Possible playoff partner previews

In all likelihood the Penguins will wrap up the Atlantic Division and be either the #1 or #2 seed depending on how the jockeying with Montreal goes. But the bottom of the conference is just as unsettled so there’s really four teams the Penguins could be playing in the first round. A quick profile:


Boston Bruins—The Bruins could still hold on, and if they do, they’re a #7 or #8 seed.
Penguins record this year against them: 2-2 (5-4 shootout win Dec. 20th, 4-2 win Dec 23rd, 2-1 loss Feb 13th, 5-1 loss Feb 28th)
Why it would be good to play Boston: Their best two forwards (Marc Savard and Patrice Beregron) are hurt and their goaltending situation is up in the air.
Why Boston is a scary matchup: They have Zdeno Chara and a tight checking defensive system that could give opponents fits…And when their goaltending has been good, it’s been very good


Ottawa Senators—For what was the East’s best team for much of the season, the playoffs are no longer to be taken for granted. If they don’t play well they could miss it or end up as a #7 seed
Penguins record this year against them: 1-2-1 (6-5 SO W Nov 22th, 4-1 L Dec 13th, 4-3 OT L Feb 23rd, 5-4 L Mar 1st)
Why it would be good to play Ottawa: They fired their coach and have struggled the second half of the season, inconsistent goalie play and definitely a city in panic right now
Why Ottawa is a scary matchup: They did easily handle the Pens last season and have a lot of playoff experience


Philadelphia Flyers—The Flyboys up and down season continues. If they make the playoffs, it’ll be as a low #7 or #8 seed
Penguins record against them: 2-4, with two more to play (3-1 L Nov 7th, 5-2 L Nov 10th, 8-2 L Dec 11th, 4-3 L Jan 24th, 4-3 W Feb 10th, 7-1 W Mar 16th)
Why it would be good to play Philly: The Penguins showed they can beat the crap out of them, in the 7-1 game. Plus if Philly holds off Washington or Boston for one of the last seeds, they might have expended more energy and effort to make it in the playoffs than they would be able to use once they get there.
Why Philly is a scary matchup: It is an in-state rivalry and the Flyers have been the Pens twice. Plus if they get in the playoffs it will probably mean they’ve won at least 1 of these final 2 games and their confidence for beating Pittsburgh would be pretty high


Washington Capitals—Ok, so it’s more likely that they’d make the playoffs as the #3 seed, but suppose Carolina doesn’t stumble and one of the above do. That’s what dreams are made of
Penguins record against them 3-0-1 (2-1 W Oct 20th, 4-3 OT W Dec 27th, 6-5 SO L Jan 21st, 4-2 W Mar 9th)
Why it would be good to play the Caps: Except for Fedorov, their nucleus of important players; (Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Green, Laich, etc) haven’t played in the NHL postseason. Cristobal Huet has 6 NHL playoff games under his belt, plus Pittsburgh kinda has a hammer-nail relationship going on here
Why Washington is a scary matchup: If the Caps make it, it means they’ll be winners of 11 of their last 12 and riding a wave of confidence in themselves and Huet. But like the Islanders last year, sometimes going on that kind of run just to get their uses all the focus and energy a team can muster

Call Jim Mora, the Pens are officially in the PLAYOFFS

Damn it feels good to be a gansta

We had a long post about the game but upon publishing it, it seems blogger messed it up. Very strange.

Anyways, the only thing that matters--no, not the formality of clinching a playoff berth--Marc Andre Fleury's statline in his starts since returning from injury:

• 7-1-0, 1.47 GAA, .951 save %, 2 shutouts

Franchise goalie caliber indeed.

Now is not even the time to mention this, but somewhere, deep in the pit of your stomach, don't you feel like the Penguins are going to count on Ty Conklin to step up somewhere along the way and bail them out? We can't shake that feeling.

But for now, it's all about some MAF.

Re-seed the playoffs!

Interesting thoughts from the World-Wide-Leader on NHL playoff seeding:

Burnside: How would you reward the conference champs? Give them five home games in the first round? Let them choose their opponent? Actually, I think that might have some merit. How do you stand on the whole divisional alignment situation wherein you're going to have Carolina getting home ice for winning the Southeast Division, but likely ending up with a handful of fewer points than the sixth seed, whom the Canes will face in the first round?

The South(l)eastern division has been the butt of many jokes (some on this site) but they have produced two of the past three Stanley Cup champions. They may be easily the weakest division in hockey, but anything can happen.

