I got bored, so I looked at everyone’s schedules and played out the rest of the season in my mind. Here’s the final standings in the West:
- Chicago Blackhawks – 111 pts
- Phoenix Coyotes – 107 pts
- Vancouver Canucks – 103 pts
- San Jose Sharks – 106 pts
- Colorado Avalanche – 101 pts
- Los Angeles Kings – 99 pts
- Detroit Red Wings – 96 pts
- Nashville Predators – 95 pts
- Calgary Flames – 91 pts
- Dallas Stars – 89 pts
- St. Louis Blues – 85 pts
Some interesting things I noticed about the last day of the season. (1) San Jose plays Phoenix. In my mind, the winner of that game gets second and the loser gets fourth. (2) Also on that day, the Kings play Colorado. In my mind, the winner of that game gets fifth and the loser gets sixth. (3) The other big game is Detroit/Chicago. In my mind, if Detroit wins that game, they get seventh and Nashville gets eighth; if they lose, swap ’em. (4) The only seeds that are certain on the last day of the season in my mind are Chicago and Vancouver. (5) The eight playoff teams will already be decided in my mind before the last weekend.
I would be willing to bet the Kings are going to play one of PHX, SJS or VAN in the first round. But the way I played it out in my mind, the match-ups would be:
- Chicago vs. Nashville
- Phoenix vs. Detroit
- Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
- San Jose vs. Colorado/
Although I would be happier if the last day’s games played out differently and the match-ups became:
- Chicago vs. Detroit
- San Jose vs. Nashville
- Vancouver vs. Colorado
- Phoenix vs. Los Angeles/
Of course I could have played them out that way, since I did it in my mind.