Season Thread: NHL 2006-2007

[Carte Blanche]

The standings as of Jan 5, 2006:

Eastern Conference
RK		GP	W	L		OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
1	BUFFALO*	41	29	9		3	61	160	119	14-5-2	15-4-1	5-4-1
2	ATLANTA*	43	24	12		7	55	135	131	11-5-4	13-7-3	6-3-1
3	NEW JERSEY*	40	23	13		4	50	107	98	14-3-3	9-10-1	6-2-2
4	MONTREAL	40	23	12		5	51	124	111	13-4-3	10-8-2	6-4-0
5	OTTAWA	42	22	18		2	46	135	121	9-9-1	13-9-1	6-3-1
6	NY RANGERS	42	21	17		4	46	125	128	9-7-3	12-10-1	3-7-0
7	CAROLINA	43	21	18		4	46	126	131	11-7-1	10-11-3	6-4-0
8	TORONTO	42	19	17		6	44	141	140	10-9-3	9-8-3	5-4-1
9	PITTSBURGH	39	18	15		6	42	123	125	10-8-3	8-7-3	5-4-1
10	BOSTON	38	19	16		3	41	114	139	11-8-1	8-8-2	5-4-1
11	NY ISLANDERS	40	19	18		3	41	115	112	11-8-2	8-10-1	4-6-0
12	WASHINGTON	41	17	17		7	41	125	141	9-10-3	8-7-4	3-7-0
13	TAMPA BAY	42	19	21		2	40	132	134	10-11-0	9-10-2	5-5-0
14	FLORIDA	43	15	20		8	38	116	139	10-8-2	5-12-6	5-3-2
15	PHILADELPHIA	40	11	25		4	26	98	149	3-11-4	8-14-0	3-7-0
Western Conference
RK		GP	W	L		OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
1	ANAHEIM*	43	28	9		6	62	147	106	15-3-4	13-6-2	4-6-0
2	NASHVILLE*	41	27	11		3	57	141	107	12-3-3	15-8-0	7-3-0
3	VANCOUVER*	42	23	18		1	47	103	108	14-7-0	9-11-1	7-3-0
4	DETROIT	40	25	10		5	55	121	94	14-3-3	11-7-2	7-2-1
5	SAN JOSE	41	27	14		0	54	125	98	14-7-0	13-7-0	5-5-0
6	DALLAS	42	26	15		1	53	115	98	13-6-0	13-9-1	6-3-1
7	CALGARY	39	20	15		4	44	118	104	15-5-0	5-10-4	5-4-1
8	MINNESOTA	41	21	18		2	44	117	112	17-4-1	4-14-1	5-5-0
9	COLORADO	40	20	18		2	42	129	115	11-9-1	9-9-1	6-4-0
10	EDMONTON	41	19	18		4	42	117	122	13-7-2	6-11-2	2-6-2
11	CHICAGO	41	17	19		5	39	103	120	10-9-1	7-10-4	4-6-0
12	PHOENIX	40	18	20		2	38	109	136	11-8-1	7-12-1	7-2-1
13	COLUMBUS	41	16	21		4	36	106	125	9-9-2	7-12-2	5-4-1
14	LOS ANGELES	42	15	22		5	35	120	152	10-9-5	5-13-0	4-5-1
15	ST LOUIS	40	13	20		7	33	94	126	8-11-3	5-9-4	6-1-3

x - clinched playoff spot	y - clinched division	z - clinched conference
p - clinched Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL) Here's the talk of the week: Patrick Stefan of Dallas Stars misses a wide open empty net with not a single opposition played nearby with 10 odd seconds remaining while his team is up by 1 goal. His miss causes a turnover and the opposition ties the game up with 2 seconds remaining.

[cricman]

I'm worried about the Rangers, they win 5 straight then lose 7 straight and then win 3 in a row, they've already played 42 games and the teams seeded 9-12 all have more than 3-5 games in hand on the the teams seeded 5-8.

Dallas still won the game. Watch out for Detroit, Hasek is playing like the dominator.

