The Playoff Picture Is Slowly Clearing

All 8 playoff teams in the NHL's Western Conference are now set, with only a few position changes still possible. Shane's President's Trophy winning Red Wings, for example, know that they'll be hosting the 8th place Nashville for Game 1 next week. Apparently the 4th slot Ducks will play the 5th place Stars, with the other two matchups still undetermined (Calgary, Minnesota and Colorado are still jockeying for 3rd, 6th and 7th, although San Jose knows that they'll finish in 2nd).

In the more entertaining Eastern Conference puzzle, the only remaining question about participants involves Carolina and Washington. Thanks to a shocking loss to Florida last night, Carolina now has to hope Washington does just as poorly against the Panthers tonight as they themselves did on Friday, or else the Hurricanes will be on the outside looking in. I'm very pleased that only one team from the Southeast Division will make the playoffs this year, as it was a pretty pathetic group for most of the season. The Atlantic will provide four teams to this year's postseason (Pittsburgh, New Jersey, the Rangers and the Flyers) while the Northeast sends three teams (Montreal, Boston and Ottawa). What we know is that Montreal and Pittsburgh will finish in the top 2 spots, Carolina or Washington will be handed the third seed, and either New Jersey or the Rangers will grab the last home ice advantage, at # 4. In 5th will be either the Rangers, New Jersey or Boston, and after that it gets even more complicated. Here's my attempt to summarize the possibilities (which may not even be right, but I'll do my best):

Pittsburgh - will finish in 1st or 2nd, depending on the outcome of their game against Philadelphia tomorrow and Montreal's game against Toronto tonight
Montreal - will finish in 1st or 2nd (same scenario as above)
Carolina - will finish in 3rd if Washington loses in regulation to Florida tonight; otherwise they're out
Washington - will finish in 3rd if they get at least 1 point against Florida tonight; otherwise they're out
New Jersey - will finish in 4th if they get at least 1 point against the Rangers tomorrow afternoon; otherwise will finish in 5th
New York Rangers - will finish in 4th if they beat New Jersey in regulation tomorrow; will finish in 5th if their game with New Jersey goes beyond regulation (regardless of who wins it) or if they lose in regulation but Boston loses to Buffalo (in regulation or otherwise); will finish in 6th if they lose in regulation and Boston beats Buffalo
Boston - will finish in 5th if they beat Buffalo and the Rangers lose in regulation to the Devils on Sunday; will finish in 6th in a number of scenarios, including if Boston, New York and Philadelphia all win their 82nd games; will finish in 7th in a number of scenarios, including if Boston and the Flyers both lose in regulation, or the Flyers win and Boston loses in overtime or a shootout; win finish in 8th only if they lose to Buffalo in regulation and the Flyers beat the Penguins
Ottawa - will finish in 6th if Boston loses its final game in regulation and Philadelphia loses to Pittsburgh; will finish in 8th if Boston gets at least 1 point against Buffalo and the Flyers beat Pittsburgh; otherwise will finish in 7th
Philadelphia - will finish in 6th if they beat Pittsburgh and Boston loses in regulation to Buffalo; will finish in 7th if they beat Pittsburgh and Boston gets at least 1 point against Buffalo; otherwise (all scenarios where the Flyers don't beat the Penguins) will finish in 8th

Whew! I'm sure I screwed up a few combinations, but that's the hardest I've had to think about anything in a while! There'll be a lot fewer possibilities after tonight's games are concluded, but several things hinge on the results of tomorrow's Rangers/Devils game, so we know that the picture will still be fuzzy for at least another 24 hours.

Oh, and a couple weeks ago I predicted that 91 or 92 points would be needed to make the playoffs in the East. As it turns out, it was 93 points that would put you in. So that wasn't too bad of a prognostication, I'd say!

[Update: With tonight's Eastern Conference games now concluded, more clarity exists. Boston lost to Buffalo, 3-0, meaning that the Rangers and Devils will meet up in the 1st round. Conveniently, they play each other tomorrow afternoon to decide home ice advantage in that series (making it easy on the scouts for each team!) As expected, Washington beat Florida, forcing Carolina out of the playoff race while capturing the # 3 seed for the Capitals. Personally, I wouldn't want to finish in 6th place and have to face the red-hot Capitals in the 1st round, but that's what either Ottawa or the Flyers will have in store, depending on what happens in Philadelphia's game against Pittsburgh tomorrow. The Bruins now know that they'll finish in 7th or 8th spot, again depending on tomorrow's all-Pennsylvania matchup. That means Boston will be playing either Montreal or Pittsburgh, daunting prospects both. Montreal, thanks to their win over the hapless Leafs tonight, will get 1st place in the conference unless the Penguins win tomorrow.]