* Pre-Skate *
Rather than going straight to the results with the exciting Saturday results, I'll go over them a bit first here. Today was filled with absolute climatic hockey games, namely Philadelphia, New York, and Carolina. Above all else, we finally have a clear picture on the playoffs. There is only one spot to be determined Sunday and that will be figured out by the Red Wings and Blackhawks game as well as the Stars and Wild game. If the Blackhawks do win, they will jump to the fifth seed and clinch a spot in the playoffs. If Dallas wins, the Western Conference seeding will remain exactly the same with Dallas taking Chicago's current eighth place spot.
Let's start with the biggest game of the night for me with the Philadelphia Flyers. Going into the game I was worried whether or not the Flyers were going to bring their game to face the New York Islanders. If they won, they clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference. If not, they would have to hope the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in regulation on Sunday. I wouldn't typically see a team like the Islanders beating the Flyers. Unfortunately, it's been awhile since the Flyers played good consistent hockey even against the lesser teams of the NHL. I was feeling very confident when the Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first minute of the hockey game. Yes, the first minute of the game. Two quick goals and the Flyers looked golden. Not so fast. New York responded by scoring three straight goals before Philadelphia responded with a third of their own in the first period. I wasn't watching the game on TV (at work) so I was going by the stats that I could see at work. I was calling for the pulling of Philadelphia's goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The goals weren't all his fault but I figured the young guy had to be shaky after those. Peter Laviolette must have agreed as he pulled Bob for Brian Boucher. Boucher would play stellar the rest of the way only letting in one goal on good deal of shots. New York opened the second period by scoring another goal to take yet another lead. I really thought the Flyers were going to let this one get away. By the third period, Philadelphia climbed to a 6-4 lead which eventually led to a 7-4 lead behind a empty net goal. Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros was an absolute beast for Philadelphia tonight. He had two goals and two assists helping Philly clinch the Atlantic Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. While I'm not too thrilled with the four goals part, I can't be too upset because they did win and they were putting goals up on the board. The Flyers will see the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs. Sergei Bobrovsky is slated to start for the Flyers in goal against Buffalo. If Peter Laviolette, I have to at least consider Boucher at this point. I'm not trying to say Bobrovsky sucks, he doesn't, I'm just a little concerned about the pressure and some of the raw talent he still has yet to develop. He's a rookie and he hasn't seen much North American hockey as he came over from the KHL. Boucher is obviously not a star netminder, but I like the fact that he has experience and more calm demeanor. We'll see in the coming days what the Flyers decide to do.
The battle for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference was also decided today. The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers battled one another in an early game. The Rangers needed to win this game or else they were not making the playoffs, regardless of whether the Carolina Hurricanes won or not. New York won the game convincingly with a 5-2 score. As it was an earlier game in the NHL, they would have to wait until the Hurricanes played later in the evening. Can't imagine how the nerves of those guys were. Thankfully for New York, Carolina was beat down by the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2. Carolina did an incredible job at getting back in this race and making it as close as they did. With that said, the eighth seed belongs to the New York Rangers who will face the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. Not exactly a team I'd like to face, but hey, better to be in the playoffs than not.
