NHL NHL Standings Watch - 2019-20 Edition - Updated 3/11/20

[Paddington]

Out of curiosity, I just took a look at how the playoff matchups would look like if it was the old 1-8 format and if the playoffs started today it would be exactly the same...... sort of. Tampa (2) would have Toronto (7) but under the old format Washington would be the second seed because they're tops in the Metro. So, they would then get the Leafs and Tampa would get NYI. This is all as of March 1st.

 

[DominicT]

Since the lockout, more teams that won the Jennings Trophy have gone on to win more Stanley Cups then those that won the Presidents Trophy. And since the 2012-2013 season, Jennings Trophy winners are 3-4 at winning the Cup while President Trophy winners are 2-5

However, since the Presidents Trophy was first awarded in 1985/1986, a team has won both the Presidents Trophy and the Jennings Trophy in the same season on 8 occasions and their record is 3-5

1990 Bruins won both, Oilers won the Cup
1991 Hawks won both, Pens won the Cup
1996 Wings won both, Avs won the Cup
1999 Stars won both and won the Cup
2000 Blues won both and Devils won the Cup
2008 Wings won both and won the Cup
2011 Canucks won both, Bruins won the Cup
2013 Hawks won both and won the Cup
2020 Bruins leading in both.

 

[talkinaway]

I do wish they would change playoff format and let top seed pick opponents... not just in round I

reseed each round and keep giving top seed first pick of opponents... and make it all 16 teams up for grabs

that way questions of travel/divisional rivary is up to the team itself to put importance on... but imagine all the pie in the face for every upset. that would be high drama and id love it

Part of me likes this idea. But there is one glaring problem - it almost eliminates any impetus for advancing if you're around the 9-16 range. If you had a traditional two 1-8 brackets for east/west, there's a "reward" for coming in 6th instead of 8th - you face the 3rd seed, not the 1st.

There's a few other problems. I don't think the NHL has the national-flavor of audience like the NFL to handle a lot of East-West games. Also, it wreaks havoc with the scheduling for playoff rounds - we now have a system where, in round 1, two games can start at 7 to 8 EST, and two other games can start at 9 to 10 EST. If you intermingle the East-West conferences, you could have 6 games starting in the Western Conference, and only 2 in the Eastern.

Plus, coaches, GMs, and owners will hate it. It's another opportunity for them to make a mistake and get their fanbase mad. Make the right selection? "Oh, we coulda beat anyone that round." Make the wrong one? "Should have picked X instead of Z. Idiot GM."

Add to that the owners interfering in hockey decisions. Let's say that one year, the Rangers are having a great season, and the Panthers are dead in the water, creating a virtual bye to the next rond. Bruins get to pick between the two. Does JJ sit back and let Don make the smart hockey choice? Or does he pressure Don into picking New York, because a NYR/BOS matchup will make Garden ticket prices skyrocket, while a FLA snoozefest will, to a degree, annoy the STHs (and professionals) who resell?

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Part of me likes this idea. But there is one glaring problem - it almost eliminates any impetus for advancing if you're around the 9-16 range. If you had a traditional two 1-8 brackets for east/west, there's a "reward" for coming in 6th instead of 8th - you face the 3rd seed, not the 1st.

There's a few other problems. I don't think the NHL has the national-flavor of audience like the NFL to handle a lot of East-West games. Also, it wreaks havoc with the scheduling for playoff rounds - we now have a system where, in round 1, two games can start at 7 to 8 EST, and two other games can start at 9 to 10 EST. If you intermingle the East-West conferences, you could have 6 games starting in the Western Conference, and only 2 in the Eastern.

Plus, coaches, GMs, and owners will hate it. It's another opportunity for them to make a mistake and get their fanbase mad. Make the right selection? "Oh, we coulda beat anyone that round." Make the wrong one? "Should have picked X instead of Z. Idiot GM."

Add to that the owners interfering in hockey decisions. Let's say that one year, the Rangers are having a great season, and the Panthers are dead in the water, creating a virtual bye to the next rond. Bruins get to pick between the two. Does JJ sit back and let Don make the smart hockey choice? Or does he pressure Don into picking New York, because a NYR/BOS matchup will make Garden ticket prices skyrocket, while a FLA snoozefest will, to a degree, annoy the STHs (and professionals) who resell?

honestly I suspect the owners will be picking their best marquee matchup as opposed to easiest opponent. building rivalries sells tickets in most the markets.

