NHL Top 15
3/31/2009 | Posted by
Devin
Can you feel the excitement? We’re a mere two weeks away from the end of the NHL regular season. Things are starting to heat up and for some teams; the playoffs have pretty much started already.
The Sharks took another step towards the President’s Trophy taking a four point lead over Detroit in the West with an equal amount of games remaining, and a five point lead over Boston with the B’s having one game in hand.
Florida and Buffalo are turning the heat up in the Eastern conference as well. Florida has won two games in a row and Buffalo was won three games in a row, benefiting from the return of Ryan Miller. The Rangers shut out New Jersey last night to regain a four point lead over Florida and seven point lead over Buffalo. Right now it looks like it will be Montreal, Florida and Buffalo fighting it out for the final playoff spot.
Out West, the Blues have taken over the 8th spot winning their last five games and seven of their last ten. Vancouver is holding down the fifth spot in the West and after that, all bets are off. I have a personal interest in seeing the Blues make the playoffs since two of their players won a championship for the Erie Otters of the OHL in 2002.
Just a little note since we're only two weeks away, both myself and Scott will be making playoff predictions round by round. We've done this before in the past and it has been a huge success each time (except for the fact that Scott always wins). I'm mentioning this now because we'd love to invite any and all readers to participate as well and we'll post the results on the site. The details will be ironed out as time goes on, but if anybody is interested, a simple e-mail letting us know is all we need right now.
1. San Jose Sharks (2) – Like I previously stated; the Sharks are hot right now and in the driver’s seat for the best record in the league. They picked up three of a possible six points last week and have some crucial games this week. San Jose has two games against Edmonton coming up this week that will help shape out the West. They defeated Calgary last night and are clearly in control of the West.
2. Boston Bruins (4) – I’ve been down on Boston lately and for good reason. However, they came to play last week and have temporarily shut me up. They had a light week but made use of it picking up all four points to stay on top in the East. They have a relatively easy week coming up with games against Tampa Bay and Ottawa, before facing the Rangers on Saturday.
3. Detroit Red Wings (1) – The Red Wings struggled a bit last week going 1-2-0 to drop two spots in the rankings. Normally I wouldn’t put much stock into the race for the President’s Trophy, but home ice might be pivotal if San Jose and Detroit face off for a trip to the Finals.
4. Vancouver Canucks (5) – We’ve seen it in the NFL playoffs and we might see it this season in the NHL. It’s not necessarily the team that has played well all season, but the team that catches fire right before the playoffs that ends up winning it all. The Canucks went 3-1-0 last week and continue their hot play heading down the stretch. They have four more games before the next set of rankings come out so there is a good chance they will be even higher if they keep things up.
5. New Jersey Devils (3) – The Devils have only gotten one point in their last five games and have dropped to the 3rd spot in the Eastern Conference. I’m not ready to completely drop them yet because I have plenty of confidence that they will turn it around before the season ends. If they don’t, they are looking at an early April exit from the playoffs.
6. Carolina Hurricanes (12) – The Hurricanes have been a team possessed recently. They have won six games in a row and have surged up the conference standings. If this keeps up, they could still catch Washington for the division, although that seems unlikely. Regardless of that, Carolina was a team on the edge of the playoffs to a team that will most definitely be in them now.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (6) – The Penguins picked up all four possible points last week, including a win against the Rangers, to continue their hot play. I know what you’re all saying, they are playing well and they still drop in the rankings? Well, yes, but only because of how well Carolina has been playing lately. The Penguins play them this Saturday so that will help settle this little debate. They then play Florida the following night which should be a very interesting game.
8. Philadelphia Flyers (7) – The Flyers went 1-2-0 last week with their only win coming against the lowly Islanders. With two games against Toronto and one against Ottawa this week, this is their chance to get back on track before they lost home ice in the first round to Carolina.
9. Washington Capitals (8) – I feel somewhat bad putting the number two team in the East this low in the rankings, but I honestly feel this is where they should be. If they were to lace up the skates against any of the teams listed above them, I’d say those teams beat them 8 out of 10 times. They have three winnable games this week so this is their chance to go on a little winning streak before the season winds down.
10. Calgary Flames (9) – Getting shutout twice last week really isn’t a good way to play during the stretch run. They have a tough week coming up with games against Dallas and Minnesota, after dropping one to San Jose last night.
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (11) – If the Blue Jackets want to make the playoffs, the two games this week against Nashville are going to be huge games. Columbus makes that very small list of expansion teams that I don’t want to see removed from the league, so more power to them if they end up in the playoffs this year.
12. New York Rangers (10) – I think it’s safe to say with only two weeks remaining, along with the Sabres making a run to qualify for the playoffs, the next best thing would be the Rangers missing out on the playoffs. The Rangers are on the cusp of missing out right now but got a big win against New Jersey last night. Still, with games against Carolina and Boston this week, they definitely not a sure thing just yet.
13. Chicago Blackhawks (14) – The ‘Hawks got two big wins against the Sharks and Devils last week, before running into the brick wall known as the Vancouver Canucks. They have four more games this week with three of them going against St Louis, Nashville and Columbus. Those games will be pivotal towards the race in the West.
14. Nashville Predators (13) – Remember that list I spoke of when mentioning Columbus? Yeah, the Predators are on that list. Regardless, they have been pretty good this year and if they keep on winning, they can punch their ticket to another first round playoff exit. They did pick up seven of a possible eight points last week so they are doing their part in at least getting that far.
15. St Louis Blues (NR) – I already mentioned what I thought of the Blues before the rankings, so there isn’t a whole lot to say right now. At the risk of sounding like a typical Erie journalist, I’ll refrain from talking about former Erie Otters from this point going forward. The Blues have games against Chicago, Detroit and Dallas this week. They will be pushing their winning streak almost to double digits if they continue their winning ways.
