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Final Projected For The North + Extinct or Alive:Habs, Flames, Nucks?

April 14, 2021, 12:56 PM ET [15 Comments]
Eklund
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It’s been an absolutely bizarre and scary year in the world and Canada is still very much in the throws of COVID. My thoughts and prayers are with so many of you up north. I love you all and really hope the vaccines start rolling. We in the States should NEVER forget that without your diligence and stringent care for one another we never would have had the incredible bubble playoffs of 2020. We hockey fans in America owe you big time.

The NHL did a fun thing for these hard hit northerners by putting all the Canadian teams in one division, and all of Canada is loving every minute of it. Which is awesome, even though I truly miss the Canadian teams coming to town here.

And while the top four teams in the North appear set, when you look at the remaining schedules, and the trends, things are actually closer than they appear.

Look at this:

The HockeyBuzz.com current projected point totals for the North Division
Toronto 77points
Winnipeg 69 points
Edmonton 67 points
Montreal 62 points
Calgary 56 points
Vancouver 55 points
Ottawa 43 Points

The Final Projections are based on several factors including match up history of teams, amount of games played in amount of nights, etc.

How does Montreal Make the Playoffs:

Right now they are sitting 6 points up on Calgary with 3 games in hand. So they are in the driver’s seat. They are highly likely to win this spot and the likelihood of them catching Edmonton or Winnipeg is VERY slim based on the remaining factors.

How do they miss?
The key for them will be the 5 games, yes FIVE games they have against Calgary. So far this year, in the four meetings the Flames have won 3 of the four. Montreal also has 4 games left against each Toronto and Edmonton. They have so far dominated Edmonton. If Edmonton gets 2 or 3 wins there Montreal is in trouble. The Leafs and Canadiens have played it tight. In the end, the Sens could really hurt Montreal. In the 7 games so far the Habs and Sens are dead even. The Ottawa has won 4 of the 7, but two were in OT. each team has score 20 goals in the seven meetings.

How does Calgary Make it:
The Flames are lucky that 9 of their final 14 games are against the two teams they have played the best against, AND the two teams they are battling.
The five games against the Canadiens are huge to win in regulation… The Flames have won 3 of 4, all in regulation. Montreal won their game in regulation as well. The Flames can’t lose in regulation. Calgary also has 4 games left against Vancouver. In the first 6 games the Flames won 4, 3 in reg.

How does Vancouver make it?
The four games against Calgary are of course huge, but they do catch a bit of a break by getting to play Toronto 4 times and Edmonton at the point where both of those teams will likely start to rest players for the playoffs. So far, they have hung with both, going 2-0-1 in the last three games with Calgary after dropping the first three. They are getting much better. They have won the last two against Toronto after losing the first three. The projected points takes into account the whole season series, so if they can continue to beat Toronto and Calgary they can change those calculations…

Back with some Wacky Northern Facts after the Podcast....I will add to this blog..
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