I know in the Edmonton/Calgary markets they cry now that these teams havent met in like the last 30 years. if Edmonton had a choice to play Arizona in round I or Calgary.. id bet my last 20 dollars theyd take Calgary everytime.

markets like Toronto/boston are so huge they are going to get their tv audience/and ticket sales no matter who they play... just win

but theres a lot of markets that actually do have trouble selling even playoff tickets at a good price.

the true advantage of my system isnt getting yourself an easy opponent this year... but rather it maximizes the opportunities for the most successful markets to give their fans the most marquee games

 

[pemulis]

Since the lockout, more teams that won the Jennings Trophy have gone on to win more Stanley Cups then those that won the Presidents Trophy. And since the 2012-2013 season, Jennings Trophy winners are 3-4 at winning the Cup while President Trophy winners are 2-5

However, since the Presidents Trophy was first awarded in 1985/1986, a team has won both the Presidents Trophy and the Jennings Trophy in the same season on 8 occasions and their record is 3-5

1990 Bruins won both, Oilers won the Cup
1991 Hawks won both, Pens won the Cup
1996 Wings won both, Avs won the Cup
1999 Stars won both and won the Cup
2000 Blues won both and Devils won the Cup
2008 Wings won both and won the Cup
2011 Canucks won both, Bruins won the Cup
2013 Hawks won both and won the Cup
2020 Bruins leading in both.

37.5% chance. I'll take it. That's better than not getting those awards.

 

[Aeroforce]

I'm not a believer in the President's Trophy jinx, and want the B's to win it. Sure they blew Game 7 at home against St. Louis and lost 3 out of 4 in the series.

But home ice has been an advantage in all the Game 7's against the Leafs; and if a series against Tampa or Washington goes 7, I'd much rather Boston have home ice.

I also think since the team has been far less passive since the Columbus debacle, home ice will be more of an advantage, as the crowd will be more engaged.

St. Louis still could win it, but there's a good chance whoever wins the Atlantic will win the President's Trophy. I hope it's Boston.

 

[talkinaway]

I can't be concerned too much about the Presidents Trophy itself. I don't really care about beating the 15 teams in the West. I do care about positioning in the bracket - home ice is always nice, and getting statistically easier opponents is nice, too. I wouldn't lose sleep if two teams in the West beat us out for the top spot - so many low-probability things have to happen for that to be significant:

1) We make the finals
2) One of the 1-2 teams in the West makes the finals - remember, there are 6-7 other teams, too.
3) The finals actually goes for 7 games

Yes, I'm ignoring the psychological effects, like getting the home ice first and momentum, which are important, but not nearly as big as actually having the game in hand. But I do like having top billing for as many rounds as possible - it just seems like a waste of time to get ahead of EVERY single opponent, at the expense of not resting some of your big stars for the playoffs.

I want to be bored and watching the Providence Bruins in late March.

 

[McGarnagle]

I don't get people who are so hostile to the president's trophy.

Home ice throughout the playoffs is a major advantage.

Sure, don't spend the last week of the season busting ass and riding your #1 goalie and burning your top line forwards just for the sake of getting it, but the way people on here talk, some of them act like the Bruins should go out of their way to throw games in order to avoid it because it's some kind of jinx.

Winning a cup is hard. There are 15 other teams fighting for it, and you have to have the fortune to get through four rounds despite facing injuries, bad stylistic matchups, fatigue, and bad luck. But there's nothing wrong with assuring yourself the best opportunity to survive that via home ice in all rounds.

 

[Fopppa]

I can't be concerned too much about the Presidents Trophy itself. I don't really care about beating the 15 teams in the West. I do care about positioning in the bracket - home ice is always nice, and getting statistically easier opponents is nice, too. I wouldn't lose sleep if two teams in the West beat us out for the top spot - so many low-probability things have to happen for that to be significant:

1) We make the finals
2) One of the 1-2 teams in the West makes the finals - remember, there are 6-7 other teams, too.
3) The finals actually goes for 7 games

Yes, I'm ignoring the psychological effects, like getting the home ice first and momentum, which are important, but not nearly as big as actually having the game in hand. But I do like having top billing for as many rounds as possible - it just seems like a waste of time to get ahead of EVERY single opponent, at the expense of not resting some of your big stars for the playoffs.

I want to be bored and watching the Providence Bruins in late March.

Yeah, I don't want them chasing the Presidents Trophy and I don't think they'll stretch themselves to do so either, but I have a hard time subscribing to the notion that winning the PT is a bad thing. It is an accolade in itself and if it comes down to it I bet most of the guys in the room will want it if it comes down to a race over the final few games. Regardless of how "meaningless" the regular season is, it's still a competition and if it's within reach why not go for it? Just like you go for every game, every period, every shift.

That being said, I sure hope Bruce/Don makes sure guys that need rest down the stretch get as much of it as they need.

 

[Smitty93]

I don't get people who are so hostile to the president's trophy.

Home ice throughout the playoffs is a major advantage.

