Faceoff Factor

Spoiler Season

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Mar 20, 11:35 PM | Hype this story!

With the season drawing to an end, teams just outside the eight spot are making a final run toward the playoffs. But what obstacles are standing in the way of these teams?

Ironically enough, it’s the teams in the very same positions posing these problems.

Some of these teams will end up spoilers and some will make the
cut and prove they deserve to be in the playoffs.

Tangled up in the mix in the Eastern Conference are the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals, and Florida Panthers (two pairs of which are in the same division).

Boston and Buffalo, both in the Northeast Division, will be playing each other twice. Boston currently sits in the seven spot with 83 points; Buffalo close behind with 81 points in the nine spot. Boston doesn’t have a playoff spot reserved just yet and will have to play the rest of the Northeast to keep their current spot.

The Bruins were doing very well in the months of January and February but have hit a slump in March. Boston is 3-6-3 this month and needs to gain more momentum if they want to hold on to the seven spot, yet alone make the playoffs.

Buffalo is one of the teams looking to knock Boston off and make the playoffs themselves. The Sabres’ record in March is 4-3-2, including a current three-game winning streak that was capped off by a seven goal rally to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning Wednesday night.

However, two teams from the Southeast Division are also trying to make the cut and are coming very close: the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers.

Washington, currently in the ten spot, sits two points back with 80 points while Florida, eleventh, is right behind with 78 points. Whether these teams make the cut is up to the mercy of the rest Southeast Division, which won’t be generous, and the play of the Bruins, Sabres, and Flyers, who are also dependent on their divisions’ mercies.

The Capitals are 6-4-0 in March and the Panthers are 7-0-1. Both teams are riding momentum but neither team has had dominating games against divisional opponents this year. Washington is 11-12-3 against the division with their biggest divisional win coming in a 6-3 victory over Atlanta in December and Florida is 12-9-2 and their biggest divisional win was in a 5-3 victory over Atlanta in December as well.

So it’s going to be no easy task for the Southeastern teams.
Caught in the middle of these teams would be the Philadelphia Flyers in the eight spot with 82 points. The Flyers have their work cut out for them in playing six of their remaining eight games against divisional teams ranked higher than them in the Eastern Conference standings.

Philadelphia has gone 3-6-1 in their last ten divisional games while New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and the New York Rangers have gone up in the rankings.

But let’s not forget about the spoilers.

The New York Islanders showed off their spoiling capabilities last season when they knocked the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the playoffs in the last game of the season.

While they might be a little further from the playoffs this season (especially after the loss of Rick DiPietro), the Islanders still look to take down at least one of their divisional rivals; the closest of which would be the Philadelphia Flyers.

The problem for the Capitals and the Panthers are themselves. They both want to make the playoffs and are both standing in each other’s way. The Panthers have done better against the division and will certainly look to those numbers for comfort in the coming week or two.

Buffalo and Boston will be facing the rest of their very competitive division as well. The Toronto Maple Leafs are out for some revenge after narrowly missing last year’s playoffs and will do their best to take both Boston and Buffalo out of the playoff equation.

But, of course, anyone can play spoiler this late in the season. While Atlanta and Tampa Bay are far from the playoffs, they are still very able-bodied teams who are willing to upset a few divisional rivals.

So will teams like the New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs spoil the Eastern Conference playoff picture?

Will Buffalo, Washington, or Florida prevail enough in their upcoming divisional games to make the final grade?

Or will Philadelphia and Boston hold off the pack to keep the
playoffs as they are?

Some great hockey will determine these questions in a matter of a few games.