More schedule silver linings. If you take the teams and categorize them into rough categories of top teams, competitive teams, fair teams and bad teams and compare how many in each group remains on the schedule for each of the Central squads, it'll give a rough picture of the quality of remaining opponents. The most fair rough way to categorize the teams is by overall wins vs. regulation losses.
Here's how it looks:
BAD teams: CBJ (-19), EDM (-6), ANA (-5), CAR (-6), MTL (-4), BUF (-3), NYI (-2), TB (-1) FAIR teams: COL (+1), PHX (+1), CGY (+1), WPG (+2), DAL (+4), MIN (+6) COMPETITIVE teams: PIT (+11), NJ (+9), FLA (+8), TOR (+7), OTT (+7), WSH (+6), LA (+9) TOP teams: NYR (+20), DET (+19), BOS (+17), STL (+16), PHI (+16), VAN (+16), SJ (+15), NSH (+14), CHI (+13)
Detroit: 13 top, 5 competitive, 4 fair, 8 bad
Chicago: 14 top, 6 competitive, 7 fair, 3 bad
Nashville: 14 top, 6 competitive, 7 fair, 3 bad
St. Louis: 12 top, 4 competitive, 7 fair, 10 bad
This should emphasize how well the Blues have earned their record up until now. They've done most of the heavy lifting early in the season. Nashville and Chicago have already loaded up on Columbus, for example. The Preds have already played all six Jackets games and Chicago's had four of six. The Blues still have four dates with Columbus.
Notes on the margins: I put Minnesota +6 with "fair" rather than competitive, even though they're holding a playoff spot, because they've cratered and still do things like collapse at home in the third period against Nashville. They're trending down. Dallas is very meh as well. Obviously a few wins and losses could juggle some of these distinctions but mainly in the East which affects an assessment of Central teams' schedules negligibly.
If you're really bored, how about breaking this down further by home/away.
The fact that the Blues' three games at Detroit are done seems significant.
The real question is can the Blues parlay their superior team against teams like Winnipeg and Calgary and NYI and Tampa and Carolina and Columbus and Edmonton and Dallas and Phoenix into road victories. There's no question the Blues face the easiest platter of teams, but a bunch of them are on the road during two long stretches in the final quarter of the season.
I think Chicago will make the playoffs, but they're about to go on a bit of a slide. Their goaltending is still a problem. Detroit is the team to beat in the Central.
There will be a duel between Nashville and St Louis for 2nd, but that may only amount to a battle for home ice advantage in a head-to-head playoff matchup. Of all the teams, I'm not sure Nashville is the team I'd like to see in the playoffs in the first round.
Though tonight was a crappy result with losing to rival Nashville, Detroit is currently being trolled by Sam Gagner who has two goals and one assist and the Oilers lead 3-1.
That means in Gagner's last three periods of hockey he has six goals and five assists against Chicago and Detroit.
San Jose lost in regulation and Colorado came up with a gagging choke at home against Vancouver and lost in a shootout. Had multiple chances at the empty net before letting Bieksa score. Chicago was idle.
Of all the teams, I'm not sure Nashville is the team I'd like to see in the playoffs in the first round.
Detroit and Nashville, in that order, are the two teams I think we would have the most trouble with in the entire Western Conference.
Winning the division would be huge, but unlikely. Next best hope is that Chicago gets its act together and finishes above either us or Nashville in the standings.
Decent night for the Blues. Vancouver beat Nashville in a shootout so neither got a ROW. Chicago lost their 6th straight, and 5 of those have been in regulation including tonight. They're merely four games into their nine game trip too. Next up San Jose, then Phoenix, then Nashville, then NYR before finishing in Columbus.
LA Kings won, and at this point I'm hoping they make a late push and somehow catch Nashville, who have a brutal schedule ahead of them, as good as they are.
Detroit hosts Anaheim Friday and Chicago's at San Jose after that.
Here's an update on what the Central teams have remaining.
With LA looking like no threat to make a move, it almost seems a foregone conclusion that 2d place in the Central will have the #4 seed. Slightly less certain is who gets the #5 seed. I'm almost at the point of declaring we should be actively pulling for LA. I think Chicago's in real trouble but Nashville has a rugged schedule themselves. LA just can't seem to get going though. Almost feels like Nashville at #5 by default.
