Oh, the Possibilities

by Quisp on Apr 9, 2011 10:26 AM PDT in Standings

SJS (2nd), 103 pts, plays PHX (5th), 99 pts.
DET (3rd), 102 pts, plays CHI (8th), 97 pts. (Sunday)
NAS (4th), 99 pts, plays STL.
LAK (6th), 98 pts, plays ANA (7th), 97 pts.
DAL (9th), 95 pts, plays MIN. (Sunday)

Sharks and Red Wings

Currently tied in ROWs (regulation/over-time/NOT-shoot-out wins)
Sharks won the season series.
If they end up tied at 103 points, Sharks take 2nd place (winning season-series tie-breaker).
If they end up tied at 104 points -- and the Wings pick up a ROW -- the Wings take 2nd place (winning the ROW tie-breaker).

Predators, Coyotes, Kings, Ducks and Blackhawks

still have the potential for a five-way tie.
IF: Ducks beat Kings in OT, Preds and Coyotes lose and Hawks win. Everyone is tied at 99 points.
In that case, ROW tie-breaker gives the Ducks 4th, Hawks 5th, Preds 6th, Coyotes 7th (Preds and Coyotes would be tied in ROW, tied in season series, and Nashville wins on goal-differential), Kings 8th.
Unless Chicago wins Sunday in a shoot-out, in which case 5-7 would be Coyotes, Hawks, Preds (order determined by head-to-head points).

Kings and Ducks

The Kings lose every tie-breaker with anyone they might be tied with, due to their deficit in ROWs.
The Ducks win every tie-breaker with anyone they might be tied with, due to their surplus of ROWs.
If the Kings win, they will finish 4th-6th, depending on the outcome of the Preds and Coyotes games.
If the Kings lose, they will finish 7th (if Chicago loses) or 8th (if Chicago wins or half-wins).
If the Kings lose in OT or SO, they will finish 7th, unless Chicago wins, in which case the Kings take 8th.

Preds, Coyotes and Hawks (and Stars)

Preds, Coyotes and Hawks are currently tied at 38 ROWs.
If the Hawks win (not in a shoot-out) and the Preds and Coyotes lose, the Hawks leapfrog to 5th.
If the Hawks lose and Dallas wins (not in a shoot-out) the Hawks drop to 9th.
Preds and Coyotes tied in their season series, so if they end up tied in ROWs also (they are tied as of now), it will go to goal-differential, in which Nashville prevails (unless Phoenix beats San Jose by a margin that's bigger than the NAS/STL margin by 20 goals).
If the Hawks and Preds are tied at 99, Hawks win (head-to-head tie-breaker decides).
If the Hawks and Coyotes are tied at 99, it goes to goal-differential, in which Chicago prevails, unless...
...Chicago beats Detroit in a shoot-out on Sunday, in which case Nashville prevails in the ROW tie-breaker.

Likely Final Seeds

The seeds are listed in descending order of likelihood. Seeds in parentheses indicate much lower probability. Chicago, LA and Anaheim have a range of 5 seeds depending on the outcomes of this weekend's five games.

	WIN	LOSE	OTSOL	RANGE
LAK	5th, 6th (4th)	8th (7th)	8th, 7th	4-8
ANA	5th, 6th (4th)	8th (7th)	8th, 7th	4-8
PHX	4th, 5th	7th, 6th	5th (4th)	4-7
NAS	4th	6th, 7th	4th, 5th	4-7
DAL	9th (8th)	9th	9th	8-9
CHI	6th, 7th (5th)	8th, 9th	7th, 8th	5-9

My guess

Kings win, take 5th.
Nashville wins and takes 4th. Plays Kings.
Hawks win, rise to 6th and play Detroit, who stay at 3rd.
Anaheim drops to 8th and plays Vancouver.
Phoenix loses, drops to 7th, and plays San Jose.

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Comments

I hope you guess right. I’d rather play the Preds then any of the top 3. I’d rather the Blues win in the scenario though. :)

*Not my real name.

by Hambone* on Apr 9, 2011 12:28 PM PDT reply actions

Ditto

I like the prospect of playing NSH in the first round, although I can’t quite put my finger on why.

If the Kings finish 5th, it will be worth noting that as tense as this season has been — especially with the highly competitive division and the injuries to Kopi and JW at the end — the team will finish with a higher playoff seed than last season and arguably an easier first round draw.

"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim

by DougX on Apr 9, 2011 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Actually, I wouldn’t mind playing Detroit for some reason. They have not played great hockey recently.

by Passemoilapuck on Apr 9, 2011 2:03 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

That They Have Not Been Playing Good Hockey

is a pretty good reason!

I wonder if we’ll see both Vokoun and Bryzagalov in Detroit next season?

by Lars H on Apr 9, 2011 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Howard signed already for another two years

Osgood saying he wants to come back next year.

Joey MacDonald showing that he can be a capable backup for the Red Wings with the display he put on at certain points of the season.

at this point, the biggest concern is whether or not Lidstrom retires.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Apr 9, 2011 5:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Latest injury-related news, per Hammond:

JW to undergo strength test on his shoulder tonight. If he passes, he might be ready for Game 1, Round 1. (!)

Kopi says that his injury is comparable to JW’s last year. If that’s true that strikes me as relatively hopeful news. JW obviously made a full recovery from his injury. Also, it suggests that Kopi will be able to resume skating around mid-summer, which means he should be ready for camp next season.

"Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" — Invader Zim

by DougX on Apr 9, 2011 2:18 PM PDT reply actions

Huge game tonight. I absolutely do not want to play Vancouver or Detroit, they tend to have a lot of fans at the games at Staples. Hopefully a first round match with Nashville or Phoenix solely because there might only be a handful of their fans invading Staples, lol.

by sstephen17 on Apr 9, 2011 3:32 PM PDT reply actions