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In this edition of the hotstove, we predict which team will grab the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Todd Cordell
St. Louis.
The goaltending has been a lot better since Mike Yeo took over and I think the Blues have more offensive talent than the Kings do. In other words, St. Louis has a better chance of overcoming a poor start if necessary.
The Blues also have six games remaining against bottom feeders like Arizona and Colorado and, although Los Angeles has a somewhat home-heavy schedule, I think the freebies will be enough to hold them off.
It should come down to the wire, though, which is good considering how boring the playoff races seem to be this year. There just aren't many teams on the outside with a realistic shot of getting in.
Peter Tessier
I don't want either of the likely teams of St. Louis or the Kings to make the second spot. Let's have some drama and make it the Canucks who rise up and hit a streak like no other. This is not a homer pick as much as it would thwart what they need to do so badly, tank and be bad. That's something they have not figured out and frankly they should pay for it by sneaking in.
Yeah,it will be LA we all know it but one can dream right?
Adam French
This one is rather cut and dry. The Kings are going 0-10-7 to end the season and finish outside the playoffs.
In reality though...I think the Kings can pull this off, as boring as they are. Sure they got slower at the deadline, but there is still a team that can squeak into the playoffs there.
The Blues traded their third best defenseman and best offensive defender and are starting to middle out from their post Hitchcock high. Yet still boast a pretty strong team when their goaltending doesn't crap the bed.
However, the big kicker to me is the schedule which clearly favours the Blues. They play Arizona and Colorado three freaking times. Along with the Canucks and Canes once each. That's eight games that should be winnable, let alone playing lower end playoff contenders like Nashville, Florida, Winnipeg and the LA Kings themselves. They also only have two back to backs compared to the Kings' four.
So at the end of the day, I think the Blues are going to make it, they have an easier path.
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