Today's games because there's too many of them
There's 14 games on. 14. And 2 of them start at 1pm. Seriously, and I want to somehow figure out the scoreboards for ALL these games? My head. Of course, my primary concern is how the results of these games affect the Penguins, which only 1 actually does but hey, I'll do it for ALL the teams because I've decided that my team of the West this year is...you'll find out in the playoffs XD
So without too much rambling on my part (because I definitely will be rambling anyways), here's
To start, it's easier to tell you which teams AREN'T playing: Pittsburgh and Washington because both teams play on Sunday at 12:30pm in Pittsburgh. There are 6 divisional games
- NYR vs. BOS: battle for first in the East. The winner of this game will claim top spot in the East. The Rangers will be looking to give themselves a little breathing room in 1st while Boston will want to move up to 1st. Rangers will remain in 1st with a win BUT if they lose in regulation or overtime, they will cough up 1st because they lose the tiebreaker to Boston. Boston will move into 1st with a win or overtime loss and a loss would mean that they're suddenly 3 points back of 1st place.
- PHI vs. NJD: divisional game #1, Atlantic division edition. Philly slipped to 5th when they lost on Thursday while Ottawa won, so they'll be looking to move back into home-ice territory while New Jersey will want to leap over Pittsburgh. A win for Philly will temporarily move them into 4th if Ottawa loses their game but a loss or an overtime loss by Philly combined with an Ottawa win (or even a loss) will keep Philly in 5th. New Jersey winning will keep them in 7th because they lose the tiebreaker to Pittsburgh (less games won in regulation and overtime).
- SJS vs. VAN: San Jose wants to keep some distance from the next closest Pacific division team (LA is only 1 point back) and Vancouver just wants to keep pace with the top Western team because no other team in the Northwest will come close to them at the rate they're going. San Jose will stay in 3rd with a win BUT any combination of them losing and the LA Kings winning will drop the Sharks into 6th or 7th. Vancouver will stay in 2nd regardless of how this game ends.
- OTT vs. ANA: rematch of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Yeah, that's about it because at that time, these two teams were both surprises to make that Final but also, these two teams are going in drastically different directions. Ottawa is 4th in the East and breathing down the neck of Boston (Boston is only 1 point ahead of them) while Anaheim is in 13th in the West and going nowhere. A win for Ottawa will keep them 4th while a loss COULD drop them into 5th if Philly wins and an overtime loss would keep them in 4th regardless of how Philly does. Anaheim will stay in 13th regardless of what happens.
- MTL vs. TOR: original 6 battle!!!! And divisional game #2, Northeast division edition. Montreal has had nothing short of an extremely disappointing season and NOTHING seems to be working while Toronto is clinging onto every win and loss by teams ahead of them like a lifeline to keep them in the playoff hunt. A Montreal win would bring them into 11th ahead of Buffalo (temporarily) while a loss could push them lower (lowest would be 14th) depending on how the Islanders and Tampa plays. Toronto winning would bring back into 8th and into the playoff picture while a loss would keep them 9th.
- CAR vs. NYI: battle of who gets out of the Eastern basement faster. Carolina won against Washington after a heroic effort by the entire team (and hey, playing spoiler is kinda fun!) and the same can be said of the Islanders against Philly 2 nights ago. So, a win by Carolina could move them has high as 13th but because they've played the most games out of the teams in the bottom 3, they might not go anywhere and stay in 15th. Islanders, with a win, could move up to as high as 11th if both Montreal and Buffalo lose but otherwise, they'll most likely hover around 12th to 13th. The reason I'm not going into specifics is because it's a complete mess and I don't want to list out 7-8 possibilities.
- CBJ vs. DET: divisional game #3, Central division edition. The most Columbus can do at this point is play spoiler as much and as often as possible. Their season has already been deemed a disaster and they're firmly planted in the "Fail for Nail" campaign. Columbus, win or lose, stays in 15th BUT a win would give them a little more pride because every guy in that room is definitely playing for pride at this point. Detroit will want to win to move back into 1st (depending on how St. Louis and Chicago play as well). A win COULD move them into 1st if Chicago loses.
- FLA vs. WPG: divisional game #4, Southeast division edition. I originally forgot that this is a divisional game because, honestly, why is Winnipeg in the Southeast?! Florida will want to win this game because a win would have them jump up to 3rd all of a sudden while a loss could be devastating enough to knock them out of the playoff picture if Toronto wins. Winnipeg sits in 10th and is definitely looking into moving up but even if they win their game and Toronto loses theirs, Winnipeg stays in 10th because they lose the tiebreaker (more games played for same number of points).
- BUF vs. STL: Buffalo is looking to end their nightmare on the road. St. Louis wants that 1st place back. Buffalo stays in 11th if they win but a loss or an overtime loss combined with a Montreal or Islanders/Tampa/Carolina win could drop them as far as 15th depending on how it plays out. Seriously, I don't want to list out the possibilities because 1 point separates the bottom 5 teams in the East, and ALL of them play tonight, so it's a disaster of epic proportions. St. Louis could move as high as 4th if they win their game and Detroit loses in regulation or in overtime.