1. DET .673
2. STL .670
3. NSH .627
4. CHI .602
BAD teams: CBJ (-18), EDM (-7), CAR (-5), ANA (-3), MTL (-2), BUF (-1), NYI (-1), TB (-1) FAIR teams: DAL (+5), PHX (+5), MIN (+4), CGY (+3), COL (+2), WPG (+2) COMPETITIVE teams: NJ (+12), CHI (+11) PIT (+11), FLA (+8), TOR (+7), WSH (+7), LA (+7), OTT (+6) TOP teams: NYR (+21), VAN (+18), DET (+19), STL (+18), BOS (+16), PHI (+15), NSH (+14), SJ (+13)
Detroit: 10 top, 8 competitive, 3 fair, 6 bad
Chicago: 14 top, 6 competitive, 5 fair, 3 bad
Nashville: 9 top, 9 competitive, 7 fair, 3 bad
St. Louis: 7 top, 5 competitive, 7 fair, 10 bad
The big change here is I moved Chicago from a "top" team to a "competitive" team. Which is deserved given how they've been playing. They're +11 on a cream puff schedule with bad D and goaltending. Just aren't earning a top team right now and with their degree of opponent difficulty and their highly road-heavy schedule I think they're going to either have to pull themselves back into world-beater shape immediately or they'll be lucky to squeak into the playoffs yet again.
The Blues have really played their tough competition already for the most part. They may have a lot of games on the road but a bunch are against bad teams, quite honestly. Of the 17 remaining road games, 6 are against bad teams (CBJ, CBJ, EDM, ANA, CAR, TB), 4 are against fair teams (WPG, CGY, PHX, DAL), 4 are against competitive teams (CHI, CHI, CHI, LA), and 3 are against top teams (NSH, VAN, SJ).
Road games are usually never gimmes – both Chicago and Nashville also play a road heavy schedule the rest of the way too – but this is about as gentle as the schedule could be.
Of the 4 "fair" road games, they play Dallas the final game of the season when potentially not much is at stake, or enough is at stake the Blues play hard (and home ice in the first round qualifies).
Other than that, Winnipeg and Calgary come in back to back games – even if they dropped one, the Blues rarely lose two in a row. The other's in Phoenix (where they've already won) three days after the previous game.
Don't see the Blues catching Detroit. They have too many home games left and they don't lose at home. 4 or 5 seed is very likely imo. 4 would be great.
Don't see the Blues catching Detroit. They have too many games left and they don't lose at home. 4 or 5 seed is very likely imo. 4 would be great.
I thought that until Jimmy Howard got hurt. Conklin has been terrible this year. If Howard is out for a while and then takes a while to get back into form, I think the RedWings could drop a few games they might otherwise win.
But more depends on the Blues. Right now, they're managing to win and get points out of games when they're short-handed (due to injuries). I don't think they've been playing as well over the past couple weeks, but they're still managing to win some games. With a healthy line-up, I really like their chances. When will that happen?
The Ducks took control at the start of the third and never took advantage. When the refs made the phantom holding the stick call on the Ducks, they lost all their momentum.
The OT was great entertainment though, just wish Fowler had buried that breakaway
We have no chance of catching the Red Wings at this rate. One thing being a very good team, but they are also getting all the important breaks at the right time at the moment.
Couture with a couple of points. Weird fact... the 3 picks the Blues received in exchange for the pick the Sharks selected Logan Couture with turned out to be Lars Eller, Aaron Palushaj and Ian Schultz. The 3 pieces we moved to Montreal in separate deals for Dags and Halak.
Couture with a couple of points. Weird fact... the 3 picks the Blues received in exchange for the pick the Sharks selected Logan Couture with turned out to be Lars Eller, Aaron Palushaj and Ian Schultz. The 3 pieces we moved to Montreal in separate deals for Dags and Halak.
Blackhawks are starting to fall apart.
Maybe we should've drafted Couture. I wonder what goalie we would've went after. Still happy with how everything turned out though.
If these other teams in the 7-10 range could do anything at all, the Hawks would miss the playoffs. Losing 2-0 in the first in San Jose. Looks like a 7th loss in a row. In Phoenix tomorrow, then at Nashville, at NYR.