Sure, don't spend the last week of the season busting ass and riding your #1 goalie and burning your top line forwards just for the sake of getting it, but the way people on here talk, some of them act like the Bruins should go out of their way to throw games in order to avoid it because it's some kind of jinx.

Winning a cup is hard. There are 15 other teams fighting for it, and you have to have the fortune to get through four rounds despite facing injuries, bad stylistic matchups, fatigue, and bad luck. But there's nothing wrong with assuring yourself the best opportunity to survive that via home ice in all rounds.

Probably a good reminder that since the Presidents' Trophy introduction in 1985-86, 8 winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup (24%), and another 3 have lost in the Stanley Cup Final, so 33% have included a President's Trophy winner.

Talk of the "curse" has grown over the past 6 years, as only once has a Presidents' Trophy winning team made it out of the second round.

The reality is that the Presidents' Trophy winner does have better odds of winning a Stanley Cup than any other playoff seed. The reason the curse exists is that we often assume that winning it should make that team a heavy Cup favorite, when the reality is that they just have odds that are a bit higher than any other seed.

The salary cap's introduction in 2004-05 is the major reason parity exists in the NHL, which has led to fewer wins by the Presidents' Trophy winner. In the 14 seasons since the cap was added, the Presidents' Trophy winner has won the Stanley Cup twice and made it to the Final one other time. Those odds are still twice what the odds would be if you assumed every playoff team had an equal chance of making or winning the Stanley Cup.

I'd add that the last three times the Bruins have made the Stanley Cup Final, they're 4-1 in Game 7's at home. Despite what happened last year, I think we need to realize how important it is to be able to have Game 7 at home.

 

[BAD BOY]

I’m not a fan of the Presidents trophy however it is now in play. I at least want this division. It’s not over by a long shot regardless what other people say. A big week ahead for this bruins team.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Out of curiosity, I just took a look at how the playoff matchups would look like if it was the old 1-8 format and if the playoffs started today it would be exactly the same...... sort of. Tampa (2) would have Toronto (7) but under the old format Washington would be the second seed because they're tops in the Metro. So, they would then get the Leafs and Tampa would get NYI. This is all as of March 1st.

exactly...

I remember one year people kept complaining that one of the California teams with over 100 points would be eliminated in round 1... they were SCREAMING for playoffs to go 1-8

that year
kings had over 100 points
Anaheim had over 100 points
san jose had over 100 points...
so yeah, 1 was going to be eliminated if you did 1-4 divisions

and then
Chicago had over 100
and I think it was st louis... a second team had over 100...

so... if you go 1-8… theres now... umm... ok... theres 5 teams with more than 100... wait... wait... let me see if I got this right... if you did 1-8 then... OMG!!!!! a team with more than 100 would still be eliminated in the first round anyhow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what this comes down to is some people simply want to complain. you may possibly fix a small problem in a given year by changing the format. but whatever changes you make would very likely lead to new problems the very next year that would more than likely piss you off even more

ive been a fan 45 years. my memory is good. we used to have 1-16... we used to have 1-8. the reason we now have divisions is that people complained.

the league eventually adapted the format that best promotes rivalaries and best cuts down travel. those 2 things are actually important. having a team with 100 points get a bad matchup in round 1 is not the slightest bit important because its still going to happen no matter what format you choose. and ultimately, if you want to win the cup you got to be able to beat whoever you play.

its very very unlikely that having a great regular season will mean much at playoff time. winning the president trophy is no guarantee of anything. neither is having 100 points. you must perform at playoff time to win at playoff time

 

[BruinsFanMike82]

Just checking on which teams have been playing the best recently.. In their last 20 games played:

• Avalanche = 14 Regulation Wins; +21 goal differential
• Flyers = 12 RW; +26 (!)
  
• Bruins = 12 RW; +17
• Oilers = 11 RW; +12
• Rangers = 11 RW; +12
• Wild = 10 RW; +15
• Lightning = 10 RW; +14
  
• Golden Knights = 10 RW; +9

The Lightning have 5 regular-season games remaining against these teams. The Bruins only have 3. Lightning 2x + Flyers 1x -- all within the next 8 days. Should be telling.

 

[Deuce17]

Since the lockout, more teams that won the Jennings Trophy have gone on to win more Stanley Cups then those that won the Presidents Trophy. And since the 2012-2013 season, Jennings Trophy winners are 3-4 at winning the Cup while President Trophy winners are 2-5

However, since the Presidents Trophy was first awarded in 1985/1986, a team has won both the Presidents Trophy and the Jennings Trophy in the same season on 8 occasions and their record is 3-5

1990 Bruins won both, Oilers won the Cup
1991 Hawks won both, Pens won the Cup
1996 Wings won both, Avs won the Cup
1999 Stars won both and won the Cup
2000 Blues won both and Devils won the Cup
2008 Wings won both and won the Cup
2011 Canucks won both, Bruins won the Cup
2013 Hawks won both and won the Cup
2020 Bruins leading in both.

