West is Best!

by Ace O'Dale on Dec 18, 2009 12:23 AM MST

Taking a look at the conference standings after last night remarkable rearrangement, I was struck at how much more competitive is the NHL West compared to the East.

As of midnight mountain time, December 18th, the top eight teams in the West stacked up like so:

Team GP W Pts

1. San Jose	35	20	47
2. Chicago	32	21	45
3. Calgary	34	20	44
4. Los Angeles	37	22	47
5. Nashville	35	21	45
6. Phoenix	35	21	44
7. Colorado	36	19	44
8. Detroit	34	18	41

Only six points separate the conference leading Sharks from the DeadWings. And, only THREE POINTS differentiates the #1 and #7 positions! Talk about competitive! No wonder the standings are volatile.

Meanwhile, the East looks more settled:

Team GP W Pts

1. Pittsburgh	35	24	49
2. Washington	34	21	48
3. Buffalo	32	20	42
4. New Jersey	32	23	47
5. Atlanta	33	18	39
6. Boston	32	16	38
7. Ottawa	33	17	38
8. Florida	35	14	35

This time the leading Pens outdistance the Pans by a full fourteen points, and lead the 6th and 7th positions by eleven points. Just to put this into perspective, Pittsburgh has two weeks worth of wins more than the club in the last playoff position.

But, wait, it gets better! Let's look at the bottom half of the two conferences.

First, the West:

Team GP W Pts

9. Dallas	34	14	39
10. Vancouver	34	19	38
11. Minnesota	34	17	37
12. Columbus	35	14	35
13. Edmonton	34	15	34
14. St. Louis	32	14	33
15. Anaheim	34	13	33

Once again, with only six points, a cellar dweller becomes a bubble team.

But in the East:

Team GP W Pts

9. N.Y. Rangers	34	15	33
10. N.Y. Islanders	35	13	33
11. Montreal	36	15	33
12. Philadelphia	33	15	32
13. Toronto	34	12	31
14. Tampa Bay	34	11	31
15. Carolina	33	8	22

The Canes have a lot of catching up to do. Again, about two weeks worth of wins!

If only the Ducks played in the Eastern Conference, they'd be on the cusp of a playoff spot instead of sinking to last place.

Only Pittsburgh, Washington, and New Jersey would qualify for playoff spots in the Western Conference. All the other eastern teams are merely mediocre by comparison.

Go Avs!

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Comments

Nice, succinct breakdown.

"I know everyone has their own opinion, but your opinion is wrong. "

by Mike @ MHH on Dec 18, 2009 9:34 AM MST reply actions

It must really chafe Cunucks fans to see their team (19W) out of the playoffs while garbage teams like Florida and and Ottawa (14W and 17W) are in in the East. Not that I’m complaining of course.

by Dustin Burfiend on Dec 18, 2009 10:38 AM MST reply actions

what i’m not liking is the 3 pts between CO and Detroit. WTF????

You mean the Avs aren't going to get the top draft pick this summer???

by BeachNSnowGirl on Dec 18, 2009 11:59 AM MST reply actions

What is also interesting 34.3 Games played is the average in the west. The East 33.6 games played. So for teams to who have to travel farther distances to play games(the West) shouldn’t they have worse records?

by pikeyrubbish on Dec 18, 2009 1:30 PM MST reply actions

That's an interesting thought...

How do the road records line up between the two conferences?

Since there is more travel involved on this end of the continent, do they fair better in away games than their Eastern counterparts?

Must look into that. Could make another post….

by Ace O'Dale on Dec 18, 2009 5:07 PM MST up reply actions

Well in the East, some of those road games really don’t involve much travel. How far do the Isles have to travel to play the Rangers? or Buffalo? of New Jersey for that matter? The only thing that makes some of those games a “road” game is the building they play in.

The 2009-10 Avalanche: Have the wheels fallen off?

I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.

by Americanario on Dec 18, 2009 6:26 PM MST up reply actions