November 5, 2010 The Kings Reign

The matchup of the top two teams in their respective conferences proved to be close with the Kings shuting out the Bolts 1 to 0.  The Kings remain a top the West for the fifth straight day while the Lightning drop to the 4 spot after the loss.  This means the East has a new leader, the Philadelphia Flyers. In the West, the Avalanche have falling out of the playoff picture for the first time after a dismal 3 to 1 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks.  The St. Louis Blues appear to be a real threat in the West with the strong play of Halak backstopping the Blues to another victory.

NEW FEATURE ALERT!!  Seeding based by Points Per Game

As of November 5, 2010 the current NHL playoffs would be:
(#) = consecutive days in that exact spot
(#) = points per game: pts/gp

East

1. Philadelphia Flyers  (1)  (1.31)
8. Pittsburgh Penguins  (2)  (1.0)

2. Washington Capitals (1)  (1.33)
7. New York Rangers (2)  (1.08)

3. Montreal Canadiens (3)  (1.25)
6. Atlanta Thrashers  (3)  (1.08)

4. Tampa Bay Lightning  (1)  (1.33)
5. Boston Bruins (2)  (1.56)

So how would the playoffs look with PPG being the seeding factor?  Note divsion winners are not factored in:

1. Boston Bruins
8. Pittsburgh Penguins

2. Washington Capitals
7. New York Rangers

3. Tampa Bay Lightning
6. Atlanta Thrashers

4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Montreal Canadiens

With the added info of points per game, the major change you can see is the Boston Bruins would be the top team in the East.   The Flyers fall all the way to the 4 spot. Outside the playoff cutoff, none of the teams ranked 9 through 15 have enough points per game to break into the top 8.  The Buffalo Sabres have the worst Points per Game of an NHL team at .62 ppg.



West

1. Los Angeles Kings  (5)  (1.5)
8. Nashville Predators (1)  (1.18)

2. St. Louis Blues  (1)  (1.6)
7. Dallas Stars (2)  (1.27)

3. Vancouver Canucks  (3)  (1.5)
6. Chicago Blackhawks (1)  (1.0)

4. Columbus Blue Jackets (1)  (1.5)
5. Detroit Red Wings (1)  (1.5)

So how would the playoffs look with PPG being the seeding factor?  Note divsion winners are not factored in:

1. St. Louis Blues
8. Minnesota Wild

2. Los Angeles Kings
7. Nashville Predators

3. Vancouver Canucks
6. Dallas Stars

4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Detroit Red Wings

The most interesting aspect of the West seeding based by PPG is that the Chicago Blackhawks would not make the playoffs at all.  The Wild would take over the 8 spot and the St. Louis Blues are the current NHL leaders with 1.6 points per game played.


How high can the Blues go?  Who will be the next new entrant into the playoff picture?

Disclaimer:  I am not adjusting for games played and the standing are from NHL.com