Do not like the idea of 5 home games for a team. Doesn't seem right. Owners won't like it either, the chance of only getting 1 game of revenue from the playoffs.

But maybe the system needs a slight tweak. Instead of locking division winners in the top 3 seeds of the conference, why not just guarantee them home ice in the first round of the playoffs?

True standings right now:
1. Montreal 92
2. New Jersey 91
3. Pittsburgh 91
4. Ottawa 89
5. New York Rangers 87
6. Carolina 87
7. Boston 83
8. Philly 82


Those teams highlighted would be playing each other under the current system, with Carolina holding home ice as the #3 seed and those in front of them bumping down a notch.

In the system TST proposed (giving weak division winners a 4 seed), here's how matchups would look right now:

1/8: Montreal/Philly
2/7: Jersey/Boston
3/6: Pittsburgh/NY Rangers
4/5: Carolina/Ottawa


That balances things out a little more. One could argue though under this system it might be more beneficial to be a #5 seed than a #3. But then again if the top seeds all hold, the #5 seed would have to play the #1 in the second round, so that argument doesn't hold water.

Make the divisional races mean something with a reward; home-ice in the first round. But guaranteeing a 3 seed is forcing uneven matchups. Teams that perform well in the regular season and kill division winners (like the losers of the Montreal-Ottawa race and the NJD-Pitt) deserve to be rewarded with not facing a similiar tough #5 seed, reward them too.

AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!!

The top of the Eastern Conference tomorrow morning:

1. New Jersey Devils 86 points

Record in last ten games: 7-2-1

13 games remaining (6 home, 7 road)

Division games left: 9 (3 vs. Rangers, 2 vs. NYI, 2 vs. Philly, 2 vs. Pittsburgh)

Other games: at Montreal, at Minnesota, at Colorado, Boston

2. Montreal Canadiens 85 points

Record in last ten games: 6-4-0

12 games remaining (8 home, 4 road)

Division games left: 9 (3 vs. Ottawa, 2 vs. Boston, 2 vs. Buffalo, 2 vs. Toronto)

Other games: New Jersey, NYI, St Louis

3. Carolina Hurricanes 79 points

Record in last ten games: 7-2-1

11 games remaining (5 home, 6 road)

Division games left: 8 (2 vs. Atlanta, 2 vs. Florida, 2 vs. Tampa, 2 vs. Washington)

Other games: at Chicago, at Buffalo, Ottawa

4. Pittsburgh Penguins 85 points

Record in last ten games: 5-3-2

12 games remaining (7 home, 5 road)

Division games left: 10 (3 vs. Rangers, 3 vs. Philly, 2 vs. NYI , 2 vs. Devils)

Other games: Buffalo, Tampa

5. Ottawa Senators 83 points

Record in last ten games: 3-5-2

12 games remaining (6 home, 6 road)

Division games left: 10 (3 vs. Boston, 2 vs. Montreal, 2 vs. Buffalo, 2 vs. Toronto)

Other games: at Carolina, St. Louis

6. New York Rangers 83 points

Record in last ten games: 8-0-2

12 games remaining (6 home, 6 road)

Division games left: 10 (3 vs. New Jersey, 3 vs. Pittsburgh , 2 vs. NYI, 2 vs. Philly)

Other games: at Florida, at Tampa Bay

7. Boston Bruins 80 points

Record in last ten games: 6-2-2

13 games remaining (6 home, 7 road)

Division games left: 9 (3 vs. Ottawa, 3 vs. Buffalo, 2 vs. Montreal, 2 vs. Toronto)

Other games: Tampa, Philly, at Washington, at New Jersey

8. Philadelphia Flyers 78 points

Record in last ten games: 5-2-3

13 games remaining (6 home, 7 road)

Division games left: 9 (3 vs. Pittsburgh, 2 vs. NJ Devils , 2 vs. Rangers, 2 vs. NYI)

Other games: at Toronto, Toronto, at Boston, Atlanta

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Looking at how 7 of the teams are from two divisions and given how many times they play each other there should be no doubt in your mind that "playoff hockey"--that is extremely physical, tight checking games with little in the way of taking too many risks--will be in full effect these final few weeks of the season.

Brace Yourself

Obviously the standings shift and change with almost every day, but look who's playing who if they started today.

Please, please, please, PLEASE let this happen

By virtue of being at the top of the SouthLeastern division (hey, somebody’s got to be!) the Capitals and their 1 game above .500 record sit in the 3rd seed of the NHL playoffs.

The Penguins, as of today, are currently in the jackpot 6th seed.

Can’t we just end the season right now, already?