Monday, March 8, 2010

Morning playoff check-up

The Habs crazy win in Anaheim last night vaulted them up to seventh in the standings, and a look at their schedule from here on in shows a pretty favourable road to the finish compared to the other teams on the board. The Habs have the fewest road games and the fewest games against playoff –positioned teams, but they also have the fewest games, period. They have one of the few four-pointers left on their schedule Tuesday against Tampa Bay.

The Flyers were the only other team to post a victory last night, with the Bruins, Rangers and Thrashers all losing, though New York grabbed a loser point. Atlanta has been blown out in back-to-back games, and the loss of Ilya Kovalchuk may finally be sinking in.

Philadelphia Flyers – Sixth place, 34-26-4, 72 points
Last night: 3-1 win over Toronto
Next game: v. New York Islanders Tuesday
18 games remaining, 8 against teams in playoff spot
Home (9) – NYI March 9, Bos March 11, Chi March 13, Atl March 21, Min March 25, NJ March 28, Mtl Apr 2, Det April 4, NYR April 11
Away (9) – NYR Mar 14, Nash March 16, Dal March 18, Atl March 20, Ott March 23, Pgh March 27, NYI April 1, Tor April 6, NYR April 9

Montreal Canadiens – Seventh place, 32-29-6, 70 points
Last night – 4-3 shootout win over Anaheim
Next game: v. Tampa Bay Tuesday
15 games remaining, 6 against teams in playoff spot
Home (9) – TB March 9, Edm March 11, Bos March 13, Ott March 22, Fla March 25, NJ March 27, Car March 31, Buf April 3, Tor April 10
Road (6) – NYR March 16, Tor March 20, Buf March 24, Pha April 2, NYI April 6, Car April 8

Boston Bruins – Eighth place, 29-24-11, 69 points
Last night: 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh
Next game: @ Toronto Tuesday
18 games remaining, 9 against teams in playoff spot
Home (8) – Pgh March 18, NYR March 21, TB March 25, Cgy March 27, Buf March 29, Fla April 1, Buf April 8, Car April 10 
Road (10) – Tor March 9, Pha March 11, Mtl March 13, NJ March 15, Car March 16, Atl March 23, NJ March 30, Tor April 3, Was April 5, Was April 11

New York Rangers – Ninth place, 29-28-9, 67 points
Last night: 2-1 overtime loss to Buffalo
Next game: @ New Jersey Wednesday
16 games remaining, 8 against teams in playoff spot
Home (6) – Pha March 14, Mtl March 16, StL March 18, NYI March 24, Tor April 7, Pha April 9
Road (10) – NJ March 10, Atl March 12, Bos March 21, NJ March 25, Tor March 27, NYI March 30, TB April 2, Fla April 3, Buf April 6, Pha April 11

Atlanta Thrashers – 10th place, 28-26-10, 66 points
Last night: 4-0 loss to Carolina
Next game: v. Nashville Tuesday
18 games remaining, 12 against teams in playoff spot
Home (11) – Nash March 9, NYR March 12, Phx March 15, Buf March 16, Ott March 18, Pha March 20, Bos March 23, Tor March 25, Car March 29, NJ April 6, Pgh April 10
Road (7) – CBJ March 11, Pha March 21, Car March 27, Tor March 30, Was April 1, Pgh April 3, Was April 9

Tampa Bay Lightning – 11th place, 27-26-11, 65 points
Last night – Did not play
Next game – @ Montreal Tuesday night
18 games remaining, 10 against teams in playoff spot
Home (9) – Pgh March 14, Phx March 16, Buf March 18, Was March 20, Car March 23, NYR April 2, Car April 6, Ott April 8, Fla April 10
Road (9) – Mtl March 9, Tor March 11, Was March 12, Fla March 21, Bos March 25, Buf March 27, CBJ March 30, Pgh March 31, Fla April 11

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ottawa the way they are playing right now are not out of reach of several of the teams below them. And the Devils seem to be in free fall as well?

Yanne said...

Nice breakdown! There is actually hope we make the playoffs...
Now the question is how would the habs fare vs. top seeds WS-PT-BF or NJ...

Andrew said...

I've been waiting for someone more knowledgeable than I to suppose that it may be a good thing the Habs have fewer games remaining. Am I the only one who thinks the amount of games they had to play before the Olympics might have contributed to some of the slumps/injuries that have plagued this team? Furthermore, I'd take the extra rest in March over the extra rest in November any day...

Norman in Texas said...

Could someone please check on the Habs' record in games in which Markov participated? I saw a TV report that it was surprisingly good (meaning that without him we are in trouble). I'd like to see the numbers.

Arpon Basu said...

Hey Norman, it's 18-9-3 with Markov and 14-20-3 without Markov.

Anonymous said...

This favors the habs well, how bout atlanta 12 games against playoffs teams and the rangers 6 home 10 road.

H-Online said...

I like what Andrew has to say, as much as we see it as a negative thing look at all the stars starting to drop due to injuries. And a lot of the Olympic stars aren't shining like usual.

Great breakdown to the playoff race by the way. Looks like a lot of teams will be affected by fatigue.

Anonymous said...

When is Price returning to the white pads!
Seriously...