How the West was won
There’s no doubt that San Jose (93 points), Detroit (88) Calgary (78) and Chicago (76) will be in the Western Conference playoffs. But after that, it’s a jumbled mess. After the top four, here’s the order of the standings as of this morning:
5. Vancouver (68)
6. Columbus (68)
7. Minnesota (65)
8. Dallas (65)
9. Edmonton (65)
10. Anaheim (65)
11. Nashville (64)
12. BLUES (62)
13. Los Angeles (61)
14. Phoenix (59)
15. Colorado (57)
It looks like it’s going to be a photo finish for the top eight spots. To get a better handle on things, let’s look at the remaining schedule for teams 5-15.
Vancouver
Games left: 22
Home/Away: 12/10
Vs. Top 4 in West: 3
Vs. 5-15 in West: 18
Vs. East: 1
Opponents: TB, CBJ, MIN, SJ, LA, ANA, LA, COL, DAL, STL, PHX, DAL, STL, COL, CHI, MIN, ANA, EDM, COL, CGY, LA and COL.
COLUMBUS
Games left: 20
Home/Away: 10/10
Vs. Top 4 in West: 7
Vs. 5-15 in West: 9
Vs. East: 4
Opponents: VAN, LA, NSH, DET, BOS, PIT, CHI, DET, CHI, FLA, TB, CGY, STL, STL, NSH, NSH, CHI, CHI, STL and MIN.
MINNESOTA
Games left: 23
Home/Away: 7/16
Vs. Top 4 in West: 6
Vs. 5-15 in West: 14
Vs. East: 3
Opponents: CGY, EDM, VAN, SJ, LA, ANA, SJ, COL, DAL, STL, COL, NJ, EDM, NYR, NYI, CGY, EDM, VAN, CGY, DET, DAL, NSH and CBJ
DALLAS
Games left: 22
Home/Away: 10/12
Vs. Top 4 in West: 3
Vs. 5-15 in West: 15
Vs. East: 4
Opponents: ANA, PIT, SJ, LA, ANA, MTL, STL, CAR, MIN, VAN, CGY, SJ, VAN, LA, FLA, PHX, LA, CGY, STL, MIN, COL and ANA.
EDMONTON
Games left: 21
Home/Away: 11/10
Vs. Top 4 in West: 5
Vs. 5-15 in West: 12
Vs. East: 4
Opponents: MIN, NSH, OTT, TOR, MTL, ATL, COL, STL, COL, CHI, MIN, DET, PHX, ANA, MIN, ANA, SJ, VAN, LA, CGY and CGY.
ANAHEIM
Games left: 19
Home/Away: 10/9
Vs. Top 4 in West: 4
Vs. 5-15 in West: 15
Vs. East: 0
Opponents: DAL, CHI, DAL, MIN, VAN, SJ, NSH, PHX, PHX, NSH, COL, EDM, COL, EDM, VAN, SJ, SJ, DAL and PHX.
NASHVILLE
Games left: 20
Home/Away: 11/9
Vs. Top 4 in West: 7
Vs. 5-15 in West: 10
Vs. East: 3
Opponents: DET, EDM, CBJ, PHI, WSH, NYR, PHX, LA, ANA, SJ, ANA, SJ, NSH, DAL, PHX, PHX, CGY, EDM, VAN and SJ.
LOS ANGELES
Games left: 22
Home/Away: 7/15
Vs. Top 4 in West: 6
Vs. 5-15 in West: 14
Vs. East: 2
Opponents: DET, CHI, CBJ, DAL, MIN, VAN, VAN, SJ, NSH, BOS, PIT, CHI, STL, DAL, NSH, DAL, PHX, PHX, CGY, EDM, VAN and SJ.
BLUES
Games left: 21
Home/Away: 9/12
Vs. Top 4 in West: 6
Vs. 5-15 in West: 13
Vs. East: 2
Opponents: PHX, DET, TB, FLA, DAL, SJ, DET, MIN, EDM, VAN, CGY, LA, VAN, CBJ, CBJ, CHI, DET, DAL, PHX, CBJ and COL.
PHOENIX
Games left: 20
Home/Away: 10/10
Vs. Top 4 in West: 4
Vs. 5-15 in West: 12
Vs. East: 4
Opponents: STL, BOS, BUF, NYI, DET, NJ, NSH, SJ, ANA, VAN, ANA, EDM, SJ, DAL, COL, LA, LA, STL, SJ and ANA.
COLORADO
Games left: 20
Home/Away: 10/10
Vs. Top 4 in West: 4
Vs. 5-15 in West: 13
Vs. East: 3
Opponents: NYR, NYI, DET, CHI, ATL, MIN, EDM, VAN, MIN, EDM, SJ, ANA, VAN, ANA, PHX, VAN, SJ, DAL, VAN and STL.
Hope that helps!
JR
JR, would it be at all possible to do a quick write up on the tiebreakers and how the Blues may fair if it comes down to that? I know you’re busy, just thought it might be a good topic, considering the congestion in the standings. I mean how much will it hurt if the blues end up out of the playoffs even though we have the requisite points but lose the tiebreaks…
why worry about tiebreakers until the last week of the season??
just keep on winnning and there will be no tiebreakers to worry about!!
Per ESPN
Seeding tiebreakers
The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. The division winners in each conference are seeded Nos. 1 - 3, and the remaining five teams are seeded Nos. 4 - 8, according to point total.
Tiebreaker
In the event teams are tied in the standings, the following tiebreakers are applied to determine which team receives the higher seeding.
1. The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
2. The greater number of games won.
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any “odd” games, shall be used to determine the standing.
4. Goal differential
Thanks ABizzle, I meant more as compared to the other teams as well, but I guess it’s easy enough to do that from the info above already. Just thought it might make a good addendum for the Morning Skate for Today, but ya know what, it is easy enough to just look at the stuff you posted and the info JR posted above. Thank JR keep up the great work.
great work JR…you may want to go back and check the schedules again though…some of them aren’t correct. Nashville in particular stands out.
It looks like LA has the worst stretch followed by Minn, STL, Nash, Columbus. It’ll be tough for the Blues to make the playoffs but if they can play 500 on the road and 667 at home without giving up too many 1pt games then they will be in.