- CHI vs. NSH: divisional game #5, Central division edition part 2. Chicago wants a little more room from Detroit and St. Louis and because they don't have the benefit of games in hand, they'll want to win as many as possible (while cursing Detroit and St. Louis to lose). Nashville has quietly had a pretty decent run of late and will want to move up on fellow Central division rivals (all of them ahead of Nashville other than Columbus) AND move away from LA, who's only 2 points behind. A Chicago win will keep them in 1st while a loss could drop them as far as 5th if both Detroit and St. Louis wins (or Detroit losing in overtime) or just to 4th if only either Detroit or St. Louis wins. Nashville stays in 6th with a win but a little more breathing room from LA but a loss couldn't move them either because they win their tiebreaker against LA.
- TBL vs. PHX: someone has to win this game. It's the battle of some of the worst recent 10 games records. Tampa has won their last 2 games and is looking to move out of the basement of the East while Phoenix is still trying for that playoff spot. Tampa could move as high as 11th if they win or drop as low as 15th if they lose (yeesh, talk about movement, they're in 14th right now). Phoenix is in 12th and a win could move them as high as 8th depending on how Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas, and Calgary play (those 5 teams are also only separated by 2 points).
- DAL vs. MIN: battle for the last playoff spot. Both teams are no more than 2 points out of 8th and Dallas has a game in hand to Minnesota (2 games to 8th place Colorado). The highest either team could end up is 8th with a win and could drop as far as 12th with a loss depending on how the other 3 teams around them play. I can't even sit and figure out all the possibilities again...
- CGY vs. EDM: divisional battle #6, Northwest division edition AND battle of Alberta. Here's the interesting thing. While these 2 teams are only 3 places apart in the standings, they're separated by 12 points. That's the level of drop off in the West. Calgary is looking to get into the playoff picture and they're definitely in the hunt, only 2 points back of 8th place Colorado while Edmonton is...off to another early offseason. A win for Calgary could move them as high as 8th and a loss as low as 12th. Edmonton winning (and Anaheim losing) could move them up to 13th, at best.
- COL vs. LAK: the positioning for playoffs begin. 8th place Colorado wants a little breathing room away from the 4 teams below and LA wants to catch 6th place Nashville. Colorado will stay in 8th with a win but a loss or even an overtime loss could drop them into 9th or worse. LA will move into a tie with Nashville with a win but staying in 7th because they lose their tiebreaker while a loss wouldn't affect them much in the standings other than the fact that they'll only be 2 points ahead of 8th place Colorado.
Seriously, that took an entire HOUR to write. My head hurts and I didn't even try to work out all the possible combinations because too many teams are with 2 points of each other and too many teams are involved to be able to come up with a decent projection of the standings.
So without too much rambling on my part (because I definitely will be rambling anyways), here's
To start, it's easier to tell you which teams AREN'T playing: Pittsburgh and Washington because both teams play on Sunday at 12:30pm in Pittsburgh. There are 6 divisional games
- NYR vs. BOS: battle for first in the East. The winner of this game will claim top spot in the East. The Rangers will be looking to give themselves a little breathing room in 1st while Boston will want to move up to 1st. Rangers will remain in 1st with a win BUT if they lose in regulation or overtime, they will cough up 1st because they lose the tiebreaker to Boston. Boston will move into 1st with a win or overtime loss and a loss would mean that they're suddenly 3 points back of 1st place.
- PHI vs. NJD: divisional game #1, Atlantic division edition. Philly slipped to 5th when they lost on Thursday while Ottawa won, so they'll be looking to move back into home-ice territory while New Jersey will want to leap over Pittsburgh. A win for Philly will temporarily move them into 4th if Ottawa loses their game but a loss or an overtime loss by Philly combined with an Ottawa win (or even a loss) will keep Philly in 5th. New Jersey winning will keep them in 7th because they lose the tiebreaker to Pittsburgh (less games won in regulation and overtime).
- SJS vs. VAN: San Jose wants to keep some distance from the next closest Pacific division team (LA is only 1 point back) and Vancouver just wants to keep pace with the top Western team because no other team in the Northwest will come close to them at the rate they're going. San Jose will stay in 3rd with a win BUT any combination of them losing and the LA Kings winning will drop the Sharks into 6th or 7th. Vancouver will stay in 2nd regardless of how this game ends.
- OTT vs. ANA: rematch of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. Yeah, that's about it because at that time, these two teams were both surprises to make that Final but also, these two teams are going in drastically different directions. Ottawa is 4th in the East and breathing down the neck of Boston (Boston is only 1 point ahead of them) while Anaheim is in 13th in the West and going nowhere. A win for Ottawa will keep them 4th while a loss COULD drop them into 5th if Philly wins and an overtime loss would keep them in 4th regardless of how Philly does. Anaheim will stay in 13th regardless of what happens.
- MTL vs. TOR: original 6 battle!!!! And divisional game #2, Northeast division edition. Montreal has had nothing short of an extremely disappointing season and NOTHING seems to be working while Toronto is clinging onto every win and loss by teams ahead of them like a lifeline to keep them in the playoff hunt. A Montreal win would bring them into 11th ahead of Buffalo (temporarily) while a loss could push them lower (lowest would be 14th) depending on how the Islanders and Tampa plays. Toronto winning would bring back into 8th and into the playoff picture while a loss would keep them 9th.
