This week in the NHL: The Eastern conference playoff race is tightening up as 6 teams are within 5 points of the final three playoff spots in the East. The Rangers, Lightning and Montreal have 6 games remaining while the Hurricanes, Islanders and Leafs each have 7 games remaining. It should be an interesting week in the NHL as these teams face each other frequently over the remainder of the season.
The Rangers play 4 of their remaining 6 games against the 6 teams in the playoff race
The Lightning play only 2 of their remaining 6 games against teams in the race
The Hurricanes play 3 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race
The Islanders play only 2 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race
The Canadiens play 3 of their remaining 6 games against teams in the race
The Maple Leafs play 4 of their remaining 7 games against teams in the race
Looking at the schedule we can see that the Rangers and the Maple Leafs hold their playoff destiny in their hands. Winning the remaining games against their conference rivals could propel these two teams into the playoffs. The Rangers are perhaps the hottest team in the NHL right now and have won 5 straight. The Leafs on the other hand haven't been able to decide which type of team they are, a contender or a pretender. The coming weeks will show us which.
Monday, March 26, 2007
3 Spots open in the East for 6 teams
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2 comments:
I don't like the current NHL scheduling format with eight games each against division rivals. However, I must admit it does cause quite a bit of excitement and scoreboard watching right down to the very last day of the season. This is a playoff race folks and there's going to be quite a few disappointed fans when it's all said and done. But it's still a lot better than a sport such as baseball where some teams are out of it before the preseason even finishes.
After just studying the standings a little closer, I think this should actually be called a seven team race as Atlanta is by no means guaranteed a spot here. Their 88 points leads the Southeast Division, but Tampa with 86, and Carolina with 84, could easily knock the Thrashers out of top spot and possibly out of the playoffs altogether. Toronto,the Islanders, and Carolina, all have a game in hand on Atlanta too, while Toronto, Tampa, and Carolina, all have a game left against the Thrashers. It maybe the longest shot here, but it's still close enough to happen.
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