via Wikimedia Commons, creative commons license
At this point in the NHL season, making the playoffs means not only must the Panthers win but certain teams must lose, especially those seeded #5-10. The five most important factors to accomplish this feat are (1) the Panthers always win (2) points leave the Eastern Conference in inter-conference games (3) seeds #1-4 always win (4) seeds #11-15 beat seeds #5-10 and (5) no overtime games. Based on these rules, my interpretation of who needs to win this week in the Eastern Conference and potential standings at the end of the week after the jump.
|
| Date |
Away |
Home |
Benefits FLA: |
Significance |
| 14th |
WAS |
PHX |
PHX |
Points leave EC |
| 15th |
TOR |
BOS |
BOS |
Toronto would move within 1pt of the Panthers with a win |
|
BUF |
MTL |
MTL |
Buffalo is ahead in the standings, +5pts with a win |
|
NYI |
OTT |
OTT |
Doesn't really matter, OTT win would raise EC 15th place |
|
PHI |
TBL |
TBL |
PHI in losing streak when they play the Panthers |
| 16th |
TOR |
BUF |
TOR |
Buffalo is ahead in the standings, they are a problem |
|
CAR |
NJD |
NJD |
Inflate NJ's points (they are not a factor, whereas CAR is) |
|
PHI |
FLA |
FLA |
Win, dammit, win!! |
|
PIT |
COL |
COL |
Points leave EC |
|
WAS |
ANA |
ANA |
Points leave EC |
| 17th |
BOS |
NYI |
NYI |
Doesn't really matter, but slow Boston down a little |
|
LOS |
NYR |
LOS |
Points leave EC |
|
DET |
TBL |
TBL |
DET in losing streak when they play the Panthers |
|
MON |
EDM |
EDM |
Points leave EC, ups points for 1st draft pick |
|
ATL |
PHX |
PHX |
Points leave EC, ATL ahead of us |
|
WAS |
SJS |
SJS |
Points leave EC |
| 18th |
NYR |
NJD |
NJD |
NYR must fall out of playoff spot |
|
STL |
BUF |
STL |
Points leave EC, Buffalo must begin losing |
|
BOS |
OTT |
OTT |
Doesn't really matter, but screw Boston anyways |
|
DET |
FLA |
FLA |
Beat another good team Panthers! |
|
PHI |
CAR |
PHI |
CAR must start losing again |
| 19th |
ATL |
EDM |
EDM |
ATL is a problem, ups points for 1st draft pick |
|
OTT |
TOR |
OTT |
Toronto is catching up, slowly |
|
LOS |
NYI |
LOS |
Points leave EC, but this game doesn't really matter |
|
NJD |
CAR |
NJD |
CAR needs a good whipping, and losing streak |
|
TBL |
FLA |
FLA |
Sorry Tampa, but we need the points if we want to see you in the playoffs |
| 20th |
WAS |
BUF |
WAS |
Just get in another downward spiral mmkay Buffalo? |
|
PHI |
NYR |
PHI |
Keep the good teams good, let NYR fall out of a spot |
|
PIT |
CHI |
CHI |
Points leave the EC |
|
MTL |
CGY |
CGY |
Heritage Classic, make MTL cold, cold, cold |
|
|
|
|
|
|
These are the current standings (2/14) The Panthers find themselves in 11th place, seven points out with 2 games at hand. With Toronto trading Kris Versteeg for Philadelphia draft picks, it appears Florida is the last team committed to find a playoff spot.
|
|
| Seed |
Team |
GP |
Points |
| 1 |
Philadelphia |
55 |
77 |
| 2 |
Tampa Bay |
56 |
73 |
| 3 |
Boston |
56 |
69 |
| 4 |
Pittsburgh |
58 |
74 |
| 5 |
Washington |
56 |
68 |
| 6 |
Montreal |
57 |
68 |
| 7 |
New York Rangers |
58 |
64 |
| 8 |
Carolina |
57 |
62 |
| 9 |
Atlanta |
58 |
60 |
| 10 |
Buffalo |
54 |
58 |
| 11 |
Florida |
55 |
55 |
| 12 |
Toronto |
56 |
52 |
| 13 |
New Jersey |
56 |
48 |
| 14 |
New York Islanders |
56 |
47 |
| 15 |
Ottawa |
56 |
44 |
|
|
Now, if everything goes as planned, the standings could look like this next Monday
| Seed |
Team |
GP |
Points |
| 1 |
Philadelphia |
59 |
81 |
| 2 |
Tampa Bay |
59 |
77 |
| 3 |
Boston |
59 |
71 |
| 4 |
Pittsburgh |
60 |
74 |
| 5 |
Washington |
60 |
70 |
| 6 |
Montreal |
60 |
70 |
| 7 |
New York Rangers |
61 |
64 |
| 8 |
Carolina |
60 |
62 |
| 9 |
Florida |
58 |
61 |
| 10 |
Atlanta |
60 |
60 |
| 11 |
Buffalo |
58 |
58 |
| 12 |
Toronto |
59 |
54 |
| 13 |
New Jersey |
59 |
54 |
| 14 |
Ottawa |
59 |
50 |
| 15 |
New York Islanders |
59 |
49 |
The Panthers could sit in 9th place just one point out of a playoff spot with two games on Carolina and #10 Atlanta. I know, wishful thinking, but still. Maybe if all of the celestial bodies align and coins land on their edge, we could find ourselves sitting pretty next Monday.
Teams that must lose this week: Rangers, Hurricanes, Thrashers and most importantly Sabres.
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