With only 14 days left in the season, the playoff picture is starting to get a little bit clearer. However, there are still many teams fighting for the last few playoff spots in each conference, especially the west. This week I am going to make my picks for which teams will make up the bottom 4 playoff spots in each conference. If you agree or disagree, feel free to comment below.
In the Eastern Conference, the top 5 teams are pretty much set. Tampa Bay will likely finish in 5th after the Washington capitals made a miracle run to steal the division title from them. Next I think and hope, Montreal will finsih 6th. If they do, they will have to play against the Boston bruins which will be an excellent series. But Montreal has been losing their edge recently, which will give the NY Rangers a chance to move from 7th to 6th. I don't think that will happen but NY should finish comfortably in 7th. The final spot is still up in the air. Currently it belongs to the Buffalo sabers but the Carolina hurricanes are still fighting to get in. After yesterday's games, Toronto Maple leafs and New Jersy devils both fell out of the race when they lost their games. I think Carolina is going to finish in the final spot due to their strong offense from Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner as well as all star goalie Cam Ward. Buffalo is not ready as a team to finish the season without losing their edge, but next season they will be a force to reckon with.
The Western conference is even closer. I think the Anahiem Ducks will move up to 5th place by seasons end led by the leagues leading scorer Corey Perry. 6th place will be occupied by the Nashville Predators, a team that has hung around to everyone's surprise all season. 7th place will be the LA Kings who will drop a couple spots because of recent injuries to Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. And the defending stanly cup champion Chicago blackhawks will lock up the eighth and final playoff spot but they will have to beat the tough Detroit red wings at least once out of the 3 more times they play each other in order to have any chance.Calgary will not be able to win because they don't have enough games left to get the points needed to win. And Dallas will probably miss by only one point which will be frustrating for the team as well aEnd pending UFA forward Brad Richards. To prove how tough the western conference really is, I think chicago will need at least 97 points to get to eighth place which is an insane amount of points for an eighth place team.
So that is how I see the bottom playoff teams finishing by seasons end. Everyday, especially in the west, will see teams moving standings spots both up and down as they try to get as many points as they can. The games will just keep getting better as we enter the final 2 weeks of the season which just future proves that hockey is the most exciting sport around. Next week will be my final post before seasons end and I will discuss who I think will be nominated for the different awards based on their play this season. Until then, keep your stick on the ice.
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