14-15 Standings After 82

[McSomnii]

Hahaha, despite the constant (and well-founded) negativity that pervades these boards, there are still those posters whose optimism springs eternal before the start of a brand new season.


As of right now, here's how I personally see it turning out:


EAST:

ATLANTIC
Boston
Tampa Bay
Montreal

METROPOLITAN
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
NY Rangers

WILD CARD
Detroit
NY Islanders
--------------
Columbus
Toronto
Washington
New Jersey
Carolina
Florida
Ottawa
Buffalo


WEST:

CENTRAL
St Louis
Chicago
Colorado

PACIFIC
Anaheim
LA Kings
San Jose

WILD CARD
Dallas
Minnesota
-----------
Nashville
Phoenix
Vancouver
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Calgary



Of course, since this is the NHL, there are going to be a fair number of surprising teams.

 

[Oilers Apologist]

Atlantic:

Boston
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Florida
Toronto
Detroit
Buffalo
Ottawa

Metro

Pittsburgh
New Jersey
Philadelphia
New York Rangers
Columbus
New York Islanders
Carolina
Washington

Central

St.Louis
Chicago
Dallas
Colorado
Nashville
Minnesota
Winnipeg

Pacific

Anaheim
Los Angeles
San Jose
Vancouver
Phoenix
Edmonton
Calgary

 

[Gambl0r83*]

The Oilers could conceivably finish almost anywhere. They could surprise and finish solidly in a playoff spot or could be bottom 3. I will say one thing, they better not finish below the Flames again of they should just toss in the chips.

Agreed

 

[Blue And Orange]

Honestly, the only team I see the Oilers finish ahead of in the West is Winnipeg.

I predict we finish 13th in the West, but in the process, we finish ahead of 5 or 6 teams in the East.

If we're in the East, we might have a shot at playoffs, but the west is way too strong.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

They should finish ahead of Winnipeg, Calgary and Arizona. Maybe Vancouver and Nashville. Then they'd have to hope one of Colorado, Minnesota or Dallas slips up or runs into injuries, or the Oilers get their **** together and actually play their way into the playoffs.

I wouldn't be shocked if they snuck into a wild card spot but I'm expecting a finish between 9th and 11th in the West.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

EAST:
ATLANTIC
z-Tampa Bay
x-Boston
x-Montreal
METROPOLITAN
y-Pittsburgh
x-Columbus
x-Philadelphia
WILD CARD
x-Washington
x-Detroit
New Jersey
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
Florida
Toronto
Ottawa
Carolina
Buffalo

WEST:
CENTRAL
p-Chicago
x-Minnesota
x-St. Louis
PACIFIC
y-San Jose
x-Anaheim
x-LA
WILD CARD
x-Dallas
x-Colorado
Nashville
Winnipeg
Vancouver
Edmonton
Phoenix
Calgary

 

[skorf]

EAST:
ATLANTIC
z-Boston
x-Tampa Bay
x-Detroit
METROPOLITAN
y-Pittsburgh
x-Philadelphia
x-Columbus
WILD CARD
x-New Jersey
x-NY Islanders
Washington
NY Rangers
Montreal
Carolina
Florida
Toronto
Ottawa
Buffalo

WEST:
CENTRAL
p-Chicago
x-St. Louis
x-Dallas
PACIFIC
y-Anahiem
x-LA
x-San Jose
WILD CARD
x-Minnesota
x-Nashville
Colorado
Vancouver
Arizona
Calgary
Winnipeg
Edmonton

-Buffalo, Ottawa, Toronto, Florida finish with a worst record then us

 

[Replacement*]

I can maybe see the Oilers being better than 3-4 teams in the West if things go well. With Playoffs not even being a thought with this lineup in the WC.

 

[oilerbear]

Wait.. you actually think the Oilers will make the playoffs?

Holy jesus... Even Albert Einstein knows we won't make it in.

I'm still not sure we will be beating Calgary this year.

Justify this statement.

Cause currently I see evidence of toilet paper on it!

 

[oilerbear]

After Eighty Deuce


With Calgary owning the league's worst record and Ottawa a close second, and Ottawa proceeding to win the lottery and steal the next Golden Boy

ALL i know is we were 1-9 versus East teams without 2 of HAll; RNH; Perron; Eberel; Yak

we were 13-5-4 .682 when healthy versus the east.

we were 6-2-3 .682 against CGY; NSH; WPG

we were 1-20-2 versus the best of the west with
Dubnyk; Smid; N. schultz; Belov.

