LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 21: Jarret Stoll #28 of the Los Angeles Kings reacts after scoring a goal against the Calgary Flames in the third period during their NHL game at Staples Center on March 21, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. The Kings defeated the Flames 2-1 in shootout overtime. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
Last night's results
The Good: DAL half-lost, CGY lost.
The Bad: ANA won, CHI won, SJS won.
Tonight's Games
SJS @ LAK -- Go Kings.
ANA @ NAS -- In truth, I'm fine with either one winning, as long as it's in regulation. I will be a little extra happy if the Ducks lose.
CBJ @ PHX -- Go Jackets.
Now, the updated standings:
| Q | NHL | PTS | W% | PRJ | LSF | PB | +/- | TO 97 | GR | W! | SS | SSGR | GD | |
| 1 | 1 | VAN | 105 | 0.7095 | 116.4 | 103 | 43 | 17 | n/a | 8 | 44 | 1 | 1 | 67 |
| 2 | 2 | DET | 95 | 0.6419 | 105.3 | 102 | 53 | 7 | 1-7-0 | 8 | 39 | 3 | LAK | 27 |
| 3 | 3 | SJS | 94 | 0.6351 | 104.2 | 113 | 54 | 6 | 1-6-1 | 8 | 38 | -1 | 2 | 23 |
| 4 | 5 | CHI | 88 | 0.6027 | 98.8 | 112 | 58 | 2 | 4-4-1 | 9 | 35 | -8 | CHI | 36 |
| 5 | 6 | LAK | 88 | 0.6027 | 98.8 | 101 | 58 | 2 | 4-4-1 | 9 | 33 | n/a | n/a | 22 |
| 6 | 4 | PHX | 91 | 0.6067 | 99.5 | 107 | 59 | 1 | 3-4-0 | 7 | 36 | -2 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | 8 | ANA | 87 | 0.5959 | 97.7 | 89 | 59 | 1 | 5-4-0 | 9 | 37 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| 8 | 7 | NAS | 88 | 0.5946 | 97.5 | 100 | 60 | 0 | 4-3-1 | 8 | 33 | 4 | LAK | 20 |
| 9 | 9 | DAL | 86 | 0.5890 | 96.6 | 88 | 60 | 0 | 5-3-1 | 9 | 33 | 3 | LAK | 0 |
| 10 | 10 | CGY | 85 | 0.5592 | 91.7 | 90 | 67 | -7 | 6-0-0 | 6 | 30 | 2 | LAK | 8 |
| 11 | 12 | CBJ | 77 | 0.5274 | 86.5 | 79 | 69 | -9 | n/a | 9 | 29 | 3 | LAK | -24 |
| 12 | 11 | MIN | 78 | 0.5270 | 86.4 | 84 | 70 | -10 | n/a | 8 | 33 | 1 | LAK | -22 |
| 13 | 13 | STL | 73 | 0.5000 | 82.0 | 90 | 73 | -13 | n/a | 9 | 28 | -8 | STL | -14 |
| 14 | 14 | COL | 64 | 0.4444 | 72.9 | 95 | 80 | -20 | n/a | 10 | 23 | 6 | LAK | -51 |
| 15 | 15 | EDM | 56 | 0.3836 | 62.9 | 62 | 90 | -30 | n/a | 9 | 21 | 5 | LAK | -64 |
Click on the headers to sort.
KEY: Q is my standings, default sorted by points-blown (explanation of points-blown here). NHL is the official standings, via NHL.COM (ESPN has the tie-breakers wrong). PRJ is projected point total for 82 games. LSF is last season's final point total. PB is points-blown. +/- is the distance in points-blown above or below the 8th seed. TO 96 is the record needed to get to the presumed (by me) playoff-threshold. GR is games-remaining. W! is wins plus OT wins (the first tie-breaker). SS and SSGR are season series against the Kings (Kings’ points-earned vs. that team’s points-earned) and games remaining (team name in the SSGR column means that team has won the season series). 2 points for a Kings win, 1 for an OT or SO win, -1 for an OT or SO loss, -2 for a loss. GD is goal--differential.
Observations:
- Six teams battling for five spots, all separated by a total of 2 points-blown.
- The Kings have a game in hand on the Sharks. A win tonight would put the Kings in the lead by a point in the season series, with one game remaining.
- In terms of tie-breaker wins, the Ducks are four ahead of the Kings, the Coyotes are three ahead, and the Hawks are two ahead. Closing this gap would be useful.
- A SIX-WAY TIE FOR 4TH IS NOT THAT CRAZY A PROSPECT. In any case, I fully expect at least two smaller sets of ties.
- Incidentally, were a six-way tie actually to occur, ANA, PHX and CHI would (as it stands now -- obviously these numbers will change) take 4, 5 and 6, with LAK, DAL and NAS proceeding to the head-to-head-to-head tiebreaker. The Kings won season series against both teams by a margin of 7 points, total. So LAK would be 7th seed and I'm too lazy to see which one of DAL and NAS would prevail for the 8th spot.
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