Ok gophers.. the Stanley Cup playoffs will start on April 13... question is who will be in the playoffs?? We got some teams that have already clinched some berths but the final standing will be determined after the last regular season game is played on April 10th so anything can give with the wacky times.. lol so I will explain a bit about the teams currently in the standings as of today (March 29) but remember, anything can change between now and April 10th, plus my own opinion on who will make it or not, my best guess at it ok?
Eastern Conference:
Philadelphia - clinched berth, might win EC banner unless so..
Washington - clinched berth, might see if they can beat Philly for the EC crown
Boston - clinched berth, can they bounce back from last year's meltdown vs Philly?
Pittsburgh - clinched berth, will they have Sid the kid back or not? will see...
Tampa Bay - might clinch berth, will TB do some damage in the playoffs?? Yes one round or so..
Montreal - might clinch berth, but need to wake up offense to get going good, for a good repeat of last year playoffs
NY Rangers - might clinch berth, will they be able to get past last year's one game showdown loss for the last berth?
Buffalo - berth clinching if they can distance themselves from Carolina and Toronto, possible for sure..
Carolina - need to get into playoffs to push Buffalo or maybe NY Rangers out (doubtful but Buffalo could be the one)
Toronto - definitely need to get back into the playoffs but not possible unless a massive miracle happen!
Atlanta - definitely out of playoffs for sure and might move somewhere in the summer time (rumored to Quebec or Winnipeg)
New Jersey - looks like they finally ran out of steam and will miss for the first time since 1996... yeow...
NY Islanders - oh come on the Isles need to wake up somehow.. but also might be relocated soon or so.. dunno!!
Florida - really need to improve, out of playoffs for now.. been since 2001 no playoffs (no kidding!!)
Ottawa - out of playoffs, need to improve and could be back in the playoffs next year...
Western Conference
Vancouver - clinched berth and maybe the President's Trophy for top team.. can Vancouver win the Stanley Cup finally??
Detroit -might clinch berth, might be a big roadblock for anyone who wanna go to the Stanley Cup Finals...
San Jose - might clinch berth, will SJ do some good grinding in teh playoffs or choke out as usual???
Phoenix - migth clinch berth..and do it again like last year or what will happen?? Might be relocated (mostly likely back to Winnipeg)
Los Angeles - might clinch berth..Will the Kings rebound with Kopitaz's injury?? Can LA do it or what?
Nashville - might clinch berth but can the Preds hold on? ehh...
Anaheim - might clinch berth BUT could get booted out fast and out of the playoffs if the 3 teams below them get ahead faster
Chicago - might clinch berth BUT could get booted out by the 2 teams below Chicago. .. should be interesting!!!
Calgary - trying to get into the playoffs but might have a hard time somehow...can the Flames do it or not?
Dallas - trying to get into the playoffs but might be difficult somehow.. will see...
Minnesota - likely out of the playoffs now.. will have to try to improve for next season somehow..
St. Louis - out of the playoffs now.. will need to fix a few things to get back into the playoffs for next year...
Columbus - out of playoffs... really need to try to go big to get to the Stanley Cup playoffs dance for the 2nd time in team history..
Colorado - out of the playoffs.. wonder how the Avs will improve for next season?? Young team but will improve..
Edmonton - out of the playoffs.. might win the lottery for the 1st overall draft pick for the 2011 draft.. need to get to the playoffs for sure for next year...
That would be the list.. I will post the final standings and the matchups for the Stanley Cup playoffs on April 11 or 12...