[Carte Blanche]

Yeah Rangers have been disappointing lately. They have a very important game tonight against Montreal. In fact, almost all the games in the eastern conference tonight are very important. The point gaps are tight lately in both conferences and the standings jump up and down every night.

[Mahir]

Originally Posted by cricman
Dallas still won the game. Watch out for Detroit, Hasek is playing like the dominator.

They won the game indeed, Dallas did, i mean, but Stefan should suicide by drowning himself in the waters of his bathroom sink for what he did there. Simply embarrassing stuff.

And yes, Hasek's been his unconventional best this season, pulling out moves right outta the hat, as he has always done. And been successful too! Well, how 'bout the 8-goal barrage that he suffered against the Sharks ?

A question to CB : I havent been able to watch the Canucks play this year other than some of their Saturday night tilts on CBC. But what on earth has Naslund been doing this year ? He continues to struggle, while Luongo keeps stealing games for the team. Vancouver being my 2nd most fav. team and Naslund being my 2nd most fav Swede in the league (), I am definitely a bit concerned!

[Carte Blanche]

Nobody knows what's up with Naslund. This is a rebuilding year for Vancouver. Us fans have our hopes low. Making playoffs would be enough achievement for the club this year. We're in serious cap trouble (no thanks to Bobby Clarke) and more off-season changes will have to be made for the team to become a contender next year.

Even though Naslund hasn't scored a goal since November, the team's on a 6 game winning streak. It's about to end though. On a brighter note, Luongo has been playing awesome lately.

[Carte Blanche]

Originally Posted by cricman
I'm worried about the Rangers, they win 5 straight then lose 7 straight and then win 3 in a row, they've already played 42 games and the teams seeded 9-12 all have more than 3-5 games in hand on the the teams seeded 5-8.

Dallas still won the game. Watch out for Detroit, Hasek is playing like the dominator.

Yeah Dallas won the game, but NW division is one of the tightest. Every single team in the division is a Playoff contender at the moment and Stefan basically pissed off fans of all 4 teams (Vancouver, Colorado, Minnesota and specially Calgary) by gifting Dallas 1 point. Last year Vancouver lost the playoff spot to Edmonton by 1 point.

[Tigers_eye]

just a question.
I know Vancuver is seeded higher than three better teams, but would they have homefield advantage against them in the playoffs if faced?

Lets go Dallas Stars.

[Carte Blanche]

They are seeded higher because they are the 1st in the division. Almost half the season is still left, so there's a good chance they'll fall off that seed. But if the playoffs were to begin today, they'd have home ice advantage and play Dallas.

[Tigers_eye]

Originally Posted by Carte Blanche
They are seeded higher because they are the 1st in the division. Almost half the season is still left, so there's a good chance they'll fall off that seed. But if the playoffs were to begin today, they'd have home ice advantage and play Dallas.

That sucks. This means winning division is the most important to get a home field adv. and for the rest of the good teams who didn't win their divisions must win on the road in the first round playoffs unlike NBA.

[Carte Blanche]

The system has its imperfections, but it is fair in a way. Teams play 8 games against the divisional rivals - as opposed to half of it against conference rivals. I don't like this system much either. It sucks specially for the NorthWest Division - which is easily the toughest division in the whole league. Each and every team in that division is in the playoff race (as was last year). There is no easy game in the division - compared to Central or Pacific divisions where the likes of Detroit and Nashville get to feast on weak teams like St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus and rack up easy points. Similarly top teams like Dallas and Anaheim get to clobber the weak Phoenix and LA. Northwest Division teams, much like the Northeast, don't have this luxury.

[Mahir]

Originally Posted by Carte Blanche
The system has its imperfections [...]

You should've stopped right there. The NHL is full of imperfections, and it doesnt take a rocket scientist to realise some of those. 8 games against teams in the same division are meant to intensify the supposed divisioinal rivalry, but what rivalry would exist when, for example, Toronto plays Detroit once a year, and wont face the western Canadian teams for two straight years! And talking about intensifying rivalries... when two teams face each other five times in a single month, they just get sick of each other. The notion of a heated battle disappears. And forget mentioning about other parities in the scheduling (time zone conflicts for some western teams, unfair amount of travelling, etc).

