NHL Playoff Death Watch: Red Wings miss big chance
Since we’re down to the final moments of postseason life for teams in contention, Puck Daddy solemnly begins a daily countdown to annihilation.
The Boston Bruins dropped a game to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, opening the door for the Detroit Red Wings to pass them in points with just five games to play.
Except the Red Wings decided to lose too, to the Montreal Canadiens, keeping them at 87 points but dropping their tragic number to 10.
It’s still a race, especially with Boston headed to St. Louis and Chicago and with the Wings and Bruins scheduled to meet on April 7. But time is running out for Detroit.
Here are the current standings. The Death Watch tracks the final Wild Card spot and the teams that are chasing it. Their “tragic number” is the number of points gained by the final wild card team or lost by the team chasing it.
All playoff percentages are from Sports Club Stats; tragic numbers and other figures via the NHL. A team is eliminated from play-offs when their “Tragic Number” hits 0.
The Eastern Conference picture, via the NHL:
The Florida Panthers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jaromir Jagr got into an email war with James Mirtle. Weird night, all around.
The Islanders and Penguins were shootout winners last night, so Pittsburgh maintains its ROW advantage in that race but the Islanders get some huge breathing room ahead of the Flyers and Wings.
The Flyers host the Washington Capitals tonight in a very, very interesting one.
Here are the latest Eastern Conference playoff odds from Sports Club Stats:
*Wild Card Teams
Detroit has a better chance (31 percent) of getting third in the division than the last wild card.
Meanwhile, in the West:
Kudos to the Wild for being the only wild card race team to win their game against the Central Division titans. They defeated the Blackhawks, but the Nashville Predators couldn’t take advantage of it, losing to the Dallas Stars.
The Avs’ loss to the Blues dropped their tragic number to six.
Here are the latest Western Conference playoff odds from Sports Club Stats:
*Wild Card Teams
Suddenly, the first wild card might be in play; can the Minnesota Wild dodge the Central champ and finish ahead of the Preds?
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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