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Misc 2018 Playoff News Thread

jeffbear

Mod Squad
Staff member
I figured we could keep the misc playoff news collated in one place and why not start with the race for the last slots.

East ...
Florida in play for a wildcard slot, but only barely. They STILL have a game in had on Philly and Jersey. Has their building been tied up all bloody year? They've had games in hand for basically the entire 2nd half of the season. Their magic number is "win everything and pray for help"

Seeding battles for 1st/2nd between Tampa and Boston 5th/6th/7th between the Pens, Jackets and Devils ... heck, throw the Flyers in there too ... have yet to play out. Boston has a game in hand on Tampa for the first seed ... a game that Brad Marchant narrowly avoided being suspended for.


West ...
Anaheim and LA clinched just last night thanks to the Blues loss to Chicago. That leaves only the Avalanche and Blues slugging it out for that last spot, with the Avs a single point ahead with two games for both team remaining ... including a head to head matchup on Saturday. That might be a game to watch if the Canes weren't playing at home ... kidding, kidding. Just watch the Avs/Blues game.

Seeding ... 2nd is in play between Vegas and the Jets. There's also only 2 points between 7th and 4th, so as usual in the West ... everything is in play. Everybody in the playoff picture has two remaining games.
 
I figured we could keep the misc playoff news collated in one place and why not start with the race for the last slots.

East ...
Florida in play for a wildcard slot, but only barely. They STILL have a game in had on Philly and Jersey. Has their building been tied up all bloody year? They've had games in hand for basically the entire 2nd half of the season. Their magic number is "win everything and pray for help"

Seeding battles for 1st/2nd between Tampa and Boston 5th/6th/7th between the Pens, Jackets and Devils ... heck, throw the Flyers in there too ... have yet to play out. Boston has a game in hand on Tampa for the first seed ... a game that Brad Marchant narrowly avoided being suspended for.


West ...
Anaheim and LA clinched just last night thanks to the Blues loss to Chicago. That leaves only the Avalanche and Blues slugging it out for that last spot, with the Avs a single point ahead with two games for both team remaining ... including a head to head matchup on Saturday. That might be a game to watch if the Canes weren't playing at home ... kidding, kidding. Just watch the Avs/Blues game.

Seeding ... 2nd is in play between Vegas and the Jets. There's also only 2 points between 7th and 4th, so as usual in the West ... everything is in play. Everybody in the playoff picture has two remaining games.

That game Saturday with the Blues and Av's head to head with that last playoff spot at stake looks like a beauty. Nothing like game 82 head to head to decide your playoff fate.
 
That game Saturday with the Blues and Av's head to head with that last playoff spot at stake looks like a beauty. Nothing like game 82 head to head to decide your playoff fate.

Yeah. I really enjoyed watching the Blues and Blackhawks last night and that was only one team playing for their life. I've been too stuck in the Canes' world lately. I'm looking forward to enjoying professional hockey again.
 
So who are we pulling for?

I'd love to see Vegas win the Cup. I'm not counting on it.

I also like the Preds. I love seeing the Titan O-Line drinking beer out of catfish. They know how to make the playoffs a huge party.

I could pull for the Ning. I like Steven Stinkmost. Maybe NJ. I like what Hall is doin der in Joysy.

I pretty much hate armPitts-burgh (really just their fans, the city and their fans), Boston, Filthydelphia, Tonto, Warshington, and Columbus. I will actively pull against them.

I'm meh about Minnesota, the Peg and whatever they have in Cali.


Let's adopt a team together and see how bad be can jinx them. My vote in Vega Baby! Then the Hockey Predators.
 
It's just habit for me to write the Caps off in the postseason. I expect nothing from them on an annual basis.
 
I'm pulling for a Preds/Ning finals. That way I won't hate either finalist and can just enjoy.
 
As long as the Pens aren't in the finals I'll be content. I got a softer spot for the caps then some just due to watching them as I grew up. But really my only wish is for the pens to trip and fall all over the ice and lose in 4.
 
I am hoping this is the season the should the Caps face the Pens in the playoffs, thatt he Caps plow through...
 
4/6 status

West ... the Blues play the Hawks again tonight in a game that will put them at 81 games played same as the Avs ahead of their tilt on Saturday. St Louis owes the Blackhawks one after blowing a 3-2 lead against them on Thursday. The top 2 slots in the West are locked ... Nashville, Winnipeg and Vegas. Freaking Vegas.

East ... down to Philly and Florida. The Flyers have one game left, against NYR, while Florida has two ... home against Buffalo Saturday and then at Boston on Sunday. Boston is still locked in that battle with Tampa for No. 1 in the East so it's unlikely that they'll be in coast mode. Pittsburgh has no shot at Washington in the Metro, so the top 3 are locked, with only 1 and 2 to be settled. Either way it's Tampa, Boston and Washington.
 
I am getting to see playoff hockey live for the first time since 2009. Heading to Columbus to visit my daughter and going to game 4 versus Washington
 
So the reward in the NHL for the record breaking regular seasons for Vegas and Toronto gets you the Kings and Bruins as your opponent for round 1! Bravo NHL, well done!!!

The return to 1 vs 8 seeding in each division has to happen. The current format is dumb and needs a fix in the worst way. The 1 vs 8 seeding would have changed 6 of the 8 playoff matchups. Just my 2 cents.
 
Reminds me ... we need to post the brackets.

Eastern Conference

Tampa Bay (A1) vs New Jersey (WC2)

Boston (A2) vs Toronto (A3)

Washington (M1) vs Columbus (WC1)

Pittsburgh (M2) vs Philadelphia (M3)


Western Conference

Nashville (C1) vs Colorado (WC2)

Winnipeg (C2) vs Minnesota (C3)

Las Vegas (P1) vs Los Angeles (WC1)

Anaheim (P2) vs San Jose (P3)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

In terms of matchups, I like Pittsburgh and Nashville's path to the Final ... but I think you're going to get the winner of an eventual Tamps/Boston series to come out of the East.
 
NBC is going to show some playoff games on the golf channel. I think I see some jokes being made out of that .

I've seen some speculation that this is a minor retaliation for the league failing to agree to send players to the Olympics ... broadcast on NBC. But if you've looked at the ratings, this makes sense. The numbers just aren't that good for hockey other than in the local markets.
 
Just like the last day of the English Premier League season, NBC is showing multiple games across all their platforms. They'll also be broadcasting on USA Network and CNBC.

The Mighty Forslund is calling the Pens/Flyers series with McPlankton. Kenny Albert will work with Olympic gold medalist AJ Mleczko in the booth. She's worked the Olympic women's tournament since 2006 and NBC assigned her to a few NHL games when she got back from Korea.

http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...offs-begins-wednesday-night-with-three-games/
 
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