The season is quickly coming to a close and the playoff picture has almost been finalized. The end of the season is sure to be spectacular with 2 teams in the Eastern Conference wild card race able to be knocked out by the time this is posted and another 3 in the Western Conference. First we will look at the Eastern Conference.
Atlantic Division
Buffalo Sabres 47-3-2 (7-0-1 although, they should be 6-1-1)
Yes indeed I do mean exactly what I just said. An oversight by other owners just allowed Buffalo to dodge a forfeit as Sugar_Saleh exceeded his weekly game limit in a game they won. The savvy veteran duo of Jew and Vito probably wouldn’t care however, seeing as their magic number to win the Conference title and the president’s trophy is just 4 points entering the final week of the season.
Top Players: CapitalsFan_08: 8 GP, 15 G, 19 A, 34 Pts, 4.35 P/G, +30, 7-0-1
xGilmour93: 2 GP, 8 G, 7 A, 15 Pts, 7.50 P/G, +18, 2-0-0
Montreal Canadiens 41-9-2 (5-3-0)
Scoop has once again shown his elite team-building ability, taking charge and hanging tough in 2nd place in the entire league. Unfortunately this playoff format makes it almost certain they will have to face either Ottawa, Toronto or Florida both rounds 1 and 2 and to make matters even worse in round 3 they will still be stuck with Carolina or Buffalo if they get through all that. Seriously, the East is ridiculous.
Top Players:
McInnis666: 6 GP, 7 G, 9 A, 16 Pts, 2.67 P/G, +3, 4-2-0
Mawson_99: 8 GP, 9 G, 12 A, 21 Pts, 2.63 P/G, -1, 5-3-0
Toronto Maple Leafs 30-18-4 (5-2-1)
Budz had a rocky start to the season and for a while his odds of making the postseason looked very low but a strong middle portion of the season has the Leafs 4 points up on the Flyers headed into this final week. I expect Ottawa will pass them for 3rd in the division but Toronto should be fine as long as they don’t completely implode. Going 7-2-1 in their last 10 I doubt they have too much to worry about.
Top Players:
Jags19-: 8 GP, 13 G 15 A, 28 Pts, 3.50 P/G, +18, 5-2-1
ehCrowe: 6 GP, 1 G, 14 A, 15 Pts, 2.50 P/G, +18, 4-1-1
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes 37-10-5 (6-2-0)
Smokxy and the Hurricanes have been dominant in no uncertain terms all season long and look to finish looking up the top spot in the Metropolitan Division here in week 8. A front runner for the Norris trophy all season long, if he can keep his foot on the gas he should have no issue picking up the accolade. As for his team they have been very strong going 8-2-0 in their last 10 games which bodes well for their quest to snag top spot in the Metro.
Top Players:
Brxndamour: 5 GP, 15 G, 12 A, 27 Pts, 5.40 P/G, +17, 4-1-0
Mtl-qc-450-514: 7 GP, 19 G, 18 A, 37 Pts, 5.29 P/G, +18, 5-2-0
New York Islanders 32-12-8 (5-2-1)
Shawn has really impressed in his first season as an NHL Owner leading a very strong team deep into the season and with only 8 games remaining they still have a real shot at winning the division. Just 7 points back as of the moment I’m writing this, if they can catch fire and Carolina stumbles just a little bit they could steal the top seed in the Metro.
Top Players:
xHyper-27: 6 GP, 1 G, 14 A, 15 Pts, 2.50 P/G, +9, 3-2-1
TheyCallMeKid_: 4 GP, 6 G, 5A, 11 Pts, 2.75 P/G, +10, 4-0-0
New Jersey Devils 30-16-6 (6-2-0)
The New Jersey Devils for most of the season looked like absolute duds. Recently they caught fire and since just before the Christmas break they have been darn near flawless. I really hope to see these 2 Managers return next season because they got their ship to not only start floating but stay floating and once playoffs start, anything can happen.
Top Players:
Wallywallabe: 5 GP, 7 G, 10 A, 17 Pts, 3.40 P/G, +14, 5-0-0
xGreenyy-_-: 4 GP, 7 G, 5 A, 12 Pts, 3.00 P/G, +10, 4-0-0
Wild Card
Ottawa Senators 30-18-4 (4-1-3)
After this week Dan and Shayne can thank their lucky stars that the OT point exists. Without it they would be sitting just 1 point ahead of a hard charging Philly squad but with it they find themselves 4 points up on them with the final 8 games still left to be played. They have Dan back after a long break so despite the lackluster performance don’t be surprised if this team is fighting for a cup in a few weeks.
Top Players: Vxkingz–: 4 GP, 6G, 11 A, 17 Pts, 4.25 P/G, +12, 4-0-0
Blades-I59I: 6 GP, 9 G, 13 A, 22 Pts, 3.67 P/G, +11. 3-0-3
Florida Panthers 31-20-1 (5-3-0)
Whereas the Senators have the overtime point to thank for their current position the Panthers have Perry. A week of absolute dominant play (In no small part due to kicking the jocks off of my team) had him net 40 points en route to a 5-3-0 record. Holding the final wild card spot by 3 points and also only 1 point back of a divisional playoff position has this team in a very interesting spot, however they do control their own fate as the season draws to a close.
Top Players:
PerryI10I: 8 GP, 18 G, 22 A, 40 Pts, 5.00 P/G, +22, 5-3-0
Nicholas08chick08: 3 GP, 7 G, 8 A, 15 Pts, 5.00 P/G, +19, 3-0-0
Philadelphia Flyers 26-18-8 (5-1-2)
The Flyers are run by one of the most storied ownership duos in VG history but they find themselves on the outside looking in with just 8 games remaining in the regular season. Rich and Vega by all means have the talent and the brainpower to steal a spot from any of the teams in front of them for the wild card race but they’re going to need to be absolutely flawless and get a little lucky to do so. Honestly I hope they make it. I really like Rich and Vega and our games with them are always a blast. If anyone deserves a playoff spot for their character it’s these 2.
Top Players:
Jeff0012: 8 GP, 13 G, 9 A, 22 Pts, 2.75 P/G, +7, 5-1-2
VegaRidge: 8 GP, 14 G, 7 A, 21 Pts, 2.63 P/G, +7, 5-1-2
Well it has been a very fun and very exciting season up until this point but nothing will have mattered if playoffs are not made. This is not a try league, this is a get it done league and all 9 of these teams have really done a great job of getting it done. Washington and Tampa both still have an outside shot at a wild card or divisional spot but it would take a miracle, nonetheless an honorable mention goes out to them for being in playoff contention at the beginning of the final week. Best of luck to all teams, leave it all hanging out when this week is done and you might just find yourself competing for Lord Stanley’s Mug 4 weeks from now.
Written by: Clark
