ADDED 6pm Tonight's Picks:
CGY (W) AZ
NASH (W) BUFF
BOS (W) CBJ
MIN LAK (W)
FLA OTW MTL
It's the most wonderful time of the year for hockey fans, and as we come down the home stretch. With roughly ten games to go the races in each conference are far from over...Tomorrow I will be looking at the match ups in the playoffs and who they favor...but today, a look at the race to get in:
The East
Four teams battle for two spots...
The East is pretty clear...
Current Race:
Philly sits with 85 points in 73 games Columbus 83 points in 72 games NJ 82 in 72 games and Florida 77 in 69 games
Looking at the Strength of schedule, match ups and team tendencies our computers say:
Flyers finish in third with 101 points Panthers get first Wild Card with 97 points Columbus edges out NJ for the the second Wild Card with 95 points, but more ROW...
The West is a little nuttier...
Current Race:
The Wild are in third in the Central with 89 points in 72 games The Sharks are in second in the Pacific with 89 points in 72 games The Ducks are third in the Pacific with 86 in 73 games
The Avalanche are in the top Wild Card spot with 86 points in 72 games The Kings are in the second Wild Card with 84 in 72
Just outside...
The Stars with 84 in 72 The Blues with 83 in 72 The Flames with 80 in 73
Looking at the strength of schedule, match ups, and team tendencies, our computers say:
The Wild will finish third in the central with 103 points
The Ducks will jump up to second in the Pacific with 103 points The Kings will jump up to third in the Pacific with 97 points
The Wild Card will see Colorado getting the first spot with 97 points The second spot will go to Dallas, who will tie Calgary with 96 points, but have more ROW
What say you?
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— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) August 2, 2017