The Sharks took another step towards the President’s Trophy taking a four point lead over Detroit in the West with an equal amount of games remaining, and a five point lead over Boston with the B’s having one game in hand.
Florida and Buffalo are turning the heat up in the Eastern conference as well. Florida has won two games in a row and Buffalo was won three games in a row, benefiting from the return of Ryan Miller. The Rangers shut out New Jersey last night to regain a four point lead over Florida and seven point lead over Buffalo. Right now it looks like it will be Montreal, Florida and Buffalo fighting it out for the final playoff spot.
Out West, the Blues have taken over the 8th spot winning their last five games and seven of their last ten. Vancouver is holding down the fifth spot in the West and after that, all bets are off. I have a personal interest in seeing the Blues make the playoffs since two of their players won a championship for the Erie Otters of the OHL in 2002.
Just a little note since we're only two weeks away, both myself and Scott will be making playoff predictions round by round. We've done this before in the past and it has been a huge success each time (except for the fact that Scott always wins). I'm mentioning this now because we'd love to invite any and all readers to participate as well and we'll post the results on the site. The details will be ironed out as time goes on, but if anybody is interested, a simple e-mail letting us know is all we need right now.
1. San Jose Sharks (2) – Like I previously stated; the Sharks are hot right now and in the driver’s seat for the best record in the league. They picked up three of a possible six points last week and have some crucial games this week. San Jose has two games against Edmonton coming up this week that will help shape out the West. They defeated Calgary last night and are clearly in control of the West.
2. Boston Bruins (4) – I’ve been down on Boston lately and for good reason. However, they came to play last week and have temporarily shut me up. They had a light week but made use of it picking up all four points to stay on top in the East. They have a relatively easy week coming up with games against Tampa Bay and Ottawa, before facing the Rangers on Saturday.
3. Detroit Red Wings (1) – The Red Wings struggled a bit last week going 1-2-0 to drop two spots in the rankings. Normally I wouldn’t put much stock into the race for the President’s Trophy, but home ice might be pivotal if San Jose and Detroit face off for a trip to the Finals.
4. Vancouver Canucks (5) – We’ve seen it in the NFL playoffs and we might see it this season in the NHL. It’s not necessarily the team that has played well all season, but the team that catches fire right before the playoffs that ends up winning it all. The Canucks went 3-1-0 last week and continue their hot play heading down the stretch. They have four more games before the next set of rankings come out so there is a good chance they will be even higher if they keep things up.
5. New Jersey Devils (3) – The Devils have only gotten one point in their last five games and have dropped to the 3rd spot in the Eastern Conference. I’m not ready to completely drop them yet because I have plenty of confidence that they will turn it around before the season ends. If they don’t, they are looking at an early April exit from the playoffs.
6. Carolina Hurricanes (12) – The Hurricanes have been a team possessed recently. They have won six games in a row and have surged up the conference standings. If this keeps up, they could still catch Washington for the division, although that seems unlikely. Regardless of that, Carolina was a team on the edge of the playoffs to a team that will most definitely be in them now.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins (6) – The Penguins picked up all four possible points last week, including a win against the Rangers, to continue their hot play. I know what you’re all saying, they are playing well and they still drop in the rankings? Well, yes, but only because of how well Carolina has been playing lately. The Penguins play them this Saturday so that will help settle this little debate. They then play Florida the following night which should be a very interesting game.
8. Philadelphia Flyers (7) – The Flyers went 1-2-0 last week with their only win coming against the lowly Islanders. With two games against Toronto and one against Ottawa this week, this is their chance to get back on track before they lost home ice in the first round to Carolina.
9. Washington Capitals (8) – I feel somewhat bad putting the number two team in the East this low in the rankings, but I honestly feel this is where they should be. If they were to lace up the skates against any of the teams listed above them, I’d say those teams beat them 8 out of 10 times. They have three winnable games this week so this is their chance to go on a little winning streak before the season winds down.
10. Calgary Flames (9) – Getting shutout twice last week really isn’t a good way to play during the stretch run. They have a tough week coming up with games against Dallas and Minnesota, after dropping one to San Jose last night.
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (11) – If the Blue Jackets want to make the playoffs, the two games this week against Nashville are going to be huge games. Columbus makes that very small list of expansion teams that I don’t want to see removed from the league, so more power to them if they end up in the playoffs this year.
12. New York Rangers (10) – I think it’s safe to say with only two weeks remaining, along with the Sabres making a run to qualify for the playoffs, the next best thing would be the Rangers missing out on the playoffs. The Rangers are on the cusp of missing out right now but got a big win against New Jersey last night. Still, with games against Carolina and Boston this week, they definitely not a sure thing just yet.
13. Chicago Blackhawks (14) – The ‘Hawks got two big wins against the Sharks and Devils last week, before running into the brick wall known as the Vancouver Canucks. They have four more games this week with three of them going against St Louis, Nashville and Columbus. Those games will be pivotal towards the race in the West.
14. Nashville Predators (13) – Remember that list I spoke of when mentioning Columbus? Yeah, the Predators are on that list. Regardless, they have been pretty good this year and if they keep on winning, they can punch their ticket to another first round playoff exit. They did pick up seven of a possible eight points last week so they are doing their part in at least getting that far.
15. St Louis Blues (NR) – I already mentioned what I thought of the Blues before the rankings, so there isn’t a whole lot to say right now. At the risk of sounding like a typical Erie journalist, I’ll refrain from talking about former Erie Otters from this point going forward. The Blues have games against Chicago, Detroit and Dallas this week. They will be pushing their winning streak almost to double digits if they continue their winning ways.
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