (0-2)
W: Jamie Garcia (1-0)
L: Dustin Moseley (0-1)
Holy smokes, forget about losing Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia! Complete game shutout! 4 hits, 2 walks and 9 K's! Dustin Moseley was pretty good as well, but Jaime Garcia just came into his sophomore season with a bang! There's still reason to worry about Pujols, but Jaime Garcia needs more performances like this if the Cardinals are to contend of the NL Central.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs (5-4)
W: Jeff Karstens (1-0)
L: Carlos Marmol (0-1)
SV: Joel Hanrahan (2)
First off, I actually saw the end of this game live, and Marmol got screwed by his defense, Castro threw a ball so wide off first base, I could've sworn the first baseman was at least 10 feet off first base and still dove for the ball and barely managed to hold onto it. In all that craziness, Neil Walker scored from 2nd base and barely beat the throw to the plate. At worst, it should've been 4-4 going to the bottom of the 9th. The Pirates also had 16 singles in this game which is mind-boggling! Regardless, the Cubs going 2 for 10 with RISP really hurt them.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies
Postponed due to Snow.. are you kidding me? This series should've been held in Arizona!
Seattle Mariners vs Oakland Athletics (1-7)
W: Gio Gonzalez (1-0)
L: Doug Fister (0-1)
Doug Fister actually had a good start, the pitch count got too high. Gio Gonzalez had some solid stuff and put in a quality start for the win! The Mariners bullpen actually got lit up and blew the game wide open. Coco Crisp was a homer short of the cycle and the only run for the M's came on a solo shot by Ryan Langerhans. The A's got all their runs playing small ball, especially in the seventh, they're gonna be a team to watch out for this year!
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers (5-7)
W: Hiroki Kuroda (1-0)
L: Dan Runzler (0-1)
SV: Jonathan Broxton (3)
Aubrey Huff had a horrible game in Right Field last night. I believe he is the reason the Giants lost this game. In the seventh, all the runs were scored on hits to right field. When Cody Ross comes back, Huff can go back to 1st base, but right now, he's gonna be a problem. He had a night of great catches on Saturday and just didn't have it on Sunday. Zito and Kuroda both had quality starts, but that seventh inning killed the Giants.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The remaining NHL Season...
So here's a look at the standings and clinching scenarios
Eastern Conference
1. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-10 (102 pts, 43 ROW, 4 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-23-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 4 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 43-24-11 (97 pts, 37 ROW, 4 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 39-29-10 (88 pts, 34 ROW, 4 GL)
8. New York Rangers 41-32-5 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (86 pts, 33 ROW, 4 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-San Jose Sharks 46-23-9 (101 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
3. x-Detroit Red Wings 45-23-10 (100 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
4. Los Angeles Kings 45-27-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-11 (95 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-29-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 4 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-27-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 5 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 39-29-11 (89 pts, 30 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 38-28-11 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 5 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can be anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can be anywhere from #1 to #6
Montreal can be anywhere from #5 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver is the #1
San Jose can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Detroit can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Los Angeles can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #3 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#2 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
Washington clinches the Southeast division and can finish no lower than the #3 seed IF:
-Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Philadelphia can finish no lower than the #4 seed IF:
-Philadelphia wins AND Tampa Bay loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins AND Tampa bay loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia loses in overtime AND Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Tampa Bay can finish no lower than the #5 seed IF:
-Tampa Bay wins
OR
-Tampa Bay loses in overtime
San Jose can finish no lower than #7 IF:
-Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Chicago loses in overtime
San Jose can finish no lower than #6 IF:
-Anaheim loses in overtime AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Anaheim loses in overtime AND Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Anaheim loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Anaheim loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in regulation
Detroit can finish no lower than #7 IF:
-Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Chicago loses in overtime
Detroit can finish no lower than #6 IF:
-Anaheim loses in regulation
Detroit can finish no lower than #5 IF:
-Detroit loses in overtime
Detroit can finish no lower than #4 IF:
-Detroit wins
Los Angeles can clinch a playoff berth and finish no lower than #8 IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Phoenix can clinch a playoff berth and finish no lower than #8 IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Eliminations:
Calgary can be eliminated IF:
-Calgary loses in regulation AND Chicago wins
OR
-Calgary loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Calgary loses in overtime AND Chicago wins
I think that covers it for today!
