Are the Eastern playoff teams already decided?

[Racer88]

East	NHL Playoff Odds	Jan 28th, 2002
Position	Team	Make Playoffs
1	Florida Panthers	99.97%
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	99.92%
3	Carolina Hurricanes	99.90%
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	99.70%
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	99.60%
6	New York Rangers	97.70%
7	Boston Bruins	95.70%
8	Washington Capitals	88.30%
9	New York Islanders	14.30%
10	Ottawa Senators	2.20%
11	Detroit Red Wings	1.00%
12	Columbus Blue Jackets	1.00%
13	New Jersey Devils	0.50%
14	Philadelphia Flyers	0.10%
15	Buffalo Sabres	0.10%
16	Montreal Canadiens	0.00%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

A little harsh on the Habs.
Hahahahhahahahhaha

 

[justashadowof]

The closest threat to the 4th place team in the Atlantic is probably Columbus and they ain't very good. In a way, the rest of this season until the playoffs is mostly irrelevant in the Eastern Conference.

 

[TheScandal89]

A little harsh on the Habs.
Hahahahhahahahhaha

Laugh now but if they tank the next 2 years they could build a dynasty around Wright and Bedard. I can live with them getting Wright but hopefully not Bedard lol

 

[Zybalto]

East	NHL Playoff Odds	Jan 28th, 2002
Position	Team	Make Playoffs
1	Florida Panthers	99.97%
2	Tampa Bay Lightning	99.92%
3	Carolina Hurricanes	99.90%
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	99.70%
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	99.60%
6	New York Rangers	97.70%
7	Boston Bruins	95.70%
8	Washington Capitals	88.30%
9	New York Islanders	14.30%
10	Ottawa Senators	2.20%
11	Detroit Red Wings	1.00%
12	Columbus Blue Jackets	1.00%
13	New Jersey Devils	0.50%
14	Philadelphia Flyers	0.10%
15	Buffalo Sabres	0.10%
16	Montreal Canadiens	0.00%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The ONLY thing saving the Isles right now is that they put up that dismal record while still having the 3rd best team save% in the league.....although that doesnt say much for the rest of the team I guess.

I wonder when the heat is gonna hit Barzal and the boys over there (seeing as Barzal has the same amount of PP goals the last two years as Marner for example). They could hit a hot streak with the goaltending still doing its thing but still gotta hope Caps/Bruins/Rangers/Pens falter though and that doesnt look like its gonna happen.

 

[Bluelines]

right, so Boston stacking their top line for years was a bad idea, and Colorado, and Florida, and TB, and so on and so on.
its common practice to stack the lines, especially when desperate, the main problem was shot selection and lack of quality shots and decision making by the players. shoot when you have no shot, pass when you should shoot, and miss the net when everyone is deep, causing an odd man break the other way. ...thats also on the coaching staff, but, the guys on the ice need to execute better.
the Leafs often make goalies look better than they are because they either try to pick a corner and miss, or hit the goalies crest, or pass when they should shoot, or shoot when they should pass. ...its agonizing to watch, imagine how agonizing it must be to coach.

How many cups has Boston, Florida and Colorado won in the last 10 years? It didn't work for them and it didn't work for us. It's a minor league bush league panic move. Tampa can stack their lines anyway they please when their top 3 lines are stacked top to bottom. Heck Tampa's 3rd line was a more complete and talented line than most 2nd lines in the NHL, Tampa was an outlier.