Jennings Trophy?

 

[08SeaBass08]

Jennings Trophy?

Team GAA. 1990 it was Lemelin and Moog.

 

[Smitty93]

Just checking on which teams have been playing the best recently.. In their last 20 games played:

• Avalanche = 14 Regulation Wins; +21 goal differential
• Flyers = 12 RW; +26 (!)
  
• Bruins = 12 RW; +17
• Oilers = 11 RW; +12
• Rangers = 11 RW; +12
• Wild = 10 RW; +15
• Lightning = 10 RW; +14
  
• Golden Knights = 10 RW; +9

The Lightning have 5 regular-season games remaining against these teams. The Bruins only have 3. Lightning 2x + Flyers 1x -- all within the next 8 days. Should be telling.

The Flyers have basically been on a tear since that Bruins game in January. I'll hand it to Vigneault that he's a great regular season coach, but luckily he turns in Bruce Boudreau in the playoffs.

 

[Fenway]

DGB weekend power rankings: Sorting through trades, streaks...​

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

theres been only 10 teams in nhl history with at least 120 points in a season

bostons best season ever was the orr 1970 team with 121 points

we have 98 points in 68 games... 14 games left.

11 wins gives us 120 points
12 wins gives us 122 points

anyone else think we are capable of going 11-3 down the stretch?
or 11-2-1?

or 12-2?

this has every potential of being the best season in bruin history for regular league play
and I am betting my money on us taking the cup too. if we stay healthy its ours to lose

shocking that a lot of fans wanted to fire the coach in December and were all panic
but then they are the same fans that wanted to fire Julien in round 1 of 2011 too I think

 

[talkinaway]

theres been only 10 teams in nhl history with at least 120 points in a season

bostons best season ever was the orr 1970 team with 121 points

we have 98 points in 68 games... 14 games left.

11 wins gives us 120 points
12 wins gives us 122 points

anyone else think we are capable of going 11-3 down the stretch?
or 11-2-1?

or 12-2?

I'm gonna say no. I mean, maaaaybe we're capable of it - but there's no way we're going to find out. Once we get over 110, there's a strong gravitational force that will pull us down, which is called "clinching our spot in the playoffs". Once that happens, we have to start resting any player who's not playing at 100%. I remember in 2013-4, when we won the Presidents Trophy, Krug played a game (not a shift - a game) as a forward.

Although, now that you mention it - I'm looking at the schedule, and trying to find hard games. In the TBL/PHI/BUF/TOR group...well, I guess PHI would be a hard game. Honestly, I almost want important guys shelved for that game - I'm scared for injuries. The other trap may be the BUF/TOR doubleheader, but we can easily put Rask against TOR.

In the next four, the trap is the whole California roadtrip. We're always miserable in those games. But then again, we're also miserable in Western Canada...and we did pretty well on that trip this year.

The home stretch shouldn't be bad. DET and OTT are gimmies. FLA and the two CAR games could go either way - they might be giving it their all in a push to make the playoffs, or they could be so far out or so far in that it won't matter. The Blues game should be inconsequential in terms of standings, but...c'mon. We all know that game is going to be emotional.

 

[JAD]

Just get through the rest of the schedule healthy.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

100 points in 70 games

bruins have only had more than 112 points on 7 occasions.
500 hockey will get us to that point

weve been playing 700 hockey. if we collects 17 of the available 24 points we would have our
3rd best season ever and our best season in nearly 50 years

our record is 121 points... if we go 11-1 we will have a new best season ever

 

[member 96824]

Honestly, hat tip to @DKH who has been pounding the table screaming “2020” for 5 years now.

Now we’re 70 games deep, have 100 points, no one even is close to touching us in the standings, and about to head into the playoffs, just 9 months removed from being 1 game away from a cup.

Serious foresight.

 

[DKH]

Honestly, hat tip to @DKH who has been pounding the table screaming “2020” for 5 years now.

Now we’re 70 games deep, have 100 points, no one even is close to touching us in the standings, and about to head into the playoffs, just 9 months removed from being 1 game away from a cup.

Serious foresight.

I figured the Connor-Barzal line would be coming into their own in 2020 and Bergeron, Rask, Marchand, and Krejci would still be on their game.

 

[talkinaway]

Boston and Florida each have 2 more games to play this week. If we get good results from 3 out of 4 of those games, we clinch 3rd place in the Atlantic, and hence a playoff berth.

 

[danpantz]

3rd straight 100 point season.

Noooooottttttttt a big deal