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Who's the wildcards in the East?
- Thread starter voyageur
- Start date
GrumpyKoala
Registered User
I stopped at ''Montreal is suddenly looking like a contender''
HabzSauce
Registered User
They just beat the last 4 cup winners in their own barn ....
Just give us the cup already
voyageur
Grizzled vet
8-2 in their last 10 is second only to Vegas, and includes beating the last 4 Stanley Cup champs on the road, losing to Chicago in between to make it equitable.
I thought the Canadiens woes were a lot deeper than trading Justin Barron and waiving Cayden Primeau, but they are right in the thick of the race now, which I suppose translates into contention.
GrumpyKoala
Registered User
Allright, Lets meet on Peel and st-Catherine in about 5 month.
voyageur
Grizzled vet
I'd think a Toronto-Montreal 1st round matchup with fans in the building would be a pretty good for the NHL but that's as far as I'll go...
Detroit I think is probably a notch ahead of Montreal though.
Columbus looks like the Cinderella story this year.
wickedwitch
Registered User
If you sort by point %, there are 4 teams (Ottawa, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Boston) within 0.002 of each other in the race for WC2 with Columbus just ahead for WC1. But even most of the teams below them aren't that far back. There's not a single team that isn't a two week's winning streak away from the WC.
If I had to guess, I'd say of the top 5 WC teams by point %, the team with the worst chance would be Boston, assuming they've gotten past their new coach bump and have now reverted back to who they truly are. But it's such a mess, I genuinely wouldn't be surprised with any permutation.
If I had to guess, I'd say of the top 5 WC teams by point %, the team with the worst chance would be Boston, assuming they've gotten past their new coach bump and have now reverted back to who they truly are. But it's such a mess, I genuinely wouldn't be surprised with any permutation.
Having the Leafs in first in the Atlantic sure will motivate teams to finish as the wildcard for their shot at pulling the wheels off Cinderella's pumpkin coach.
wickedwitch
Registered User
Except the team in 8th currently gets the Caps, who are definitely not know for being upset in the playoffs. Right?
lakai17
Registered User
We love a good upset
Schennanigans
Registered User
Rangers still get in imo.
BB79
🇺🇲
Amd it will be glorious
Mike C
Registered User
I tend to agree. Too much talent there . Maybe a coaching change is needed but I think they'll be in the mix at the end
Schennanigans
Registered User
Yeah they’ll eventually start being themselves again. Whether it’s from making a big trade or just start playing how they should I don’t expect the struggles to be season long.
Should have said seventh.
The way the Leafs are in the playoffs, beating them is more of a given...and less of an upset.
Ghost of Murph
Registered User
Early January and all teams in the East are in somewhat close contention points-wise. Pure guesswork trying to determine who the WC teams will be.
Common sense tells me several upstarts will revert back to the mean, while the usual suspects will ultimately battle it out for a playoff spot. Hope I'm wrong. Some fresh blood would be fun.
Common sense tells me several upstarts will revert back to the mean, while the usual suspects will ultimately battle it out for a playoff spot. Hope I'm wrong. Some fresh blood would be fun.
voyageur
Grizzled vet
I'd like to see Detroit get back in. That's not an inexperienced team. It's a team that can't get over the hump, and a coach who has been there before might be the difference. If they can get any kind of goaltending.
At the midway mark there's still room for winning streaks that can knock teams down that were safe. Tampa is a streaky team this year, but seem to win enough to stay out of the WC position. Boston is the one where you don't know how their season will go. Offseason losses and new additions. Holdout from the starter who hasn't been dominant. 100th anniversary there should be some pride in that room, so you can't rule them out of getting hot again. Monahan going down may have an impact of the Jackets. You know the leadership of Crosby and company are good enough to sniff at the playoffs. Can they get back in?
I think the Rangers tank is for real though, and they and Isles would both like to be in the Hagens race, if they don't have the room and the coach going in the same direction.
