The stretch run (Western Conference)

[GioforPM]

It’s almost like hockey is a team game...

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It’s almost like hockey is a team game...

so maybe it would be better if everyone on the "team" Gio Mangiapane, Rieder and all the coaches and trainers and scouts all get paid 1M / season.

Of course that is ridiculous. Just like saying that Gio's expected high level of play does not impact the Flames chances of success to a much larger degree than almost anyone else on the team.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

so maybe it would be better if everyone on the "team" Gio Mangiapane, Rieder and all the coaches and trainers and scouts all get paid 1M / season.

Of course that is ridiculous. Just like saying that Gio's expected high level of play does not impact the Flames chances of success to a much larger degree than almost anyone else on the team.

What a weird collection of players...

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

so maybe it would be better if everyone on the "team" Gio Mangiapane, Rieder and all the coaches and trainers and scouts all get paid 1M / season.

We agree. That would be much better.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

so maybe it would be better if everyone on the "team" Gio Mangiapane, Rieder and all the coaches and trainers and scouts all get paid 1M / season.

Of course that is ridiculous. Just like saying that Gio's expected high level of play does not impact the Flames chances of success to a much larger degree than almost anyone else on the team.

Man, you truly come up with the weirdest stuff...

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by ricardodw

so maybe it would be better if everyone on the "team" Gio Mangiapane, Rieder and all the coaches and trainers and scouts all get paid 1M / season.

Of course that is ridiculous. Just like saying that Gio's expected high level of play does not impact the Flames chances of success to a much larger degree than almost anyone else on the team.

Of course he’s expected to be better than most. But no matter how good you are, you need a team to succeed. See Lindros/Eric; Dionne/Marcel; etc.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Of course he’s expected to be better than most. But no matter how good you are, you need a team to succeed. See Lindros/Eric; Dionne/Marcel; etc.

To add: Gretzky, multiple teams post oilers

[hwy19man]

After Monday's games
fasten your seatbelts, it is going to be wild from here on in!

Oilers and Avalanche won in regulation
Predators lost in regulation


1. St. Louis (39-17-10) 30 RW, 88 pts--1st in the Western conference and Central Division, and 2nd overall
2. Colorado (40-18-7) 36 RW, 87 pts--second in the Central Division

4. Las Vegas (36-23-8) 28 RW, 80 pts--first in the Pacific Division
5. Edmonton (35-23-8) 30 RW, 78 pts--second in the Pacific Division
6. Calgary (34-26-7) 24 RW, 75 pts--third in the Pacific Division
7. Vancouver (34-25-6) 26 RW, 74 pts--fourth in the Pacific Division
8. Nashville (32-25-8) 25 RW, 72 pts--fourth in the Central Division
__________________________________________________

Winnipeg (33-28-6) 26 RW, 72 pts--fifth in the Central Division
Arizona (32-27-8) 25 RW, 72 pts--fifth in the Pacific Division
Minnesota (32-26-7) 28 RW, 71 pts--sixth in the Central Division
Chicago (29-28-8) 20 RW, 66 pts--seventh in the Central Division



The California teams are too far back and the Stars are not a factor in the race right now as they are safely in third place in the Central Division with 81 points.

[Robbob]

Need the win to keep pace and stay ahead of Van. A couple key games tonight.

Spoiler!

https://twitter.com/Ech28/status/1235096834395099136

[Tsawwassen]

After Tuesday's games
fasten your seatbelts, it is going to be wild from here on in!

Blues, Knights, Wild, Jets, and Bhawks won in regulation
Oilers won in overtime
Stars lost in overtime
Predators lost in regulation


1. St. Louis (40-17-10) 31 RW, 90 pts--1st in the Western conference and Central Division and 2nd overall
2. Colorado (40-18-7) 36 RW, 87 pts--second in the Central Division

4. Las Vegas (37-23-8) 29 RW, 82 pts--first in the Pacific Division
5. Edmonton (36-23-8) 30 RW, 80 pts--second in the Pacific Division
6. Calgary (34-26-7) 24 RW, 75 pts--third in the Pacific Division
7. Vancouver (34-25-6) 26 RW, 74 pts--fourth in the Pacific Division
8. Winnipeg (34-28-6) 27 RW, 74 pts--fourth in the Central Division
__________________________________________________

Minnesota (33-26-7) 29 RW, 73 pts--fifth in the Central Division
Nashville (32-26-8) 25 RW, 72 pts--sixth in the Central Division
Arizona (32-27-8) 25 RW, 72 pts--fifth in the Pacific Division
Chicago (30-28-8) 21 RW, 68 pts--seventh in the Central Division



The California teams are too far back and the Stars are not a factor in the race right now as they are safely in third place in the Central Division with 82 points.

[Tsawwassen]

After Wednesday's games
fasten your seatbelts, it is going to be wild from here on in!

Coyotes won in regulation
Flames won in overtime
Avs lost in overtime
Canucks lost in regulation


1. St. Louis (40-17-10) 31 RW, 90 pts--1st in the Western conference and Central Division and 2nd overall
2. Colorado (40-18-8) 36 RW, 88 pts--second in the Central Division

4. Las Vegas (37-23-8) 29 RW, 82 pts--first in the Pacific Division
5. Edmonton (36-23-8) 30 RW, 80 pts--second in the Pacific Division
6. Calgary (35-26-7) 24 RW, 77 pts--third in the Pacific Division
7. Vancouver (35-25-6) 26 RW, 74 pts--fourth in the Pacific Division
8. Winnipeg (34-28-6) 27 RW, 74 pts--fourth in the Central Division
__________________________________________________

Arizona (33-27-8) 26 RW, 74 pts--fifth in the Pacific Division
Minnesota (33-26-7) 29 RW, 73 pts--fifth in the Central Division
Nashville (32-26-8) 25 RW, 72 pts--sixth in the Central Division
Chicago (30-28-8) 21 RW, 68 pts--seventh in the Central Division



The California teams are too far back and the Stars are not a factor in the race right now as they are safely in third place in the Central Division with 82 points.