But the system in place that bothers me the most is the automated top-three seedings for the division winners in each conference. The issue of a tough division aside, there can be a team thats seeded 3rd, but with less points than a 5th or 6th ranked team in the Conference. So you can play hard for 82 regular season games, get good enough points to be a top-seeded team, but end up ranked lower in the standings and lose the potential home-ice advantage 'cuz of the automated seedings of the division winners.

[cricman]

I hate Martin Brodeur! He's gonna break the Shut Out record

MasterBlaster is right 8 games vs the same divison opponents is way too much, but Buffalo doesn't play Anaheim this year unless they meet in the stanley cup finals, if the finals happens to be Buffalo vs Anaheim it would make the Finals alot more... i don't know the right word ... !

[Carte Blanche]

Another shut-out for Brodeur tonight as Rangers lose again This guy is on fire. I won't be surprised if Devils carry this form to the playoffs and end up clinching the title this year. Also, Luongo got another shut-out as Vancouver blanked Montreal 4-0 at the Bell Centre and St. Louis routed Anaheim with a 6-2 shocker :|

In the previous game, Vancouver embarrassed the Leafs 6-1. It was the game of the season for us fans and the result couldn't have been any better. Before the end of the game, the Toronto fans actualy ended up booing their own team. Go figure

Standings at the end of Jan 16, 2007:

Note: OT = Overtime Losses + Shootout Losses

EASTERN CONFERENCE (Overall)

		GP	W	L	OT	GF	GA	PTS
1.	Buffalo	46	31	11	4	172	133	66
2.	New Jersey	46	28	14	4	120	105	60
3.	Atlanta	48	26	14	8	150	145	60
4.	Ottawa	48	27	19	2	167	136	56
5.	Montreal	47	25	17	5	138	136	55
6.	Carolina	48	25	18	5	146	144	55
7.	Tampa Bay	48	24	22	2	152	151	50
8.	NY Rangers	47	23	20	4	139	144	50
9.	Toronto	47	21	20	6	154	158	48
10.	Pittsburgh	44	20	17	7	139	141	47
11.	Boston	43	21	18	4	128	157	46
12.	NY Islanders	46	21	21	4	133	134	46
13.	Washington	46	19	20	7	143	162	45
14.	Florida	48	17	21	10	137	157	44
15.	Philadelphia	45	11	30	4	109	174	26

WESTERN CONFERENCE (Overall)

		GP	W	L	OT	GF	GA	PTS
1.	Anaheim	48	30	10	8	164	123	68
2.	Nashville	46	32	11	3	160	117	67
3.	Vancouver	46	26	19	1	119	117	53
4.	Detroit	46	29	12	5	142	109	63
5.	San Jose	46	31	15	0	144	107	62
6.	Dallas	46	27	18	1	123	113	55
7.	Calgary	44	24	16	4	138	115	52
8.	Minnesota	47	24	20	3	132	126	51
9.	Edmonton	46	22	20	4	127	133	48
10.	Colorado	45	22	20	3	141	132	47
11.	Phoenix	45	21	22	2	125	153	44
12.	St. Louis	46	17	21	8	119	146	42
13.	Chicago	46	17	22	7	116	141	41
14.	Columbus	46	17	24	5	117	144	39
15.	Los Angeles	48	16	26	6	135	176	38

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by Carte Blanche
In the previous game, Vancouver embarrassed the Leafs 6-1. It was the game of the season for us fans and the result couldn't have been any better. Before the end of the game, the Toronto fans actualy ended up booing their own team. Go figure

yeah, that was pretty embarrassing. at least they won tonight: 4 - 2 against tampa bay...i guess the mis-hit with three minutes or so on the clock followed by the goalie's fumble did it for them, with ponikarovsky's push into an open net in the last minute just killing any chances that the lightning had of pushing it into OT.

