Well since the Blackhawks are coming off a eight game winning streak (which ended tonight - POO), they currently sit in a much more comfortable fourth place in the Western Conference. The playoffs seem like they may just happen this season - coincidentally the NHL announced this week that they would be reviving the "History Will Be Made" commercials that were so successful last season. Bravo I say! For all the league's foibles in promoting the league in America, they have by far the most successful playoff media campaign of any of the four major sports.
After the jump, a look at the new and some classic HWBM spots...
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Western Conference - Scoreboard Watching & Tiebreakers
Last night I rooted for the Detroit Red Wings.
No, this is not an alternate universe. I did not hit my head. And believe me, I made a retching sound when I admitted it.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Western Conference. Where you wake up one morning in ninth place and by the time your head hits the pillow that evening you're back in the mix in sixth, and you didn't even play a game. This happened to the Blackhawks just a few days ago.
With most teams having around 19 to 20 games left to play, the Western Conference is so jammed it looks like a truck jackknifed on the Kennedy during rush hour. At the start of the day, only 13 points separate 3rd place from 13th. There is a mere 5 points between 4th in the conference and 11th. THIS IS MADNESS (SPARTA!!!1!). So while the Blackhawks finally decided to wake up (five game winning streak thankyouverymuch), with the conference this close you can understand why tonight I am rooting for the Blues to beat the Flames, the Oilers to defeat the Preds, and that the Stars/Coyotes game just ends in regulation DAMMIT. Excuse me, I think I may vomit.
Let's look at the Magical Mystery Tour, shall we:
With a conference this close, inevitably teams are going to finish with identical records somewhere along the way. I decided to take a closer look at the NHL's tiebreaker system to see what will happen in a few weeks. There are currently three tiebreakers - looking at each one separately, you'll see some teams have an advantage over others. For the sake of argument, I'm just going to assume Vancouver & Detroit are in (MY CREYS) and Colorado and Edmonton are out. That leaves eleven teams battling for six spots. Yeesh.
Tiebreaker #1: The greater number of games won, excluding games won in the Shootout
From highest to lowest, here are the number of total wins the eleven teams have in the skills competition: Kings, (7), Calgary (7), Predators (6), Blackhawks (5), Stars (5), Sharks (4), Ducks (4), Blue Jackets (4), Coyotes (3), Blues (3), Wild (2). This was a new rule instituted this season with the idea that teams will play harder to win outright in regulation or overtime. I don't know if that's in fact happened, but with the conference this tight, this may decide whether or not a team is scheduling tee times in April. With just a few weeks left in the season, you figure at most a team will have maybe a couple of additional SO wins.
Advantage: Wild, Blues, Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Sharks
Disadvantage: Kings, Calgary, Predators, Blackhawks, Stars
Tiebreaker #2: The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
Huh what? Ok, basically this is the head-to-head rule. The team with the better record in games against one another wins. I don't think the "odd" game rule will come into play here as most teams will either have played four or six games against one another. If there's a three (or god forbid, four) way tie, they'll take whomever had the highest number of points in games involving all of the teams that are tied. At this point, I'm just going to go here with the teams with the better records within their divisions & the conference. Yes, some teams have played more games in conference than others, but with few games left, if you're barely at .500 at this point, things are not looking good. The first number is points in the WC, the second is points within the teams' division.
Advantage: Blackhawks (62,24). Wild (61,27), Sharks (60,20), Coyotes (58,16), Predators (54,23)
Disadvantage: Blues (42,17), Stars (49,12), Blue Jackets (49,18), Ducks, (50,16), Kings (52,14). Flames (52,18)
Tiebreaker #3: The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.
Ah yes, the old goal differential. This is when having a Vezina candidate and/or an explosive offense can make or break your season. This is also an easy one to figure out who has a step above the other teams in the conference.
Advantage: Blackhawks (+29), Kings (+22), Sharks (+16), Predators (+10), Flames (+8)
Disadvantage: Blue Jackets (-11), Ducks (-10), Blues (-7), Stars (-4), Coyotes (-2), Wild (-1)
So using these stats along with my intuition (aka I'M GUESSNG), here's who I think will make the playoffs come April:
As for the order of these teams - WHO KNOWS. I forgot my ESP at work.