So, with that said here is the standings for both conferences. If you aren't familiar with how seeds go, it's pretty simple. The top three seeds are all the division winners placed in order of points. That's why you can see teams that are placed fourth that might have more points than one in the top three. The seed format is like this...the number one seed plays the eighth seed, the second plays the seventh, the third plays the sixth, and the fourth plays the fifth. You keep your seed through the playoffs. The higher seed gets home ice advantage in a best of seven format. Win four games and you move on. Lose four and you're out. The standings could change depending on a few games tomorrow, but I'll update it then. Some teams plays tomorrow as well, so their points could also change.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington Capitals - 107 points
2. Philadelphia Flyers - 106 points
3. Boston Bruins - 103 points (1 game remaining)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins - 104 points (1 game remaining)
5. Tampa Bay Lightning - 103 points
6. Montreal Canadiens - 96 points
7. Buffalo Sabres - 96 points
8. New York Rangers - 93 points
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks - 117 points
2. San Jose Sharks - 105 points
3. Detroit Red Wings - 102 points (1 game remaining)
4. Anaheim Ducks - 99 points
5. Nashville Predators - 99 points (could move to sixth spot if Chicago wins)
6. Phoenix Coyotes - 99 points (could move to seventh spot if Chicago wins)
7. Los Angeles Kings - 98 points (could move to eighth spot if Chicago wins)
8. Chicago Blackhawks - 97 points (1 game remaining, could lose spot to Dallas...could also move up to fifth seed with a win)
9. Dallas Stars - 95 points (1 game remaining, with Chicago loss or OT/L and a win they clinch the eighth spot)
* Results *
I'm very thankful for a pretty good hockey day. My Flyers won and I finished the night 7-4. A couple of my losses were a little bad on my part, others I didn't see coming. The Rangers beating the Devils was a tough one. Much like the Flyers, I wasn't sure if the Rangers would play desperate hockey. They certainly did winning 5-2. My pick of the Bruins over the Senators panned out. I almost wanted to go with Ottawa but just went with the better team. In Carolina, I figured the Hurricanes would win knowing they would be in the playoffs. I had counted on Tampa Bay not really trying too hard. Wrong on both. The Lightning whipped the Canes 6-2. As mentioned earlier, the Flyers were able to get things together and hold off the Islanders 7-4 (just noticed the score matches my record for the night, nice). In Toronto, the Canadiens made me look like a smart man. I had began writing in the Maple Leafs to win it but instead felt like Montreal should be placed as my pick. The Canadiens did win 4-1. Phew. An upset I didn't see coming was the Washington Capitals losing to the Florida Panthers 1-0. The Caps didn't sit any of their typical players though I'm sure they weren't pushing themselves though either. Regardless of that, I figured that even they could win against a team like Florida. Nope. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets stumbled once again as the Sabres won 5-4. Went with Buffalo so I won that one. My trusty Blues beat the Nashville Predators 2-0 in St. Louis. Those Blues had an amazing finish to their season. In Calgary, I nearly made off with a decent pick except the Vancouver Canucks were able to win in overtime. I figured Vancouver wouldn't put up much of a fight, but I was wrong again. I was correct by going with the Ducks over the Kings who won 3-1. They jumped to the fourth seed in the Western Conference with the win. They're scorching hot and have had an incredible run to the fourth spot. Finally, I went with the Sharks to get revenge on the Coyotes (Coyotes won on Friday against the Sharks) which worked out. San Jose won 3-1 which clinched the second seed in the Western Conference. Here are the results for Saturday.
4/9/2011 - Saturday
Devils at Rangers : Pick - Devils : Result -- 5-2 Rangers : Wrong : 237-183
Senators at Bruins : Pick - Bruins : Result -- 3-1 Bruins : Correct : 238-183
Lightning at Hurricanes : Pick - Hurricanes : Result -- 6-2 Lightning : Wrong : 238-184
Islanders at Flyers : Pick - Flyers : Result -- 7-4 Flyers : Correct : 239-184
Canadiens at Maple Leafs : Pick - Canadiens : Result -- 4-1 Canadiens : Correct : 240-184
Capitals at Panthers : Pick - Capitals : Result -- 1-0 Panthers : Wrong : 240-185
Sabres at Blue Jackets : Pick - Sabres : Result -- 5-4 Sabres : Correct : 241-185
Predators at Blues : Pick - Blues : Result -- 2-0 Blues : Correct : 242-185
Canucks at Flames : Pick - Flames : Result -- 3-2 Canucks : Wrong (OT/L) : 242-186
Ducks at Kings : Pick - Ducks : Result -- 3-1 Ducks : Correct : 243-186
Coyotes at Sharks : Pick - Sharks : Result -- 3-1 Sharks : Correct : 244-186
-Results Format-
Game : Pick : Result : Pick Result (OT or SO W or L based on my pick) : My Season Record
OT/W or OT/L - My pick won or lost in OT.
