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Why the 7th-13thSeeds in the East Are Actually Superior to 7-13 in the West

March 20, 2012, 2:06 PM ET [298 Comments]
Eklund
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So...

I had this conversation last night with another reporter about the fact he felt there were really only 4 good teams in the East...only 4 teams who would make the playoffs were they in the Western Conference. He was of the belief that it is pathetic teams like Florida and/or Washington will get into the playoffs. He said he felt the Jets and Sabres, two teams very much in the race in the East would not hold a candle to the bubble teams in the West, and the fact that Carolina and Toronto are still in the race at all was a joke.

"When I look at Ottawa,Washington, Buffalo, and Winnipeg, 7-10 in the East, I see teams that are more on par with the Wild, the 13th team in the West." he continued, "and yes, you can see it in the point totals and goal differentials, but more so you can see it just in comparing team versus team... I would take 12th place Anaheim in a 7 game series versus any team in the East 6 through 13. I believe 80% of NHL people would. and that of course also goes on to Florida in the third spot in the East. They wouldn't have a shot in the West. The Rangers, Penguins, Flyers and Bruins are the only teams I see as teams who, while looking at their performance this year, can say they are real playoff teams.."

huh...Well I thought it best to keep this guy's identity secret lest he get slayed nine ways to Sunday...but I will admit that the general feeling around the NHL is the West is far superior this season and many believe it has been so since the lockout...at least...

I am not so sure about that. Since teams play so many more games in their own conference it really is hard to look at points or goal differentials when judging teams across conferences, so really the only way statistically to do so is to look at what has happened when the teams in 7-13 in the East have faced off directly versus teams in 7-13 in the West. Since these teams play so rarely I thought I would use a two year sample...so this year and last year, head to head..And I will put #3 Florida in there as well.

The first team I looked at was Washington. Surely if any team would have a winning record against the Bubble teams in the West it would be Washington who was pretty darn good last year, right. Wrong. The Caps are a terrible combined 5-10-1 against the West's 7-13. The Caps are 0-8 against #8 Colorado, #9 Los Angeles, and #10 San Jose.

Gulp. This could get ugly...or so I thought.

#7 Ottawa was a far more respectable 7-7-3 vs. the West's 7-13...but then I was in for quite a shocker.

#9 Buffalo has DOMINATED the West's 7-13 and are 11-2-2 over the past two seasons head to head.

#10 Winnipeg (/Atlanta) is 5 games over 500...11-7.

#11 Carolina is SEVEN games over 500...10-3-3

#12 Toronto, a team who didn't make the playoffs in either year, also has a winning record 8-6-3.

#13 Tampa...is also 8-6-2.

Oh...and as for Florida...another team most would say would get crushed if they played in the Western Conference... Only Phoenix and LA have been able to beat them in regulation over the past two years..they are 8-3-3...

So yeh...

The Overall all record of the 7th through 13th seeds in the East (plus Florida) versus the 7th through 13th seeds in the West is...

68 Wins
44 Losses
16 OTL


Pretty damn respectable if you ask me.

Here are the breakdowns..

Ottawa 7-7-3
vs Phoenix 1-1
vs LA 1-1
vs Colorado 0-1-1
vs San Jose 1-1
vs. Calgary 2-2
vs. Anaheim 0-1-1
vs. Wild 2-0


Washington 5-10-1
vs Phoenix 1-1
vs LA 0-2
vs Colorado 0-2
vs San Jose 0-4
vs. Calgary 2-0
vs. Anaheim 2-0-1
vs. Wild 0-1

Sabres 11-2-2
vs Phoenix 1-1
vs LA 2-0
vs Colorado 0-0-2
vs San Jose 3-0
vs. Calgary 1-1
vs. Anaheim 3-0
vs. Wild 1-0

Jets 11-7-0
vs Phoenix 1-2
vs LA 1-1
vs Colorado 3-1
vs San Jose 1-1
vs. Calgary 0-2
vs. Anaheim 2-0
vs. Wild 3-0

Hurricanes 10-3-3
vs Phoenix 1-1
vs LA 1-1
vs Colorado 1-0-1
vs San Jose 2-0
vs. Calgary 1-1
vs. Anaheim 1-0-2
vs. Wild 3-0

Toronto 8-6-2
vs Phoenix 0-1-1
vs LA 1-0-1
vs Colorado 1-0-1
vs San Jose 1-1
vs. Calgary 1-2-1
vs. Anaheim 2-0
vs. Wild 2-0

Tampa 8-6-2
vs Phoenix 3-0
vs LA 0-2
vs Colorado 1-0-1
vs San Jose 1-2
vs. Calgary 1-1
vs. Anaheim 1-0-1
vs. Wild 1-2

Florida 8-3-3
vs Phoenix 1-1
vs LA 1-2
vs Colorado1-0-1
vs San Jose 2-0
vs. Calgary 2-0
vs. Anaheim 0-2
vs. Wild 1-0-1
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