[Carte Blanche]

Standings at the end of Feb 01, 2007:

NHL Standings
Divisional | Conference | League | vs. Eastern Teams | vs. Western Teams

Eastern Conference
Rk	Eastern	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	Sabres	53	35	14	4	74	200	153	17-7-2	18-7-2	4-5-1
02	Devils	52	31	15	6	68	140	125	17-4-4	14-11-2	6-2-2
03	Thrashers	54	29	17	8	66	167	165	14-8-4	15-9-4	5-5-0
04	Canadiens	52	28	18	6	62	154	150	16-7-3	12-11-3	5-4-1
05	Senators	53	30	21	2	62	178	144	15-11-1	15-10-1	8-2-0
06	Penguins	50	25	17	8	58	170	157	14-8-4	11-9-4	7-2-1
07	Lightning	53	28	23	2	58	169	163	12-13-0	16-10-2	8-2-0
08	Hurricanes	54	26	22	6	58	163	172	14-10-3	12-12-3	4-4-2
09	Maple Leafs	52	25	21	6	56	169	171	11-12-3	14-9-3	6-4-0
10	Rangers	51	25	22	4	54	149	151	10-11-3	15-11-1	5-5-0
11	Islanders	51	24	21	6	54	154	150	12-9-4	12-12-2	5-2-3
12	Panthers	53	20	23	10	50	153	169	14-9-3	6-14-7	5-3-2
13	Capitals	52	21	24	7	49	163	186	12-11-3	9-13-4	3-7-0
14	Bruins	50	22	24	4	48	140	189	14-11-2	8-13-2	2-7-1
15	Flyers	51	12	32	7	31	125	195	3-15-6	9-17-1	1-6-3

Western Conference
Rk	Western	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	Predators	53	36	14	3	75	187	136	18-3-3	18-11-0	7-3-0
02	Ducks	52	32	12	8	72	173	132	18-4-5	14-8-3	4-4-2
04	Red Wings	52	32	14	6	70	157	124	18-3-3	14-11-3	7-2-1
05	Sharks	52	33	18	1	67	159	121	17-10-1	16-8-0	5-4-1
06	Stars	52	31	19	2	64	140	128	15-8-1	16-11-1	5-4-1
03	Canucks	52	29	19	4	62	136	132	17-8-2	12-11-2	6-1-3
07	Flames	50	27	17	6	60	155	128	20-5-0	7-12-6	6-2-2
08	Wild	53	28	21	4	60	150	137	18-5-3	10-16-1	7-2-1
09	Avalanche	51	25	22	4	54	160	152	14-11-3	11-11-1	4-4-2
10	Oilers	52	25	23	4	54	144	153	16-10-2	9-13-2	5-5-0
11	Coyotes	52	24	26	2	50	144	179	13-11-1	11-15-1	4-6-0
12	Blues	51	20	23	8	48	130	159	10-13-3	10-10-5	7-2-1
13	Blue Jackets	52	21	26	5	47	131	160	12-10-3	9-16-2	5-4-1
14	Blackhawks	51	19	25	7	45	127	158	11-13-3	8-12-4	2-6-2
15	Kings	54	17	30	7	41	147	195	11-12-7	6-18-0	1-8-1

x = Clinched Playoff Spot
y = Clinched Division
z = Clinched Conference

Btw, Brodeur continues his outstanding form. He should win the Vezina this year.

[cricman]

pittsburgh on fire and doing it without Sid the Kid even though he leads the league in scoring and Forsberg Traded to Nashville lets see how that works out

Eastern Conference
Rk	Eastern	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	Sabres	59	39	15	5	83	217	168	20-7-3	19-8-2	6-3-1
02	Devils	59	36	17	6	78	160	140	21-6-4	15-11-2	6-3-1
04	Penguins	58	32	17	9	73	203	181	18-8-4	14-9-5	9-0-1
05	Senators	59	34	22	3	71	200	157	18-11-2	16-11-1	7-2-1
03	Lightning	60	33	24	3	69	191	183	16-13-0	17-11-3	7-2-1
06	Thrashers	61	30	22	9	69	185	194	14-9-5	16-13-4	2-7-1
07	Hurricanes	61	30	24	7	67	185	192	15-11-4	15-13-3	4-5-1
08	Maple Leafs	59	29	22	8	66	191	192	12-12-5	17-10-3	7-1-2
09	Canadiens	61	30	25	6	66	173	181	17-12-3	13-13-3	2-7-1
10	Islanders	59	28	23	8	64	171	165	14-10-4	14-13-4	5-2-3
11	Rangers	59	29	25	5	63	175	170	12-13-3	17-12-2	5-4-1
12	Bruins	57	27	26	4	58	161	209	16-12-2	11-14-2	5-5-0
13	Panthers	60	23	26	11	57	170	195	16-10-3	7-16-8	5-4-1
14	Capitals	59	23	27	9	55	177	206	14-12-4	9-15-5	3-5-2
15	Flyers	58	16	34	8	40	151	215	5-16-7	11-18-1	5-2-3

