I find it remarkable that with only 3 days remaining in the season, and with each team having only 1 or 2 games left to play, there's not a single playoff opening series match-up determined yet. Amazing!

The Lightning just clinched the Eastern Conference but still don't know if they'll be facing the Canadiens, Islanders or even the Sabres (!) in round one. The same is true for the Red Wings, who just clinched the Western Conference (and the President's Trophy) but could mathematically be meeting any of the Blues, Predators, Oilers or even the Flames next week.

As it now stands, my Habs could wind up facing the Lightning, Broons, Sens, Phlyers, Leaves, or even the Devils in round one. I don't expect them to win a series against any of these teams, what with the major sucking noise coming from Hab-land this past week.

Ow, my head hurts. Math cramp. eek!

I find it amazing how hockey fans sit and pour over the standings and schedules to figure out all the various possibilities. I have a friend here at work that is a big Oilers fans and wrote this to me this morning:

"Okay, if St Louis and N-vill tie tomorrow, Edmonton needs a vic to stay in it, and if either team loses on Sunday Edmonton is in. If there is an out right victory by St L or N-ville tomorrow, Edmonton can stay in it with only a tie, provided the team that lost on Saturday also loses on Sunday. I really don't know mathematically which scenario is better. A further monkey wrench, Vancouver could clinch tonight, which would make them an easier target for edmonton tomorrow night, BUT that also makes Colorado an easier target for nashville on Sunday."

It makes my head hurt but sure makes scoreboard watching a lot more fun!

GO CANUCKS!!!

The thing with the last 5 games is that they were playing teams that were a little more desperate to either finish first or to clinch a playoff spot. I think the Habs have been sort of locked in -- assured of making the playoffs but not having any real chance of winning the division. But prior to that they were doing well, including the 1-0-1 against New Jersey just before the losing streak started. So I think they can be competitve with any team, and especially NJ without Scott Stevens. Doesn't mean they'll win, of course... wink

Colorado doesn't play Nashville on Sunday. Columbus does.

At the NHL schedule pages at both ESPN.com and Yahoo, the listing for Sunday says Nashville at Colorado.

I don't care who is playing frankly, since its the only one I got this week. frown

The Blues beat the Predators to clinch 7th place in the West, but since the Oilers lost to Vancouver the Predators clinch 8th place. Detroit-Nashville and San Jose-St. Louis are the 2 pairings set. Vancouver is 3rd and Colorado 4th, Dallas and Calgary are a point apart for 5 and 6 with each playing their finale Sunday.

In the East, since Montreal clinched 7th place it's the NY Islanders and Tampa Bay. The other matchups are still up in the air until after Sunday's games. The winner of Boston-New Jersey wins their division. If Boston loses or gets only one point, Toronto wins the Northeast. If Jersey loses the Flyers need one point vs. the Islanders. If Jersey gets a point the Flyers need to win. Ottawa, since they got spanked by Toronto in their last game, can't finish higher than 4th.

Given how well the Oilers have been playing of late, I was really surprised the Canucks beat them, but then again, when the Canucks want to they can play hockey and beat just about anyone, anytime.

The Oilers loss last night means they are the only Canadian-based team not to make the playoffs this year. But I give them credit for their late-season success, which was certainly helped by the acquisition of Peter Nedved and Jussi Markkanen from the Rangers. Following the game in Vancouver last night, the Canucks players gave away their game jerseys to some fans, and guess who made a 'guest' appearance? None other than Todd Bertuzzi, looking considerably less sweaty than his teammates, presented his #44 jersey to a small elderly lady along with a hug, to roars of approval from the fans at GM Place. One of hockey's tender moments? Actually I thought it was all rather strange, considering Bertuzzi's circumstances...

Here it is the last day of the regular season, and I still don't know who the Flames will be facing in the playoffs. A win over the Ducks today (or even a tie) coupled with a Stars loss (of which they've had a lot lately, sans Turco ) to the Hawks will give Calgary the fifth seed and a first-round match with the Avs. But I'd actually prefer to see the standings remain as they are, which would mean a Canucks-Flames match-up. In any case, I'm relieved we won't be facing Dallas in the first round. Unfortunately for me, playoff tickets for the first home games (3 & 4) of Round One were sold out on Friday within two hours :mad:

Looks like a classic Toronto-Montreal playoff match-up in the Eastern conference. And as I type this, the Islanders lead the Flyers and the Bruins lead the Devils. If I'm not mistaken, can't Philadelphia jump from 6th to 3rd in the East with a win today and a NJ loss, since they play in the same division? I'll leave it up to Joe or someone else to sort it all out for us at the end of the day!

[ April 04, 2004, 12:28 PM: Message edited by: Marc ]

The Flyers and Devils flip-flopped as a result of today's games. The East is fully set. (See separate thread.)