We were 7-7 .500 versus the best of the west with scrivens and Marincin.

We have added Purcell; Pouliot; Draisatl; Nikitin; Fayne; Aulie

which is large improvement in our core.

So i would expect better results than .682 versus the east and the bottom of west.

I would expect an improvement better than .500 at end of season.

32gm versus the east .682 is 43 points minimum

11 games versus bottom WEST .682 15 points minimum

39 games versus the best of the west .500 39 points minimum.

Then add in the 6 additions. what is the point bump.

there is a real chance at the playoffs.
But the west is very deep.

you could be the 10th best team in the league and not make the playoffs in the west.
Cause only BOSTON would be guaranteed a spot in the west.

 

[McShogun99]

If Hall, RNH, Eberle and Yakupov can be over a point a game, while Schultz, Perron and Purcell all get 60+ points and Draisaitl leads all rookies in scoring. Plus Scrivens plays every game like the San Jose game then I can see us winning the President's Trophy.

 

[Oiltankjob Fail]

40w 34l 8 ot losses 88 points with roster right now.

 

[Soundwave]

ALL i know is we were 1-9 versus East teams without 2 of HAll; RNH; Perron; Eberel; Yak

we were 13-5-4 .682 when healthy versus the east.

we were 6-2-3 .682 against CGY; NSH; WPG

we were 1-20-2 versus the best of the west with
Dubnyk; Smid; N. schultz; Belov.

We were 7-7 .500 versus the best of the west with scrivens and Marincin.

 

[Beatle17]

ALL i know is we were 1-9 versus East teams without 2 of HAll; RNH; Perron; Eberel; Yak


we were 1-20-2 versus the best of the west with
Dubnyk; Smid; N. schultz; Belov.



there is a real chance at the playoffs.
But the west is very deep.

you could be the 10th best team in the league and not make the playoffs in the west.
Cause only BOSTON would be guaranteed a spot in the west.

This stat throws your whole post out the window. Smid only played 17 games for the Oilers last year, so unless you mean he played in some of the games and caused the losses your stats are made up to make YOU feel better. And no chance you have a .682 winning percentage against the East and the lower half of the West.

The Oilers should improve, but I wouldn't bet cash on it.

 

[Up the Irons]

This stat throws your whole post out the window. Smid only played 17 games for the Oilers last year, so unless you mean he played in some of the games and caused the losses your stats are made up to make YOU feel better. And no chance you have a .682 winning percentage against the East and the lower half of the West.

The Oilers should improve, but I wouldn't bet cash on it.

that's how i see it. After New Year's the team was... decent. With the additions, they should be... decent(er?)

but, I got soooooo fooled last year, I just can't bring myself to get even the slightest bit excited. I just can't bring myself to believe they will actually be good until I see them play like an NHL team and with a .550 record at Christmas.

I expect them to... be about .500.

 

[Up the Irons]

ALL i know is we were 1-9 versus East teams without 2 of HAll; RNH; Perron; Eberel; Yak

we were 13-5-4 .682 when healthy versus the east.

we were 6-2-3 .682 against CGY; NSH; WPG

we were 1-20-2 versus the best of the west with
Dubnyk; Smid; N. schultz; Belov.

We were 7-7 .500 versus the best of the west with scrivens and Marincin.

We have added Purcell; Pouliot; Draisatl; Nikitin; Fayne; Aulie

which is large improvement in our core.

So i would expect better results than .682 versus the east and the bottom of west.

I would expect an improvement better than .500 at end of season.

32gm versus the east .682 is 43 points minimum

11 games versus bottom WEST .682 15 points minimum

39 games versus the best of the west .500 39 points minimum.

Then add in the 6 additions. what is the point bump.

there is a real chance at the playoffs.
But the west is very deep.

you could be the 10th best team in the league and not make the playoffs in the west.
Cause only BOSTON would be guaranteed a spot in the west.

well. I suppose. but, we don't know if the additions are large improvement or just a slight improvement.

and, i can't forget the 8-1 drubbing at the hands of Calgary. and finishing, fully, 10 points back of them. that's not a small difference. they were clearly a better team then the Oil last year.