Eastern Conference
1. x-Washington Capitals 46-22-11 (103 pts, 42 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-Philadelphia Flyers 46-22-10 (102 pts, 43 ROW, 4 GL)
3. yx-Boston Bruins 44-23-11 (99 pts, 42 ROW, 4 GL)
4. x-Pittsburgh Penguins 46-25-8 (100 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
5. x-Tampa Bay Lightning 43-24-11 (97 pts, 37 ROW, 4 GL)
6. Montreal Canadiens 42-30-7 (91 pts, 39 ROW, GL)
7. Buffalo Sabres 39-29-10 (88 pts, 34 ROW, 4 GL)
8. New York Rangers 41-32-5 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 4 GL)
9. Carolina Panthers 38-30-10 (86 pts, 33 ROW, 4 GL)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs 37-32-10 (84 pts, 32 ROW, 3 GL)
Western Conference
1. pzyx-Vancouver Canucks 52-18-9 (113 pts, 48 ROW, 3 GL)
2. x-San Jose Sharks 46-23-9 (101 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
3. x-Detroit Red Wings 45-23-10 (100 pts, 41 ROW, 4 GL)
4. Los Angeles Kings 45-27-6 (96 pts, 36 ROW, 4 GL)
5. Phoenix Coyotoes 42-25-12 (96 pts, 37 ROW, 3 GL)
6. Nashville Predators 42-26-11 (95 pts, 36 ROW, 3 GL)
7. Anaheim Ducks 44-29-5 (93 pts, 40 ROW, 4 GL)
8. Chicago Blackhawks 42-27-8 (92 pts, 36 ROW, 5 GL)
9. Calgary Flames 39-29-11 (89 pts, 30 ROW, 3 GL)
10. Dallas Stars 38-28-11 (87 pts, 33 ROW, 5 GL)
x-clinched playoff spot
y-clinched division
z-clinched conference
p-clinched president's trophy
Possible seeding in playoffs:
Eastern Conference:
Washington can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Philadelphia can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Boston can be anywhere from #1 to #3
Pittsburgh can be anywhere from #1 to #5
Tampa Bay can be anywhere from #1 to #6
Montreal can be anywhere from #5 to out of the playoffs
Buffalo can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
NY Rangers can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Carolina can be anywhere from #6 to out of the playoffs
Toronto can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Western Conference:
Vancouver is the #1
San Jose can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Detroit can be anywhere from #2 to #8
Los Angeles can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Phoenix can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Nashville can be anywhere from #3 to out of the playoffs
Anaheim can be anywhere from#2 to out of the playoffs
Chicago can be anywhere from #2 to out of the playoffs
Calgary can be anywhere from #7 to out of the playoffs
Dallas can be anywhere from #4 to out of the playoffs
Possible clinching scenarios today:
Washington clinches the Southeast division and can finish no lower than the #3 seed IF:
-Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Philadelphia can finish no lower than the #4 seed IF:
-Philadelphia wins AND Tampa Bay loses in regulation
OR
-Philadelphia wins AND Tampa bay loses in overtime
OR
-Philadelphia loses in overtime AND Tampa Bay loses in regulation
Tampa Bay can finish no lower than the #5 seed IF:
-Tampa Bay wins
OR
-Tampa Bay loses in overtime
San Jose can finish no lower than #7 IF:
-Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Chicago loses in overtime
San Jose can finish no lower than #6 IF:
-Anaheim loses in overtime AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Anaheim loses in overtime AND Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Anaheim loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Anaheim loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in regulation
Detroit can finish no lower than #7 IF:
-Chicago loses in regulation
OR
-Chicago loses in overtime
Detroit can finish no lower than #6 IF:
-Anaheim loses in regulation
Detroit can finish no lower than #5 IF:
-Detroit loses in overtime
Detroit can finish no lower than #4 IF:
-Detroit wins
Los Angeles can clinch a playoff berth and finish no lower than #8 IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Phoenix can clinch a playoff berth and finish no lower than #8 IF:
-Dallas loses in regulation
Eliminations:
Calgary can be eliminated IF:
-Calgary loses in regulation AND Chicago wins
OR
-Calgary loses in regulation AND Chicago loses in overtime
OR
-Calgary loses in overtime AND Chicago wins
I think that covers it for today!
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