Faceoff Factor: Penguins Vs The Eastern Conference

Penguins Vs The Eastern Conference

Matt Bodenschatz | Inside The Numbers

Jan 22, 09:06 AM | Hype this story!

Things have been interesting in the Atlantic Division lately. It’s becoming more and more clear each week that this is the premier division in the Eastern Conference.

The Pittsburgh Penguins went 10 games without a regulation loss, but finally fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning Friday night. They quickly rebounded and gained three points in their next two games, despite playing without Sidney Crosby.

The Philadelphia Flyers are soaring. With two games in hand, the Flyers have one less point than the Penguins. Riding a four-game winning streak suggests that the team from Eastern Pennsylvania soon will recapture first place.

The New Jersey Devils haven’t exactly been playing poorly. After all, they have gone 6-4-0 in their last ten. But with the competative nature of the Atlantic, they have fallen from first to third — although they remain one point behind the leading Penguins.

And then there are the New York teams. Both are having a rough go of it, as the Islanders have won three of their last 10 and the Rangers have won just two in the same time frame. The difference, however, is that the Rangers have picked up six points in that span, while the Islanders stayed at .500, picking up 10 points.

Atlantic Division Standings
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Away	Div	L 10	Streak
Pittsburgh	48	27	17	4	58	140	129	13-9-3	14-8-1	5-10-1	7-1-2	1 loss
Philadelphia	46	26	15	5	57	153	128	10-5-5	16-10-0	8-5-1	8-1-1	4 wins
New Jersey	47	27	17	3	57	115	108	14-7-0	13-10-03	7-8-3	6-4-0	1 win
NY Islanders	48	23	19	6	52	117	134	13-9-3	10-10-3	10-6-0	3-3-4	2 losses
NY Rangers	49	22	21	6	50	118	128	15-11-0	7-10-6	10-6-0	2-6-2	2 losses

In the Eastern Conference, the team to watch is the Washington Capitals, who have won four straight. They’re climbing the ladder and now sit just three points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for third place in the Conference and first place in the Southeast Division and have played three fewer games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning appear to be all-but-eliminated from playoff contention, and the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs are long shots as well. Buffalo would appear to be in the same situation, but, even after winning just one in their last 10, the sit just six points out of a playoff spot. With each passing loss, however, their chances are growing slimmer and slimmer.

Eastern Conference Standings
	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Home	Away	Div	L 10	Streak
Ottawa	48	14	4	64	64	163	136	16-8-2	14-6-2	5-5-0	5-5-0	2 losses
Pittsburgh	48	27	17	4	58	140	129	13-9-3	14-8-1	5-10-1	7-1-2	1 loss
Carolina	51	24	23	4	52	155	164	11-10-2	13-13-2	9-8-1	4-5-1	2 wins
Philadelphia	46	26	15	5	57	153	128	10-5-5	16-10-0	8-5-1	8-1-1	4 wins
New Jersey	47	27	17	3	57	115	108	14-7-0	13-10-03	7-8-3	6-4-0	1 win
Montreal	47	24	15	8	56	142	131	8-8-5	16-7-3	6-6-2	6-6-2	1 loss
Boston	47	24	18	5	53	123	124	12-8-3	12-10-2	6-3-1	6-3-1	2 wins
NY Islanders	48	23	19	6	52	117	134	13-9-3	10-10-3	10-6-0	3-3-4	2 losses

NY Rangers	49	22	21	6	50	118	128	15-11-0	7-10-6	10-6-0	2-6-2	2 losses
Washington	48	22	21	5	49	143	152	12-11-1	10-10-4	9-7-2	8-2-0	4 wins
Atlanta	50	23	24	3	49	140	169	12-12-2	11-12-1	9-7-1	4-4-2	3 losses
Buffalo	47	20	21	6	46	140	138	12-8-2	8-13-4	6-9-2	1-5-4	2 losses
Florida	49	21	24	4	46	122	140	9-11-3	12-13-1	9-9-1	3-6-1	1 loss
Toronto	49	19	22	8	46	138	160	10-8-5	9-14-3	6-6-4	4-6-0	1 loss
Tampa Bay	48	19	24	5	43	137	157	12-10-2	7-14-3	10-9-1	4-4-2	2 wins

Comments

DaBich

Jan 22, 09:25 AM

Hard to imagine, sitting in first place now….it feels good!
I’m sure it will change a lot in the coming weeks….hopefully we can ride the stretch and still be close to the top!
Matt Bodenschatz

Jan 22, 10:04 AM

Yeah, first place isn’t home for long, I don’t think. But, I also think it will be relatively easy to stay ahead of the Islanders and Rangers. But hey, that’s why they play the games!
Ben S

Jan 22, 10:09 AM

Here are the projections:

Ottawa GP: 48 W: 30 P: 64 -> W: 51 P: 109
Philadelphia GP: 46 W: 26 P: 57 -> W: 46 P: 102
Carolina GP: 51 W: 24 P: 52 -> W: 39 P: 84
New Jersey GP: 47 W: 27 P: 57 -> W: 47 P: 99
Pittsburgh GP: 48 W: 27 P: 58 -> W: 46 P: 99
Montreal GP: 47 W: 24 P: 56 -> W: 42 P: 98
Boston GP: 47 W: 24 P: 53 -> W: 42 P: 92
NY Islanders GP: 48 W: 23 P: 52 -> W: 39 P: 89
————————————————————————
Washington GP: 48 W: 22 P: 49 -> W: 38 P: 84
NY Rangers GP: 49 W: 22 P: 50 -> W: 37 P: 84
Atlanta GP: 50 W: 23 P: 49 -> W: 38 P: 80
Buffalo GP: 47 W: 20 P: 46 -> W: 35 P: 80
Florida GP: 49 W: 21 P: 46 -> W: 35 P: 77
Toronto GP: 49 W: 19 P: 46 -> W: 32 P: 77
Tampa Bay GP: 48 W: 19 P: 43 -> W: 32 P: 73

Well, things are starting to get interesting. A bit of separation is starting to develop.

I think it’s safe to say that neither Toronto nor Tampa Bay can catch up. Any idea of Toronto possibly making the playoffs really is illusional. Or perhaps I should say delusional. They simply aren’t winning enough games.

At this point, though, I’d have to add Florida and Buffalo as teams that just can’t seem to get it done, either. It’s technically still possible, but they’d have to go on a heck of a run, while a lot of teams ahead of them fell down. The way those teams have been doing lately doesn’t make that look likely.

I’d put Atlanta in the “unlikely” category, except they’re in the Southeast division. Still, if the Caps keep playing the way they have been, I’m actually thinking the Capitals will end up taking the division lead there. Carolina and Atlanta are hitting a slump right at the same time as Washington is on a hot streak, and that might be enough to make the difference at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, the Pens are in a dicey situation. They have the erstwhile division lead, but they are guaranteed to lose that tonight (Flyers are playing the Devils, both of whom are only one point behind the Pens. One of them is guaranteed to win tonight and take the division lead away from the Pens). The question is whether the Pens can hang on, and stay in the running for the division lead for the next two months while waiting for Crosby to come back. We’ll see. I think they’re in a good position to weather the storm and stay in the playoffs (8 points ahead of 9th place is a good cushion at this point in the game), but they’re really going to have to battle hard if they want to keep home-ice advantage. This will be a great test of character for the team. If they can hang in there near the top of the division, it will have to make them a stronger team going into the playoffs. If they drop off, on the other hand… well, we’ll see what happens.