 

[coffeyland]

There is reason for optimism in Edmontonchuk! For sure! We added some scoring touch, a little more muscle on D and we have a full year of two young goaltenders. We've addressed each component of the team. On the bench, we've added a coach, we've added consultants ... we will be better! The question is how much better.

I predict we'll see an additional 7-8 wins. Not necessarily a playoff berth. 3 reasons ...

1. We are short one player. I WANTED Steve Ott in the off season. While not a scorer or a great player, he is a well respected vet who has won, knows how to win and gets 100% from his teammates. We need one of these players. Cpt. Canada (who I do like) was on his last legs and really couldn't play 100% due to injuries, etc. We need more stable leadership to move to the next level, esp. on the 3/4 line.

2. We need much better D play. Our GF-GA was horrendous. We NEED to be about +5 in the GF differential to have a chance. This could happen if our D can stay at home and protect our young goaltenders. If they are rushing up the ice, I'm not comfortable with Arc or our 3/4 line centers playing D. This MUST change before we're a threat.

3. Coaching. I like Eakins, a lot. But he needs to stick to his guns. He was a great AHL coach because he instilled D first. He needs to go back to that. I know this team lost when he tried it the first time but we can't be all about the offense. We don't have the firepower against most of the western conference teams. He has to get this team to play smarter, not harder.

 

[OilerPensfan97]

I refuse to predict the Oilers to make the playoffs until it actually happens. Every time we think this is year, they miss out.

Oilers will place 5th in the Pacific, ahead of Calgary and Vancouver, but they will miss the playoffs.

 

[McPuritania]

Presidents' Trophy winners. You know it.

 

[McGhostbuster]

Should be better than Calgary, Winnipeg, Nashville and Arizona.

Should compete with Vancouver/Minnesota/Colorado/San Jose (Colorado overachieved last year and I think San Jose is going to start a downhill trend soon)

Inferior to LA, Anaheim, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas.

I'd be happy with us coming 10th in the west this year with going over .600 in the east.

 

[rboomercat90]

taylor hall will hit 120pts this year and lead us to the playoffs,


lights **joint


**crackpipe

100 might not be out of the question if he stays healthy and if the center experiment isn't retried. He scored 80 last year playing on a team with an awful powerplay. If that comes around at all this year we could see another jump in Hall's point total.

 

[rboomercat90]

To be fair, if not for Dubnyk that would've been a safe bet. Nobody knew he was going to play so bad.

There's 5 games on him at least.

The one that sticks out the most was game 1 against winnipeg. He single-handedly lost that one.

Actually there was a thread last summer dedicated to the recent goalie equipment changes that were going to make life hell for larger goalies. Lots of people were predicting that Dubnyk was going to struggle. Mactavish was one of them, that's why he tried to get Schneider at the draft and Bernier later on. Don't know why he allowed himself to be talked into Labarbara though.

 

[Worraps]

EAST: who cares? The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl = The Stanley Cup these days.

WEST:
CENTRAL
p-Chicago
x-St. Louis
x-Minnesota
PACIFIC
y-San Jose
x-Anaheim
x-LA
WILD CARD
x-Vancouver
x-Dallas
Colorado
Edmonton
Nashville
Winnipeg
Phoenix
Calgary

 

[Oilfan2]

EAST: who cares? The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl = The Stanley Cup these days.

WEST:
CENTRAL
p-Chicago
x-St. Louis
x-Minnesota
PACIFIC
y-San Jose
x-Anaheim
x-LA
WILD CARD
x-Vancouver
x-Dallas
Colorado
Edmonton
Nashville
Winnipeg
Phoenix
Calgary

IMO, this is the most likely scenario..except I'd change Vancouver with Nashville. I've said Van was on their way down the last few years and this is no exception.

With Nashville, the additions of Neal, Ribeiro, etc, will give them more offence and they still have excellent defense. They still have Rinne so I expect they will improve on last year's positioning.

 

[Worraps]

IMO, this is the most likely scenario..except I'd change Vancouver with Nashville. I've said Van was on their way down the last few years and this is no exception.

With Nashville, the additions of Neal, Ribeiro, etc, will give them more offence and they still have excellent defense. They still have Rinne so I expect they will improve on last year's positioning.

As much as it pains me to admit it: Vancouver still has very good defensemen (as a group). I also expect the Sedins and Miller to have dead cat bounce seasons.

To my sorrow, I don't think Vancouver's long march to obscurity really kicks in until 2015-16.