[calgarygeologist]

Vancouver and Phoenix have very interesting schedules in terms of deciding the standings in the West. 13 of 15 games are against Western Conference teams with half of those against Pacific teams.

[tvp2003]

Flames have 77 points with 14 games left. 93 points should comfortably put them top 3 in the division. The math works out easy enough:

8 wins in 14 games = 16 points
16 + 77 = 93 points

So if you treat the next 14 games as two 7 game segments, they just need to win each segment and they're in (4 wins each).

Let the playoffs begin!

[united]

Hadn't seen an analysis on this posted yet, but here is a look at strength of schedule remaining for all 31 teams. Obviously an important factor (though not as important as many other sports). Note this was current before the March 3rd games.

Good news to see the Flames have the second-easiest schedule remaining which, should they perform at or above expectations, will give them a confidence boost entering the playoffs.

Also, the Red Wings facing the second-toughest schedule is amazing given their horrendous season already.

By the numbers: How schedule strength might affect the NHL playoff race
https://theathletic.com/1649191/2020...-playoff-race/

Spoiler due to image size.

Spoiler!

[Robbob]

After the games last night.

Spoiler!

https://twitter.com/Ech28/status/1235449995710664704

[FanIn80]

Explanation

Spoiler!

"Normalized" means to take the lowest amount of games remaining among the teams being compared, and then grant every other team enough regulation wins to equalize them all.

Not entirely scientific. More of a worst-case scenario, but still paints a clearer picture of everyone's position than the actual current standings do. Can't be used to predict actual outcomes due to games played against each other. Purposely left out the top three in the Central, as I believe them to be locks and therefore inconsequential to the WC race. I know Dallas is comparable to EDM/VGK right now, but Calgary can't place in the top three in the Central, so that doesn't matter.

Pacific playoff contenders, normalized:
VGK 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW
EDM 82PTS, 14GR, 31RW
VAN 78PTS, 14GR, 28RW
CGY 77PTS, 14GR, 24RW

Central WC threats, normalized:
WPG: 74PTS, 14GR, 27RW
MIN: 77PTS, 14GR, 31RW
NSH: 76PTS, 14GR, 27RW
ARI: 74PTS, 14GR, 26RW

Combined standings, normalized:
EDM 82PTS, 14GR, 31RW
VGK 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW
VAN 78PTS, 14GR, 28RW

MIN: 77PTS, 14GR, 31RW
CGY 77PTS, 14GR, 24RW

NSH: 76PTS, 14GR, 27RW
WPG: 74PTS, 14GR, 27RW
ARI: 74PTS, 14GR, 26RW

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Explanation

Spoiler!

"Normalized" means to take the lowest amount of games remaining among the teams being compared, and then grant every other team enough regulation wins to equalize them all.

Not entirely scientific. More of a worst-case scenario, but still paints a clearer picture of everyone's position than the actual current standings do. Can't be used to predict actual outcomes due to games played against each other. Purposely left out the top three in the Central, as I believe them to be locks and therefore inconsequential to the WC race. I know Dallas is comparable to EDM/VGK right now, but Calgary can't place in the top three in the Central, so that doesn't matter.

Pacific playoff contenders, normalized:
VGK 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW
EDM 82PTS, 14GR, 31RW
VAN 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW
CGY 77PTS, 14GR, 25RW

Central WC threats, normalized:
WPG: 74PTS, 14GR, 27RW
MIN: 77PTS, 14GR, 31RW
NSH: 76PTS, 14GR, 27RW
ARI: 74PTS, 14GR, 26RW

Combined standings, normalized:
EDM 82PTS, 14GR, 31RW
VGK 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW
VAN 82PTS, 14GR, 29RW

MIN: 77PTS, 14GR, 31RW
CGY 77PTS, 14GR, 25RW

NSH: 76PTS, 14GR, 27RW
WPG: 74PTS, 14GR, 27RW
ARI: 74PTS, 14GR, 26RW

Vancouver should be normalized to 78

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Leeman4Gilmour

Vancouver should be normalized to 78

Thanks! I messed up Calgary too.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by united

Hadn't seen an analysis on this posted yet, but here is a look at strength of schedule remaining for all 31 teams. Obviously an important factor (though not as important as many other sports). Note this was current before the March 3rd games.

Good news to see the Flames have the second-easiest schedule remaining which, should they perform at or above expectations, will give them a confidence boost entering the playoffs.

Also, the Red Wings facing the second-toughest schedule is amazing given their horrendous season already.

By the numbers: How schedule strength might affect the NHL playoff race
https://theathletic.com/1649191/2020...-playoff-race/

Spoiler due to image size.

Spoiler!

IMO late in the season these "schedule strength" predictions are worthless. Teams have so unique situations and they all react to them differently. Some "strong" teams comfortably in the playoffs start playing soft, while others fight hard for positions. Some teams on the bubble buckle under pressure while others savour it. Some teams out of the playoffs stop trying and others start playing loose and/or fight hard for their pride.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

Flames have 77 points with 14 games left. 93 points should comfortably put them top 3 in the division. The math works out easy enough:

8 wins in 14 games = 16 points
16 + 77 = 93 points

So if you treat the next 14 games as two 7 game segments, they just need to win each segment and they're in (4 wins each).

Let the playoffs begin!

The Nucks would only need to go 9-6-1 to finish with 93 points, ahead of the Flames. So I don't know about 'comfortably'.