Western Conference
Rk	Western	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	Red Wings	60	38	16	6	82	185	145	21-3-3	17-13-3	8-2-0
04	Predators	60	39	18	3	81	202	151	21-5-3	18-13-0	4-6-0
02	Ducks	60	35	16	9	79	193	155	18-5-6	17-11-3	5-4-1
05	Sharks	59	36	22	1	73	178	150	18-11-1	18-11-0	3-6-1
06	Stars	58	35	21	2	72	158	142	19-9-1	16-12-1	6-3-1
03	Canucks	58	33	21	4	70	152	146	18-9-2	15-12-2	6-2-2
07	Flames	59	31	20	8	70	188	158	24-6-1	7-14-7	5-3-2
08	Wild	60	32	23	5	69	171	156	20-5-4	12-18-1	6-3-1
09	Oilers	59	28	26	5	61	160	171	18-11-2	10-15-3	5-4-1
10	Avalanche	58	28	26	4	60	186	182	16-13-3	12-13-1	4-6-0
11	Blues	60	25	26	9	59	155	181	14-15-3	11-11-6	5-4-1
13	Blackhawks	59	22	28	9	53	147	179	11-13-4	11-15-5	5-3-2
12	Coyotes	59	25	31	3	53	159	203	13-13-2	12-18-1	2-7-1
14	Blue Jackets	59	23	31	5	51	146	182	14-14-3	9-17-2	4-6-0
15	Kings	61	20	31	10	50	170	211	11-12-8	9-19-2	3-3-4

Eastern Confrence Playoff races are heating up it's practically a crap shoot from 6 all the way to 11. The West is not as complicated.

[Nocturnal]

Just wondering, any calgary flames fan here?

[cricman]

Standings as of 03/04/07

Eastern Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PP%	PK%	HOME	AWAY	L10
1 Buffalo	65	44	16	5	93	251	189	18.2	81.3	23-7-3	21-9-2	8-1-1
2 New Jersey	66	40	19	7	87	175	157	17.9	85.3	22-8-5	18-11-2	6-3-1
3 Tampa Bay	67	37	26	4	78	214	208	19.2	77.7	18-14-1	19-12-3	6-2-2
4 Ottawa	66	38	23	5	81	226	181	18.1	84.2	21-11-2	17-12-3	7-1-2
5 Pittsburgh	65	35	21	9	79	221	203	20.0	81.2	19-9-4	16-12-5	6-4-0
6 Atlanta	67	34	23	10	78	203	209	16.6	78.0	16-10-6	18-13-4	4-5-1
7 NY Islanders	65	33	23	9	75	197	184	16.9	80.6	18-10-5	15-13-4	7-1-2
8 Carolina	68	33	28	7	73	199	209	15.2	83.7	17-13-4	16-15-3	5-5-0
Montreal	68	33	29	6	72	197	211	23.3	83.1	19-12-3	14-17-3	4-6-0
Toronto	66	31	26	9	71	208	217	18.1	78.6	12-15-5	19-11-4	4-4-2
Boston	65	32	28	5	69	190	230	18.4	82.0	17-13-3	15-15-2	6-3-1
NY Rangers	65	31	27	7	69	190	184	19.7	83.1	14-14-5	17-13-2	5-3-2
Florida	66	27	26	13	67	194	210	18.8	82.1	19-10-4	8-16-9	7-1-2
Washington	66	24	30	12	60	199	236	17.2	80.5	14-14-7	10-16-5	1-5-4
Philadelphia	65	17	37	11	45	173	248	14.6	84.4	5-18-7	12-19-4	3-4-3

