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Yesterday I wrote about the Penguins and a potential playoff matchup with the Flyers. Before last night’s action took place there was a real possibility of that matchup. However, with both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets losing in regulation last night the odds of a Pittsburgh Philadelphia matchup has dramatically decreased. Here are the updated odds for potential Penguins opponents in round 1:
Current odds for Penguins first round playoff opponent pic.twitter.com/LUo4szAJ4q
— Mike Darnay (@MikeDarnay) April 12, 2014
Here are the current standings:
The thing to notice is that the Flyers have two games left to play while Detroit and Columbus both only have 1 game left. If the Flyers win against the Penguins today they are guaranteed 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers also have a game on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes in an effort to earn those 2 points.
If the Flyers earn 2 points in their last 2 games they will avoid Both Pittsburgh and Boston. That means they would get the New York Rangers. If the Flyers lose both games in regulation there is a possibility that they will “earn… the right to face the Boston Bruins in round 1. No matter how you slice it the Flyers will be getting a pretty tough matchup in the 1st round this year.
The Blue Jackets will be playing the Florida Panthers tonight in their last game and the Red Wings will face the St. Louis Blues in their last game of the season. That Red Wings Blues game will be on NBC tomorrow at 12:30 EST.
On the surface it looks like the Blue Jackets have a pretty decent chance of staying ahead of the Red Wings in the standings. This is based on the strength of team each will face in their final game. However, teams that are out of the playoff mix are unpredictable. Sometimes teams relish the role of “spoiler… other times they shut it down and become a door mat. Which Florida Panthers team will show up?
The Blues will most definitely be playing as hard as they can against Detroit. They are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division lead and do not currently hold the tie breaker. The consequences of finishing 2nd in the division will be the Chicago Blackhawks. If the Blues don’t move up to 1st place they will have faced LA, LA, and now Chicago in the 1st round the past 3 years, yikes. Quite a bit is on the line in that Detroit/St Louis matchup.
If the Blues face the Blackhawks they face the real possibility of exiting the playoffs in the 1st round 3 consecutive years with a promising roster. David Backes currently has a boot on his foot and TJ Oshie was clubbed in the head by Mike Rupp the other night. Things just got real in St. Louis.
By all accounts the Penguins will be icing a lineup with the intention of beating the Philadelphia Flyers today. You can argue whether or not the Penguins should rest guys, but it appears they will not be going that route.
If the Penguins win in regulation it once again opens the door to that potential Pittsburgh Philadelphia matchup.
It should be fun to watch things unfold the next two days.
Here are the results of the poll I conducted yesterday:
49% of you said the Penguins should welcome a 1st round matchup with the Flyers
58% of the respondents said that the Penguins should entertain a potential trade that includes Evander Kane and James Neal
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The Hockey Hurts podcast is up and can be found here. This week myself and Cameron Walsh discussed potential playoff matchups.
I also jumped on with the guys who run The PensNation podcast the other evening. You can find that here
Their podcast is really good and I highly recommend giving it a listen.
Thanks for reading!
Follow me on twitter Follow @GunnerStaal