SO/W or SO/L - My pick won or lost in a shootout.
=Dumbest Pick of the Night=
Canucks at Flames : I did go with the Flames thinking Vancouver would rest up for the playoffs. Still, it's kind of dumb to not go with the best team in the entire NHL to beat a team that is going to miss the playoffs. I tried to look smart, almost was able to look smart, but it's still dumb.
=Hardest Pick of the Night=
Canadiens at Maple Leafs : I wasn't sure that Toronto was going to bail on the their last game of the season or not. Same with Montreal since they had their playoff spot secure. A lot of the games on the night were like this. I had originally gone with the Toronto Maple Leafs at first until I scribbled them out and wrote in the Canadiens. My gut instinct was right, but it was a difficult decision nonetheless.
=Easiest Pick of the Night=
Sabres at Blue Jackets : The Blue Jackets have been pretty awful lately. They've even put up some good efforts and still managed to lose. I didn't see Buffalo losing to a team like that, especially after their huge win against Philadelphia yesterday. Writing Buffalo in was one of the easier decisions for the night.
=Shoulda, Coulda, Didn't Game of the Night=
Lightning at Hurricanes : Carolina had home ice to ice their rights to the eighth spot of the Eastern Conference. All they had to do was win. Instead of doing so, they choked very badly in front of their home crowd. Tampa Bay is very talented and tough team, but this was a must win. They let a big opportunity slide away from them.
=Most Impressive Pick of the Night=
Predators at Blues : Been awhile since I've used this one, but I felt this game was one of those that I created this little "award" for. Nashville is far and away the better team between the two. When I looked at the scores of the games, I actually thought I went with Nashville at first. After seeing that I went with the Blues, I was pretty impressed that I'd go with the Blues here and didn't lose. Knowing how well St. Louis has been playing, I was able to feel confident with them over the playoff bound Nashville Predators.
* Picks *
Well, this is it, the last day of the season. Can't believe I've made it this far. Absolutely a blast writing and making picks. Can't wait to get the playoffs started. I'll have the standings and seeds set up for tomorrow. I'll also have my final stats for the regular season. I'll eventually get my picks for the playoffs out this week as well. The only games for Sunday that actually have any serious factoring in the standings are the Red Wings at the Blackhawks and the Stars at Wild. So, once again, I'm making some of these picks with the belief that playoff teams will rest their better players and provide extra minutes to other players on the team. We'll start in Chicago. I see the Blackhawks beating the Red Wings so that they can keep a spot in the playoffs. Detroit has a few injured players and nothing to gain from winning. In New Jersey, I see the Devils beating the Boston Bruins. Boston, much like Detroit, is already locked into a playoff spot and has nothing to gain either. In Colorado, we have game between too horrendous teams. I feel the Colorado Avalanche will lose to the Edmonton Oilers. Colorado hasn't won in four games, so I'm not convinced they'll win. In Atlanta, I feel that Thrashers will beat the Penguins. Pittsburgh is already down Malkin and Corsby, so I doubt they'll want to risk some of their better players since they're also locked into fourth in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta has played good hockey in parts so why not a win to finish the season? Finally, I see the Stars beating the Wild, but it'll be worthless according to my picks as Chicago will clinch the last playoff spot. If Chicago does win, I see Dallas playing some desperate hockey to clinch the eighth spot in the Western Conference. It's been an absolute pleasure writing during the regular season. Here are the final picks of the regular 2010-2011 season.
4/10/2011 - Sunday
Red Wings at Blackhawks ==> Blackhawks
Bruins at Devils ==> Devils
Oilers at Avalanche ==> Oilers
Penguins at Thrashers ==> Thrashers
Stars at Wild ==> Stars
Night!
No comments:
Post a Comment