- CAR vs. NYI: battle of who gets out of the Eastern basement faster. Carolina won against Washington after a heroic effort by the entire team (and hey, playing spoiler is kinda fun!) and the same can be said of the Islanders against Philly 2 nights ago. So, a win by Carolina could move them has high as 13th but because they've played the most games out of the teams in the bottom 3, they might not go anywhere and stay in 15th. Islanders, with a win, could move up to as high as 11th if both Montreal and Buffalo lose but otherwise, they'll most likely hover around 12th to 13th. The reason I'm not going into specifics is because it's a complete mess and I don't want to list out 7-8 possibilities.
- CBJ vs. DET: divisional game #3, Central division edition. The most Columbus can do at this point is play spoiler as much and as often as possible. Their season has already been deemed a disaster and they're firmly planted in the "Fail for Nail" campaign. Columbus, win or lose, stays in 15th BUT a win would give them a little more pride because every guy in that room is definitely playing for pride at this point. Detroit will want to win to move back into 1st (depending on how St. Louis and Chicago play as well). A win COULD move them into 1st if Chicago loses.
- FLA vs. WPG: divisional game #4, Southeast division edition. I originally forgot that this is a divisional game because, honestly, why is Winnipeg in the Southeast?! Florida will want to win this game because a win would have them jump up to 3rd all of a sudden while a loss could be devastating enough to knock them out of the playoff picture if Toronto wins. Winnipeg sits in 10th and is definitely looking into moving up but even if they win their game and Toronto loses theirs, Winnipeg stays in 10th because they lose the tiebreaker (more games played for same number of points).
- BUF vs. STL: Buffalo is looking to end their nightmare on the road. St. Louis wants that 1st place back. Buffalo stays in 11th if they win but a loss or an overtime loss combined with a Montreal or Islanders/Tampa/Carolina win could drop them as far as 15th depending on how it plays out. Seriously, I don't want to list out the possibilities because 1 point separates the bottom 5 teams in the East, and ALL of them play tonight, so it's a disaster of epic proportions. St. Louis could move as high as 4th if they win their game and Detroit loses in regulation or in overtime.
- CHI vs. NSH: divisional game #5, Central division edition part 2. Chicago wants a little more room from Detroit and St. Louis and because they don't have the benefit of games in hand, they'll want to win as many as possible (while cursing Detroit and St. Louis to lose). Nashville has quietly had a pretty decent run of late and will want to move up on fellow Central division rivals (all of them ahead of Nashville other than Columbus) AND move away from LA, who's only 2 points behind. A Chicago win will keep them in 1st while a loss could drop them as far as 5th if both Detroit and St. Louis wins (or Detroit losing in overtime) or just to 4th if only either Detroit or St. Louis wins. Nashville stays in 6th with a win but a little more breathing room from LA but a loss couldn't move them either because they win their tiebreaker against LA.
- TBL vs. PHX: someone has to win this game. It's the battle of some of the worst recent 10 games records. Tampa has won their last 2 games and is looking to move out of the basement of the East while Phoenix is still trying for that playoff spot. Tampa could move as high as 11th if they win or drop as low as 15th if they lose (yeesh, talk about movement, they're in 14th right now). Phoenix is in 12th and a win could move them as high as 8th depending on how Colorado, Minnesota, Dallas, and Calgary play (those 5 teams are also only separated by 2 points).
- DAL vs. MIN: battle for the last playoff spot. Both teams are no more than 2 points out of 8th and Dallas has a game in hand to Minnesota (2 games to 8th place Colorado). The highest either team could end up is 8th with a win and could drop as far as 12th with a loss depending on how the other 3 teams around them play. I can't even sit and figure out all the possibilities again...
- CGY vs. EDM: divisional battle #6, Northwest division edition AND battle of Alberta. Here's the interesting thing. While these 2 teams are only 3 places apart in the standings, they're separated by 12 points. That's the level of drop off in the West. Calgary is looking to get into the playoff picture and they're definitely in the hunt, only 2 points back of 8th place Colorado while Edmonton is...off to another early offseason. A win for Calgary could move them as high as 8th and a loss as low as 12th. Edmonton winning (and Anaheim losing) could move them up to 13th, at best.
- COL vs. LAK: the positioning for playoffs begin. 8th place Colorado wants a little breathing room away from the 4 teams below and LA wants to catch 6th place Nashville. Colorado will stay in 8th with a win but a loss or even an overtime loss could drop them into 9th or worse. LA will move into a tie with Nashville with a win but staying in 7th because they lose their tiebreaker while a loss wouldn't affect them much in the standings other than the fact that they'll only be 2 points ahead of 8th place Colorado.
Seriously, that took an entire HOUR to write. My head hurts and I didn't even try to work out all the possible combinations because too many teams are with 2 points of each other and too many teams are involved to be able to come up with a decent projection of the standings.