Ladies and gentlemen, the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin this month. It’s officially April. Start saving your money for either 1) playoff tickets or 2) tee times– there is no in-between.
Each month has brought a new twist to the latest forecasted standings here on Down the Frozen River and in the spirit of finishing off the season, here’s one final look at how things should pan out with one week remaining in the 2017-18 regular season.
It’s okay to tell Microsoft Excel you disagree, so by all means, take these numbers for what you want. A holistic viewpoint goes a lot further in the world of analytics and a salary cap. At this point, it’s almost worth more to focus on where your team is expected to fall in the standings than how many points they should amass on the season.
And if you’re embracing the tank, you might as well forget about it. The NHL draft lottery usually shakes things up pretty well anyway.
Anyway, here’s how the standings should shake out for all 31 NHL franchises based on their performances through March 31, 2018. Keep in mind my degree is in communication– not math. These are merely educated “I know how to use Excel to make things happen” guesses.
2017-2018 Projected Standings after Five Months
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
- p-Boston Bruins, 117 points (77 GP so far)
- x-Tampa Bay Lightning, 111 points (78 GP so far)
- x-Toronto Maple Leafs, 104 points (78 GP so far)
- Florida Panthers, 89 points (77 GP so far)
- Detroit Red Wings, 75 points (79 GP so far)
- Ottawa Senators, 73 points (78 GP so far)
- Montreal Canadiens, 70 points (78 GP so far)
- Buffalo Sabres, 64 points (78 GP so far)
Surging through March despite numerous injuries, the Boston Bruins claw their way not only into first place in the Atlantic Division standings (and Eastern Conference standings as a whole), but they land themselves just their third President’s Trophy in franchise history as the league leaders at the conclusion of the 2017-18 regular season.
Despite their late season hiccups, the Tampa Bay Lightning settle for 2nd in the Atlantic Division and gear up for what should be a deeper than the First Round playoff appearance.
The Toronto Maple Leafs make some noise with their second consecutive postseason appearance, but are no match for the long journey to the Cup this season (give it one more postseason, Leafs fans. Next year, it’s totally your year).
Somehow the Ottawa Senators string together a few wins to surpass the Montreal Canadiens. Meanwhile the Florida Panthers stumble just as quietly out of playoff contention as they began the season.
Metropolitan Division
- y-Washington Capitals, 104 points (78 GP so far)
- x-Pittsburgh Penguins, 99 points (79 GP so far)
- x-Columbus Blue Jackets, 98 points (79 GP so far)
- wc1-New Jersey Devils, 98 points (78 GP so far)
- wc2-Philadelphia Flyers, 97 points (78 GP so far)
- Carolina Hurricanes, 83 points (79 GP so far)
- New York Rangers, 80 points (79 GP so far)
- New York Islanders, 78 points (79 GP so far)
The Washington Capitals always seem to find a way to win their division. Especially in what has been Braden Holtby‘s season from hell (have you checked his goals against average and save percentage this season yet? Because if you’re a Caps fan and you haven’t, maybe you shouldn’t for your own good heading into the playoffs).
In what has equally been as difficult a season for Matt Murray in goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions should have home ice for a First Round matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets that shouldn’t go less than seven games. Best friends in real life, Mike Sullivan and John Tortorella, just might put their friendship to the test for a couple of weeks.
Both of the Eastern Conference wild cards are going to Metropolitan Division teams this season as the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers are welcomed back to the postseason with open arms.
If you’re a Carolina Hurricanes fan, next year seems enticing to break the playoff drought– and it’s only fitting, since 2019 will mark 10 years since Carolina last made the Stanley Cup playoffs.
And if you’re John Tavares, maybe you’re looking elsewhere from the abysmal New York Islanders this offseason. Say for instance, the quickly rebuilding New York Rangers?
Western Conference
Central Division
- z-Nashville Predators, 114 points (78 GP so far)
- x-Winnipeg Jets, 114 points (78 GP so far)
- x-Minnesota Wild, 99 points (78 GP so far)
- wc1-St. Louis Blues, 98 points (78 GP so far)
- Colorado Avalanche, 94 points (78 GP so far)
- Dallas Stars, 89 points (79 GP so far)
- Chicago Blackhawks, 78 points (79 GP so far)
The Nashville Predators edge out the Winnipeg Jets in regulation-plus-overtime wins to lay claim to the Western Conference’s best regular season record and home ice through the Western Conference Final. Both teams are set for what should at least be postseason appearances extending into the Second Round.
Since Winnipeg is likely to knock out the Minnesota Wild in a quick series, let’s skip right over them to talk about the St. Louis Blues for a minute.
They thought it was a great idea to get rid of Paul Stastny at the trade deadline– giving up his dominance on the faceoff dot– and yet, here they are with a final week of the season push for the playoffs.
Of course, it helps that the Colorado Avalanche lost Semyon Varlamov and Erik Johnson to injuries (with the Johnson injury being the bigger blow to Nathan MacKinnon‘s Hart Trophy worthy season and the rest of the Avs).
At least Tyler Seguin reached the 40-goal mark for the Dallas Stars and the Chicago Blackhawks still have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
Pacific Division
- y-Vegas Golden Knights, 113 points (79 GP so far)
- x-San Jose Sharks, 101 points (79 GP so far)
- x-Los Angeles Kings, 95 points (79 GP so far)
- wc2-Anaheim Ducks, 95 points (78 GP so far)
- Calgary Flames, 85 points (79 GP so far)
- Edmonton Oilers, 79 points (79 GP so far)
- Vancouver Canucks, 75 points (79 GP so far)
- Arizona Coyotes, 72 points (79 GP so far)
An expansion franchise almost clinched the Western Conference regular season title. The Vegas Golden Knights are that good and should make an impressive effort into at least the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s pure insanity, but it’s fun to watch.
If you’re a California resident, there’s good news, all three of your teams will be in the postseason (again). Just switch your hats and/or jerseys to whoever’s playing that night and hope for the best (pick San Jose, they seem like a good dark horse).
The Calgary Flames get the honor of “best of the worst teams in the west”, which I’m sure will tie into the Stampede Festival somehow– if not solely because their owner is looking to stampede out of the city and into a new arena elsewhere.
Poor Connor McDavid, it must be demoralizing to have back-to-back 100-point seasons on a team that has only made the playoffs once in his young career.
And you probably shouldn’t write off the Arizona Coyotes entirely, because they very well could make the Vancouver Canucks look worse and jump from 8th to 7th in the division by season’s end.
If you’re so inclined to see how things were expected to pan out this season back in October, you can do so here.