Western Conference
	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA	PP%	PK%	HOME	AWAY	L10
1 Nashville	67	44	18	5	93	231	173	17.5	84.7	23-5-4	21-13-1	6-2-2
2 Anaheim	67	39	17	11	89	213	174	21.3	84.3	21-5-7	18-12-4	6-1-3
3 Vancouver	65	38	22	5	81	173	165	17.8	87.6	21-9-2	17-13-3	8-1-1
4 Detroit	66	41	16	9	91	208	162	17.9	83.6	23-3-5	18-13-4	6-1-3
5 Dallas	65	38	22	5	81	170	156	18.2	84.0	21-10-2	17-12-3	5-2-3
6 San Jose	66	39	25	2	80	197	169	22.4	83.5	18-12-2	21-13-0	3-6-1
7 Calgary	65	35	21	9	79	211	174	18.7	80.4	27-6-1	8-15-8	6-3-1
8 Minnesota	66	36	23	7	79	190	167	18.3	85.6	22-5-4	14-18-3	6-1-3
Colorado	66	32	29	5	69	218	211	21.1	80.1	18-14-3	14-15-2	5-4-1
St. Louis	65	28	27	10	66	169	196	13.5	81.5	16-15-3	12-12-7	6-2-2
Edmonton	66	30	30	6	66	174	194	15.3	85.5	18-14-2	12-16-4	2-6-2
Columbus	66	26	33	7	59	165	205	16.0	80.4	14-15-4	12-18-3	4-4-2
Phoenix	65	27	35	3	57	174	222	15.3	78.5	14-14-2	13-21-1	2-7-1
Chicago	66	24	33	9	57	162	205	11.5	83.6	13-16-4	11-17-5	2-6-2
Los Angeles	65	22	33	10	54	185	228	17.6	77.1	13-14-8	9-19-2	4-3-3

[cricman]

with only a handful of games left the playoff race and positioning in the east is still undecided and th race for the presidents trophy is unclear. Hart Trophy race is between Crosby and that Goaltender for the Devils.

Eastern Conference
Rk	Eastern	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	x Sabres	72	46	19	7	99	271	214	23-10-3	23-9-4	5-3-2
02	Devils	72	43	21	8	94	191	179	22-10-5	21-11-3	5-3-2
03	Thrashers	74	39	25	10	88	227	225	21-10-6	18-15-4	8-2-0
04	Senators	73	42	23	8	92	252	201	24-11-3	18-12-5	5-1-4
05	Penguins	73	41	22	10	92	251	225	23-9-5	18-13-5	7-2-1
06	Lightning	73	39	30	4	82	226	229	18-15-1	21-15-3	4-5-1
07	Rangers	73	36	28	9	81	210	196	18-15-5	18-13-4	6-1-3
08	Hurricanes	73	36	29	8	80	215	217	18-14-4	18-15-4	5-4-1
09	Islanders	71	34	27	10	78	214	208	19-11-5	15-16-5	4-4-2
10	Maple Leafs	72	34	28	10	78	222	235	15-15-5	19-13-5	4-5-1
11	Canadiens	73	36	31	6	78	214	231	21-12-3	15-19-3	4-6-0
12	Bruins	71	34	32	5	73	202	251	18-15-3	16-17-2	4-5-1
13	Panthers	72	30	29	13	73	213	230	21-11-4	9-18-9	7-3-0
14	Capitals	73	26	34	13	65	218	257	16-15-7	10-19-6	2-5-3
15	Flyers	72	20	41	11	51	190	267	8-19-7	12-22-4	4-4-2

