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

November 4, 2010 Stars shine through

There are still no new playoff entrants in the East.  The top 8 have remained the same throught the month of November so far.  The Penguins have slide to the 8 seed while Tampa Bay holds on to the top spot due to having played fewer games than Washington.   In the West, the Dallas Stars have made their first playoff break through and now occupy the 7 seed.  The Nashville Predators are the first team to drop out of the playoff picture. The Kings remain a top the West and the Avalanche stay in the 8 spot.


As of November 4, 2010 the current NHL playoffs would be:
(#) = consecutive days in that exact spot

East

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (4)
8. Pittsburgh Penguins  (1)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (2)
7. New York Rangers (1)

3. Montreal Canadiens (2)
6. Atlanta Thrashers  (2)

4. Washington Capitals (4)
5. Boston Bruins (1)


West

1. Los Angeles Kings  (4)
8. Colorado Avalanche  (2)

2. Detroit Red Wings (1)
7. Dallas Stars (1)

3. Vancouver Canucks  (2)
6. Columbus Blue Jackets  (1)

4. Chicago Blackhawks  (1)
5. St. Louis Blues (1)


Can the Bolts and Kings keep up their top spots for the rest of the week?  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

November 3, 2010 The Results are in!

Due to its shutout loss to the Blue Jackets, the Canadiens dropped into the third spot in the East.  The Flyers took over the second spot as the rest of the East remained the same. In the West, Columbus jumped ahead to the 5 spot and the Canucks took over the North West division from Colorado and moved to the third seed.  The back to back wins from the Canucks jumped them from the outside looking in all the  way to the third seed in two days.  That shows just how much can change in the course of a few nights at the beginning of the year.  It will be interesting to see how the average playoff spot of each team relates to their actual finishing position at the end of the season.

As of November 3, 2010 the current NHL playoffs would be:
(#) = consecutive days in that exact spot

East

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (3)
8. Atlanta Thrashers (2)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (1)
7. Boston Bruins (2)

3. Montreal Canadiens (1)
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (2)

4. Washington Capitals (3)
5. New York Rangers (2)


West

1. Los Angeles Kings  (3)
8. Colorado Avalanche  (1)

2. Chicago Blackhawks  (3)
7. Nashville Predators (1)

3. Vancouver Canucks  (1)
6. Detroit Red Wings  (1)

4. St. Louis Blues  (3)
5. Columbus Blue Jackets (1)


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

November 2, 2010 Here Come the Canucks

Not much action last night means very few changes from the playoff perspective.  In the East, the only changes were from the bottom 4.  The Rangers jumped from the 8 spot to the 5 spot with their win.  The remaining teams shuffled around with Atlanta now occupying the last playoff spot in the East.  In the West, there was only one change and that entailed the Cancucks jumping into a playoff spot.  The Canucks 3 to 0 win over the Devils put them into the 7 spot and bumped Dallas out of the playoffs.  Every other team remained the same, including the 8 seed Blue Jackets.

As of November 2, 2010 the current NHL playoffs would be:
(#) = consecutive days in that exact spot

East

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (2)
8. Atlanta Thrashers (1)

2. Montreal Canadiens (2)
7. Boston Bruins (1)

3. Philadelphia Flyers (2)
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (1)

4. Washington Capitals (2)
5. New York Rangers (1)


West

1. Los Angeles Kings  (2)
8. Columbus Blue Jackets  (2)

2. Chicago Blackhawks  (2)
7. Vancouver Canucks  (1)

3. Colorado Avalanche  (2)
6. Nashville Predators  (2)

4. St. Louis Blues  (2)
5. Detroit Red Wings  (2)


As it is still very early in my data collection, I will not have any reports to run.  The Lightning and Kings remain tied at 2 days atop their respective conferences.

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

If The NHL Playoffs started today, the beginning.

The idea of this blog is simple.  What would the NHL playoffs look like if they were to start today based on last nights standings.  Now, I know it is ridiculus to think that the standings in November will be the same as in April, but the idea of the blog is to track the development of teams along the season.   What percentage of the season will the Tampa Bay Lightning be in first place in the East?  What will the average playoff spot be for the Detroit Red Wings?

As of November 1, 2010 the current NHL playoffs would be:

East

1. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. New York Rangers

2. Montreal Canadiens
7. Atlanta Thrashers

3. Philadelphia Flyers
6. Boston Bruins

4. Washington Capitals
5. Pittsburgh Penguins


West

1. Los Angeles Kings
8. Columbus Blue Jackets

2. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Dallas Stars

3. Colorado Avalanche
6. Nashville Predators

4. St. Louis Blues
5. Detroit Red Wings




Over the course of the year, as more data becomes available, I will post each teams average playoff spot, hottest streak at number 1, etc. 

So, how does your team look so far, will the Capitals face off against the Penguins again?


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