Sometimes it is just a lot of fun when you break the numbers down easily. Tonight we do this for a reason as we look at the magic golfing numbers with a fantasy twist. Now please keep in mind that these numbers are as of the games before March 2nd. Let’s look at the Eastern Conference first.
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Eastern |
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| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | L10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NY Rangers | 62 | 41 | 15 | 6 | 88 | 7-2-1 | Won 3 |
| 2 | Boston | 62 | 38 | 21 | 3 | 79 | 5-4-1 | Won 1 |
| 3 | Florida | 63 | 30 | 21 | 12 | 72 | 5-4-1 | Lost 1 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 63 | 37 | 21 | 5 | 79 | 7-2-1 | Won 4 |
| 5 | Philadelphia | 63 | 35 | 21 | 7 | 77 | 5-5-0 | Won 1 |
| 6 | Ottawa | 65 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 76 | 7-2-1 | Won 2 |
| 7 | New Jersey | 63 | 35 | 23 | 5 | 75 | 4-4-2 | OT 1 |
| 8 | Winnipeg | 66 | 31 | 27 | 8 | 70 | 5-3-2 | Won 1 |
| 9 | Washington | 63 | 32 | 26 | 5 | 69 | 4-5-1 | Won 3 |
| 10 | Buffalo | 64 | 29 | 27 | 8 | 66 | 5-3-2 | Won 2 |
| 11 | Toronto | 64 | 29 | 28 | 7 | 65 | 1-8-1 | Lost 4 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay | 63 | 29 | 28 | 6 | 64 | 6-4-0 | Won 2 |
| 13 | Carolina | 64 | 24 | 27 | 13 | 61 | 4-2-4 | Lost 1 |
| 14 | NY Islanders | 64 | 26 | 29 | 9 | 61 | 3-6-1 | Lost 1 |
| 15 | Montreal | 65 | 25 | 30 | 10 | 60 | 3-6-1 | Won 1 |
It still is weird to see the mere fact that the Montreal Canadiens are dead last in the East. We throw out the goal differentials and home/away record for this reason…….just the graphic itself with the stats above is enough. At this moment ladies and gentlemen, the current projection to make the playoffs or nab the eight seed in the East should be…….
90
That is what it should take anyway. So what is the magic golfing number for some teams. Well let’s get down to those ugly numbers. Again these do not take into account tonight’s results. This is simply a snapshot for hockey and fantasy hockey purposes. And yes we add in projected records to make the playoffs as well. The elimination number reflects regulation losses.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
- 9. Washington — 11-7-1 : 8
- 10. Buffalo — 11-5-2 : 7
- 11. Toronto — 12-5-1 : 6
- 12. Tampa Bay — 12-5-2 : 7
- 13. Carolina — 14-3-1 : 4
- 14. NY Islanders — 14-3-1 : 4
- 15. Montreal — 15-0-2 : 2
There you have that. The key numbers is when you look at some of the awful goal differentials as you get further and further down the standings. Montreal is a -12 amazingly more because they lose more one goals than anyone in the East. However, Florida leads the Southeast and yet has a -21 differential. The Southeast as a whole has not played all that well. Washington was a -6 going into the night while Tampa was a -37 and Carolina at a -25. Winnipeg is a -13 by the way.
These are the teams that have to play pedal to the metal….any team with an elimination number of five or better. The teams with less than five are pretty well finished barring a miracle so the Islanders, Hurricanes, and Canadiens are on the verge of the golf course.
It is time to look at the Western Conference records, shall we?
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Western |
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| Rank | Team | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | L10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 65 | 41 | 16 | 8 | 90 | 206 | 156 | 7-1-2 | Won 1 |
| 2 | Detroit | 64 | 42 | 19 | 3 | 87 | 202 | 151 | 7-2-1 | Won 1 |
| 3 | Phoenix | 64 | 33 | 22 | 9 | 75 | 168 | 160 | 8-1-1 | Lost 1 |
| 4 | St. Louis | 65 | 40 | 18 | 7 | 87 | 166 | 130 | 6-4-0 | Lost 1 |
| 5 | Nashville | 64 | 37 | 20 | 7 | 81 | 181 | 165 | 5-3-2 | Lost 1 |
| 6 | Chicago | 65 | 34 | 24 | 7 | 75 | 198 | 193 | 5-5-0 | Won 1 |
| 7 | San Jose | 63 | 33 | 23 | 7 | 73 | 178 | 160 | 3-6-1 | Lost 1 |
| 8 | Dallas | 64 | 33 | 26 | 5 | 71 | 168 | 175 | 5-3-2 | OT 1 |
| 9 | Los Angeles | 64 | 29 | 23 | 12 | 70 | 138 | 137 | 3-5-2 | Won 1 |
| 10 | Colorado | 65 | 33 | 28 | 4 | 70 | 168 | 175 | 6-3-1 | Lost 1 |
| 11 | Calgary | 64 | 29 | 24 | 11 | 69 | 155 | 175 | 4-2-4 | Won 1 |
| 12 | Minnesota | 64 | 28 | 26 | 10 | 66 | 143 | 172 | 3-5-2 | OT 1 |
| 13 | Anaheim | 64 | 27 | 27 | 10 | 64 | 161 | 180 | 6-3-1 | Lost 2 |
| 14 | Edmonton | 63 | 25 | 32 | 6 | 56 | 169 | 189 | 4-5-1 | Lost 1 |
| 15 | Columbus | 64 | 19 | 38 | 7 | 45 | 148 | 212 | 4-5-1 | Won 1 |
The numbers are fun to look at here even more. We left the goal differentials for the West because of the eyepoppers in here including a -64 by Columbus! Minnesota has the next worst at -29 while Edmonton has a -20. The two previous teams had very good October’s if I remember then went South. Injuries have derailed the current 12th and 14th seeds quite a bit yet some teams like Dallas have risen above adversity to gain the eighth seed for now.
We have decided to project out the 8th seed cutoff for the Western Conference and this may be a bit more controversial than the East to a point but this will be interesting. Here is the number:
91
Now let the fun begin! Some will ask why the slightly higher number for the West? Our low end is 88 for the West and high is 92 but something tells me that teams are going to start winning in the bottom 8 to put pressure on the seventh and eighth seeds in particular (maybe even Chicago at 6). Do you think its time to play the elimination number?
Well we do and sure enough here is the ugly facts from the West.
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
- 9. Los Angeles — 9-6-3 : 9
- 10. Colorado — 10-6-1 : 7
- 11. Calgary — 10-6-2 : 8
- 12. Minnesota — 12-5-1 : 6
- 13. Anaheim — 13-4-1 : 5
- 14. Edmonton — 17-1-1 : 2
- 15. Columbus — ELIMINATED
Well Columbus has been eliminated and Edmonton is on the verge. Honestly the two teams are playing out the string and have been for some time mostly for jobs next year. Fantasy wise this has an important role for some teams headed to their playoffs because even bottom feeder NHL teams can have gems for fantasy owners. This happens every year where one or two players come off a bad team catch fire and it sets the wheels in motion.
That is it for now. Come back next week when we add a few more wrinkles to this column……
