Podcast Coming Tomorrow Morning, Plus Who Was The Easier Schedule?
March 10th, 2010, 2:12 pm
A crazy week for the Dudes outside of Podcast Land but we have rallied the troops and the podcast will be recorded tonight and posted for your consumption Thursday morning. We have a gaggle of topics, including the last two games, a wealth of listener emails and the impending playoff race.
I know I have one eye on the Western Conference standings every morning to see which team (our Sharks or the Blackhawks) will finish 1st and which will fall to 2nd. It’s so hard to know what is the better slot to draw – I think it all depends on one thing. Where is Detroit going to finish? Sure, we can joke that the Wings aren’t going to make the playoffs – but I’m 100% sure it’s going to happen.
If Detroit finishes 8th – then don’t you want the Sharks to be 2nd?
If Detroit finishes 7th – then don’t you want the Sharks to be 1st?
If Detroit finishes 6th, and the Sharks finish 2nd – that’s the best scenario. Let me lay it out for you.
The Blackhawks are the #1 seed and end up with Nashville, San Jose is #2 with Colorado, Vancouver is #3 with Detroit and LA and Phoenix finished 4/5. If Detroit wins, the Hawks get a date with Motown and the Sharks get LA or Phoenix. It’s the best way for Team Teal to make it to the Conference Finals and face a worn down opponent.
Of course, this won’t happen. But a girl can dream, can’t she? I’ve posted the Sharks and Blackhawks remaining schedule. With their games even and the Sharks ahead by two points, who do you think has an easier path to the #1 seed? Talk to you tomorrow on the podcast.
San Jose Sharks: Nashville, Florida, Anaheim, Dallas (three times), Vancouver (three times), Calgary (twice), Edmonton, Minnesota (twice), Colorado (twice), and Phoenix.
Chicago Blackhawks: LA Kings (twice), Philadelphia, Washington, Anaheim, Phoenix (twice), Columbus (twice), St. Louis, Minnesota, New Jersey, Calgary, Dallas, St. Louis, Colorado, Detroit
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honestly; i think the sharks have an easier schedule to the number one seed; we should be able to win our next two games without a doubt && sunday we got anaheim & you know the boys are gonna be ready for that one. 🙂 edmonton should be a breeze along with minnesota. as for chicago, the la kings may be our rivals but they are a pretty dang good team this year; philadelphia & washington won’t be easy for them & neither will new jersey or detroit. anything can still happen. GO SHARKS
Lets look at what I would consider “easier” games.
SJ: Florida, Anaheim, Edmonton, Minnesota (twice)
Chi: Anaheim, Columbus (twice), St. Louis (twice? You have them listed twice… not sure if that’s 2 games or just a misprint).
So.. both have 5 easy-ish games. I don’t think St. Louis will be that easy as they’re pushing for the playoffs.
I’d say we have the easier schedule, mostly because Edmonton is on it, and that just makes me chuckle.
Dave
The Hawks play the Blue twice. Misprint.
As long as Huet is in net for Chicago, San Jose has the easier schedule.
I’m glad there’s at least one person on this board who’s 100% sure that the Wings will make the playoffs.
Make that three of us. And I’ll go one further- I think there’s a 50% chance that there will be a Sharks-Wings first round matchup.
Who’s the third? It’s not me.
I think only Wings fans are the ones who are worried that the Wings might miss the playoffs. The rest of us are worried we’ll be the ones stuck playing them in the first round.
I think the wings will either miss the PO’s or shoot up to at least 7th. I think the only way SJ sees Detroit in the first round is if they fall to 2nd. If they stay at the top seed I think they avoid Detroit.
I’ll keeping an eye more on Anaheim than Detroit. They are 7pts out now. If they lose the next three to four I think they’re done.
Sharks v. Nashville/Colorado/Calgary is just as likely or more than Detroit.
IMO.
Another though about my reasoning here. I don’t see Detroit limping into the PO’s. They will either pull it together and surge or not pull it together and miss.
If Detroit makes it into the PO’s I think we will HAVE the play them at some point. Not good because I think they are the worst matchup for us and I still think the best overall team in the west. I think we’d fare better against Chicago than Det.
My best case scenario… Anaheim and Detroit both miss the PO’s. We get some combo of Calgary/Colorado/Nashville/LA/Phnx in rounds one and two!
“I don’t see Detroit limping into the PO’s. They will either pull it together and surge or not pull it together and miss. ”
I completely agree.
Wingsfan…
I have a question for you since you are a Wings fan… What do you think has been the Wings main issue this year? Has it really simply been injuries and being tired from playing so many games over the last 2 seasons?
becuase if that is the case, then I would naturally assume that when eveyone is healthy they should surge back up the rankings.
That’s a good question, Tom. In my opinion (which is not worth much), it’s the injuries and defections combined with the lack of chemistry caused by those losses. Those two things not only bring the talent level down, but they totally shake up the chemistry. Even when the injured guys come back, it takes time to develop that chemistry again. Look at Zetterberg. He can’t seem to get his game on track at all. Datsyuk has flashes of brilliance, but hasn’t been consistent like he was the last two years and I attribute that in part to what I said above.
As far as being tired, I don’t know. Are they really that tired from playing those games? I have a tough time with that one. Not saying it isn’t valid logic, but this team went to the final game of the season last year after doing the same thing the year before. If they can get that far in 2009 after doing it in 2008, why should this year be any different? Does playing into June in 2008 really affect how they’re playing in Jan/Feb/Mar of 2010? These are professional athletes we’re talking about. But again, I really can’t say as I’ve never played anything even remotely close to that level in any sport.
I think Babcock has to be recognized for even keeping the Wings in the playoff hunt. He is a genius when it comes to matchups and I think that is what has allowed the Wings to stay close. He’s the Jack Adams winner in my biased opinion.
The only good thing that’s come out of all of this for me is that I am basically already watching playoff hockey every night that the Wings play 🙂
Detroit is healthy and hungry. Two things I”m not comfortable with going down the stretch. Hopefully we don’t have to face them in the first round, but like most teams that want to win the cup in the west you gotta play Detroit at some point. Here’s to beating them in 6.
Another piece of food-for-thought…
Home ice is guaranteed in any series vs. Detroit… but how much would that matter vs. Chicago. At the Joe, frankly, we suck. Chicago isn’t a place where we historically struggle like the Joe…
And I realize this is like step 57 and we are still dealing with like step 6 but… What if we get a Sharks V. Caps final. I think that series comes down to home-ice advantage. If we play Washington in the final and they have home-ice I think we lose in 7.
I know the talk has been about NOT winning the Pres trophy but… we are 6 pts away from Wash. and have two games in hand…
thoughts?