Western Conference
Rk	Western	GP	W	L	OL	PTS	GF	GA	Home	Away	Last 10
01	Predators	73	47	20	6	100	249	192	26-6-4	21-14-2	6-2-2
02	Ducks	73	43	18	12	98	236	190	25-6-8	18-12-4	7-1-2
03	Canucks	72	43	23	6	92	195	179	24-9-3	19-14-3	7-2-1
04	Red Wings	72	45	18	9	99	228	181	26-4-5	19-14-4	6-2-2
05	Sharks	73	44	25	4	92	222	177	21-12-3	23-13-1	6-1-3
06	Stars	72	43	24	5	91	194	175	25-10-2	18-14-3	5-3-2
07	Wild	73	42	24	7	91	209	179	23-6-4	19-18-3	7-1-2
08	Flames	72	37	25	10	84	231	200	28-7-2	9-18-8	5-4-1
09	Avalanche	72	37	29	6	80	238	224	20-14-3	17-15-3	8-1-1
10	Blues	71	30	29	12	72	188	217	17-17-3	13-12-9	4-3-3
11	Oilers	72	30	35	7	67	180	215	18-16-3	12-19-4	0-9-1
12	Kings	73	25	34	14	64	210	252	15-14-9	10-20-5	4-2-4
13	Blackhawks	71	27	35	9	63	179	225	14-16-4	13-19-5	5-5-0
14	Blue Jackets	72	28	37	7	63	177	224	15-16-4	13-21-3	4-5-1
15	Coyotes	72	28	40	4	60	194	251	15-18-2	13-22-2	2-7-1

[Locutus]

Toronto lost against Montreal in SO. Play off hopes are basically over

[Mahir]

Originally Posted by Locutus
Toronto lost against Montreal in SO. Play off hopes are basically over

You sure its basically over ?

As of Tuesday March 20, Leafs are in a 3 way tie with Carolina and Montreal with 80 points, and also have a game in hand on the Canadiens. NYRangers are just one point up at the 7th spot. Heck, even the Lightning at 6th arent too far from reach with 84 pts. With 8/9 games still to go for these teams, I dont see how the playoff hopes are over for ANY of these teams, let alone for Toronto.

5 Points separate teams from the 6th spot to the 11th. The playoff matchups might as well be decided on the very last day of the regular, and any one of those afore-mentioned teams may or may not advance.

[Mahir]

What a race in the East. With the Western Conf playoff bound teams all but figured out (barring any Colorado miracle), it will be criminal to miss any bit on the Eastern side with 4 days left in the regular season.

Carolina and NYIslander are as good as out. NYRangers seem to have turned around and the 7th spot is now theirs to lose. That leaves a Toronto-Montreal showdown on Saturday, and the Leafs will have to win in regulation time to hop past the Habs. Toronto, ofcourse, will have to beat the Islanders on Thursday.

So call Thursday the cant-miss day, and Saturday the kill-it day! (Tigers, kill the Proteas that day too!! )

P.S. : Previous year's Stanley Cup finalists will be both out of the Playoffs, and thats a first in the history of NHL.

[Nocturnal]

2006-2007 Regular Season Standings (as of Apr 4, 2007)


Conference standings reflect the order in which teams would qualify for the playoffs. Division leaders (marked with a *) are automatically seeded first through third.

