Here is my ranking...I am very interested to read your take...
I honestly can't remember a prior year where so many teams who were picked to make the playoffs were underperforming this far into the season.
The Oilers, Devils, Penguins, Sabres, Senators and Wild all find themselves outside looking in.
Who is most likely making it?
#1. The New Jersey Devils are currently three points out of a wildcard. It's really isn't that bad we consider all the injuries this team has suffered through, and the mediocre goaltending as well. I picked the Devils to win the conference.... so there's a lot on the line for me personally that they at least make the playoffs.
#2. The Edmonton Oilers are currently five points behind a playoff spot, with two games in hand, and anyone who's watched them play in their last few games can see that this is not only a playoff team, but a good playoff team.
#3. The Minnesota Wild are only four points back with two games in hand on those current wildcard teams. Since the coaching change they have looked like a new team. Everything seems to be coming together quickly as their confidence grows. No one's going to want tp play the Wild in the playoffs.
#4. The Ottawa Senators are a scary team as well and many people thought that this was their year to make a serious run... They too have struggled, but they've also had to deal with the fact that they have played far fewer games and anyone else. As of this writing, the Senators sit nine points behind top wildcard Tampa, but have played seven less games. Very weird. Watching them play against the Rangers the other night was eye-opening. This is a team to be reckoned with.
#5 The Buffalo Sabres missed the playoffs by only a single point last year. This year however they have not shown nearly the consistency that had put them in that position. The have faced a lot of injuries for sure, but it's the lack of scoring which is most concerning. This was a team that was supposed to never have trouble scoring goals.
#6 While quite a few people picked the Pittsburgh Penguins to not make the playoffs, they definitely played this last off-season as if they were going to make the playoffs and were just a few players away from being dominant. As of this point they aren't that far out of the playoffs, but have gone 0 for 33 ,and counting, on a power-play with $44 million worth of players
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