BONUS TOEWS FACE!
Oh I see the Blues lost 5-0 to Calgary. BITE ME ST LOUIS. BITE ME HARD ;P
Scoreboard watching is fun!
No, this is not an alternate universe. I did not hit my head. And believe me, I made a retching sound when I admitted it.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Western Conference. Where you wake up one morning in ninth place and by the time your head hits the pillow that evening you're back in the mix in sixth, and you didn't even play a game. This happened to the Blackhawks just a few days ago.
With most teams having around 19 to 20 games left to play, the Western Conference is so jammed it looks like a truck jackknifed on the Kennedy during rush hour. At the start of the day, only 13 points separate 3rd place from 13th. There is a mere 5 points between 4th in the conference and 11th. THIS IS MADNESS (SPARTA!!!1!). So while the Blackhawks finally decided to wake up (five game winning streak thankyouverymuch), with the conference this close you can understand why tonight I am rooting for the Blues to beat the Flames, the Oilers to defeat the Preds, and that the Stars/Coyotes game just ends in regulation DAMMIT. Excuse me, I think I may vomit.
Let's look at the Magical Mystery Tour, shall we:
With a conference this close, inevitably teams are going to finish with identical records somewhere along the way. I decided to take a closer look at the NHL's tiebreaker system to see what will happen in a few weeks. There are currently three tiebreakers - looking at each one separately, you'll see some teams have an advantage over others. For the sake of argument, I'm just going to assume Vancouver & Detroit are in (MY CREYS) and Colorado and Edmonton are out. That leaves eleven teams battling for six spots. Yeesh.
Tiebreaker #1: The greater number of games won, excluding games won in the Shootout
From highest to lowest, here are the number of total wins the eleven teams have in the skills competition: Kings, (7), Calgary (7), Predators (6), Blackhawks (5), Stars (5), Sharks (4), Ducks (4), Blue Jackets (4), Coyotes (3), Blues (3), Wild (2). This was a new rule instituted this season with the idea that teams will play harder to win outright in regulation or overtime. I don't know if that's in fact happened, but with the conference this tight, this may decide whether or not a team is scheduling tee times in April. With just a few weeks left in the season, you figure at most a team will have maybe a couple of additional SO wins.
Advantage: Wild, Blues, Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Sharks
Disadvantage: Kings, Calgary, Predators, Blackhawks, Stars
Tiebreaker #2: The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
Huh what? Ok, basically this is the head-to-head rule. The team with the better record in games against one another wins. I don't think the "odd" game rule will come into play here as most teams will either have played four or six games against one another. If there's a three (or god forbid, four) way tie, they'll take whomever had the highest number of points in games involving all of the teams that are tied. At this point, I'm just going to go here with the teams with the better records within their divisions & the conference. Yes, some teams have played more games in conference than others, but with few games left, if you're barely at .500 at this point, things are not looking good. The first number is points in the WC, the second is points within the teams' division.
Advantage: Blackhawks (62,24). Wild (61,27), Sharks (60,20), Coyotes (58,16), Predators (54,23)
Disadvantage: Blues (42,17), Stars (49,12), Blue Jackets (49,18), Ducks, (50,16), Kings (52,14). Flames (52,18)
Tiebreaker #3: The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.
Ah yes, the old goal differential. This is when having a Vezina candidate and/or an explosive offense can make or break your season. This is also an easy one to figure out who has a step above the other teams in the conference.
Advantage: Blackhawks (+29), Kings (+22), Sharks (+16), Predators (+10), Flames (+8)
Disadvantage: Blue Jackets (-11), Ducks (-10), Blues (-7), Stars (-4), Coyotes (-2), Wild (-1)
So using these stats along with my intuition (aka I'M GUESSNG), here's who I think will make the playoffs come April:
Vancouver Canucks
Detroit Red Wings
San Jose Sharks
Phoenix Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
LA Kings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
As for the order of these teams - WHO KNOWS. I forgot my ESP at work.
BONUS TOEWS FACE!
 |
| Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images |
Oh I see the Blues lost 5-0 to Calgary. BITE ME ST LOUIS. BITE ME HARD ;P
Scoreboard watching is fun!
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