Eastern Conference
RK		GP	W	L		OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
1	x - BUFFALO*	79	51	21		7	109	299	236	27-10-3	24-11-4	7-2-1
2	x - NEW JERSEY*	80	48	24		8	104	211	196	25-10-5	23-14-3	6-4-0
3	x - ATLANTA*	79	41	27		11	93	237	239	22-11-6	19-16-5	5-4-1
4	x - OTTAWA	80	47	24		9	103	280	216	25-12-3	22-12-6	7-1-2
5	x - PITTSBURGH	80	45	24		11	101	272	243	25-10-5	20-14-6	6-3-1
6	TAMPA BAY	80	44	32		4	92	249	251	22-17-1	22-15-3	5-5-0
7	NY RANGERS	80	41	29		10	92	238	213	20-15-5	21-14-5	7-1-2
8	MONTREAL	80	42	32		6	90	239	247	26-12-3	16-20-3	8-2-0
9	TORONTO	80	39	30		11	89	250	259	20-15-5	19-15-6	5-3-2
10	NY ISLANDERS	79	37	30		12	86	236	234	21-13-6	16-17-6	3-5-2
11	CAROLINA	80	39	33		8	86	235	245	20-15-4	19-18-4	5-5-0
12	FLORIDA	80	34	31		15	83	236	250	23-12-6	11-19-9	5-3-2
13	BOSTON	80	35	39		6	76	214	279	18-18-4	17-21-2	1-8-1
14	WASHINGTON	80	27	39		14	68	232	282	17-16-7	10-23-7	3-5-2
15	PHILADELPHIA	79	21	46		12	54	206	293	9-22-7	12-24-5	2-7-1
Western Conference
RK		GP	W	L		OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
1	x - DETROIT*	80	49	19		12	110	245	194	28-4-8	21-15-4	5-2-3
2	x - ANAHEIM*	79	47	20		12	106	251	200	26-6-8	21-14-4	6-3-1
3	x - VANCOUVER*	79	48	24		7	103	216	192	26-10-4	22-14-3	7-1-2
4	x - NASHVILLE	80	49	23		8	106	264	209	27-8-5	22-15-3	3-5-2
5	x - SAN JOSE	79	49	26		4	102	248	190	24-12-3	25-14-1	8-1-1
6	x - DALLAS	79	48	25		6	102	220	192	26-11-2	22-14-4	7-2-1
7	x - MINNESOTA	80	46	26		8	100	227	190	27-7-5	19-19-3	7-2-1
8	CALGARY	79	43	26		10	96	250	213	30-8-2	13-18-8	6-4-0
9	COLORADO	79	42	30		7	91	261	243	21-15-3	21-15-4	8-1-1
10	ST LOUIS	80	34	33		13	81	212	245	18-19-4	16-14-9	5-4-1
11	COLUMBUS	80	32	41		7	71	196	244	17-18-4	15-23-3	4-6-0
12	CHICAGO	79	30	40		9	69	194	246	16-20-4	14-20-5	4-6-0
13	EDMONTON	80	31	42		7	69	192	243	19-19-3	12-23-4	1-8-1
14	LOS ANGELES	80	26	40		14	66	222	278	15-16-9	11-24-5	3-6-1
15	PHOENIX	79	29	45		5	63	208	278	16-20-3	13-25-2	1-7-2

x - clinched playoff spot	y - clinched division	z - clinched conference
p - clinched Presidents' Trophy (best record in NHL)

GP - Games Played	W - Wins
L - Losses	OT - OT/Shootout losses (worth one point)
PTS - Points
GF - Goals For	GA - Goals Against
HOME - Home Record	AWAY - Road Record
L10 - Record in last ten games

[cricman]

I would love to play NJ in the 2-7, but i'd rather face Atlanta in the 3-6 match up, I think the Rangers can really take advantage of a team like ATL. If the NHL wants to survive in the USA, then some combination Pittsburgh/Rangers/Canadiens + Leafs need to play in the East Finals and Detroit and the Ducks are in the West Finals.

Because of the Stanley Cup Finals is Nashville vs Tampa the hockey might be great but Nashville and Tampa doesn't attract the average fan. But if it's Sid the Kid vs The Dominator in the Stanley Cup Finals = $$$$$$$$$$$ for the NHL.

[Mahir]

Originally Posted by cricman
Because of the Stanley Cup Finals is Nashville vs Tampa the hockey might be great but Nashville and Tampa doesn't attract the average fan. But if it's Sid the Kid vs The Dominator in the Stanley Cup Finals = $$$$$$$$$$$ for the NHL.

Hockey coverage in the US is a farce really. All good hockey, and no good fan interest. Take tonight for example, the state of New York is host to a couple of frozen stages where Montreal takes on the Rangers in Manhattan and the Leafs play the Isles in Uniondale. But it's not exactly clear how much of New York is watching hockey while the hockey world is watching New York. Tsk tsk.

Why not give the game a gift by having necessary combinations of wins/losses tonight so that the Leafs and Habs can play a highly meaningful season finale on Saturday. Sky is the limit for TV ratings (+ fan interest) for such a showdown.