The 7th place Isles (or, if you prefer divisional standings, the 2nd place Isles) are idle tonight. Regardless of what happens, the Isles will hit the ice in a playoff position tomorrow.
That doesn't mean the two Eastern conference games don't provide opportunities for rooting interest. The question is, for whom?
One game is easy as the Penguins look to rebound against the Rangers. The Isles are not going to catch Pittsburgh and they lead the 8th palce Rangers by a single point.
The other game features Buffalo at Ottawa. The Sabres are six points behind the Isles, and the Sens are four points ahead. A Buffalo regulation win would drop Ottawa into sixth place but would move the Sabres within four of the Isles. An Ottawa win would push them six points ahead of the Isles. So, who should you be rooting for? Logic says Buffalo because it keeps the Sens, losers of two straight, within shouting distance. But that also means that there is one more team pressuring from behind. If Buffalo gets a point, they'll move ahead of Tampa Bay and Carolina, leaving three Southeast teams from 13th to 15th.
(BTW, this will be good practice for deciding whether to chant "Go Leafs Go" over the next 10 days as Toronto has two games with the Rangers and two games with the Devils.)
That doesn't mean the two Eastern conference games don't provide opportunities for rooting interest. The question is, for whom?
One game is easy as the Penguins look to rebound against the Rangers. The Isles are not going to catch Pittsburgh and they lead the 8th palce Rangers by a single point.
The other game features Buffalo at Ottawa. The Sabres are six points behind the Isles, and the Sens are four points ahead. A Buffalo regulation win would drop Ottawa into sixth place but would move the Sabres within four of the Isles. An Ottawa win would push them six points ahead of the Isles. So, who should you be rooting for? Logic says Buffalo because it keeps the Sens, losers of two straight, within shouting distance. But that also means that there is one more team pressuring from behind. If Buffalo gets a point, they'll move ahead of Tampa Bay and Carolina, leaving three Southeast teams from 13th to 15th.
(BTW, this will be good practice for deciding whether to chant "Go Leafs Go" over the next 10 days as Toronto has two games with the Rangers and two games with the Devils.)
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
1 comment:
It's a tough call. I've generally stuck to the sportsclub.com numbers who likes Ottawa by a slim margin, but I think we're near the point where even if Buffalo gets closer, if the Isles play poorly enough that Buffalo can catch them, they've played too poorly to make the playoffs anyway. So I'm pulling Buffalo, though I'm mostly hoping for a two point game!
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