Playoff Pool Update (Apr 10)

The West is set!  Okay, well, the eight teams are now set... the match-ups are still to be determined, but we're really, really close.

Here is what we know for sure... the reigning champs are out, as the Los Angeles Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention.  We know that the Calgary Flames will play the Vancouver Canucks, but Saturday's games will determine where the series will start.  The Anaheim Ducks and the St. Louis Blues are your division winners, but we still have to figure out who will be the top seed in the West and who the wild card teams will be, the teams that they will face in the opening round.

It is going to be a bit of a gong show in the Western Conference, for sure.

Six out of the eight teams have been determined in the Eastern Conference, as the last two days will determine the wild card spots, which is the most interesting thing left in the regular season.  Boston, Ottawa and Pittsburgh are left in a steel cage death match for the last two spots in the East and the Penguins have a couple games left to kick the can with.

There are a pair of games on Friday night and one will have plenty of meaning on that wild card race in the East, as the Penguins are home to the Islanders tonight.  Any kind of win and they're in, leaving the Senators and the Bruins to duel it out on Saturday.  If the Penguins lose in overtime tonight, it would remain interesting, as they would be tied with the Sens with 97 points, move into the 1st wild card spot on ROW, but the Bruins would still have shot, if I wanted to work out the math on the overall head-to-head match-up this season.  All very interesting.

Have you started to study the pool sheet yet?  There is an updated sheet on the site, but you can view and download it by clicking this link.  Print it out, fill it in, scan it and e-mail it back to me or you can meet up with me this weekend, to give it to me in person.