Which Team Misses in the East Division

[IvanMalison]

IIRC, the consensus at the time the time this season started was that the East Division was by far the strongest (especially when considering the depth of the division) of the 4 that are being used this year.

That this IS in fact the case is evidenced by the fact that the East division has the team not currently in playoff position with the highest points % (Pittsburgh with .595).

East: Pitt .595
West: LA .550
Central: .479
North: Calgary .478

I think the East is the only division with more than 4 teams that might actually deserve playoffs this year, and its actually seeming like the races in all the other divisions are pretty clear cut (with the possible exception of the West division, but I don't really see LA passing STL to make it). Take a look at the point % gap in each division at the cutoff line:

North: .583 - .478 = .105
Central: .609 - .479 = .130
East: .636 - .595 = .041
West: .591 - .550 = .041


Which team do you think is going to miss in the East?

Click to read more...

 

[Zman5778]

The Sabres play in the East division and will most certainly miss the playoffs.

 

[Fogelhund]

IIRC, the consensus at the time the time this season started was that the East Division was by far the strongest (especially when considering the depth of the division) of the 4 that are being used this year.

That this IS in fact the case is evidenced by the fact that the East division has the team not currently in playoff position with the highest points % (Pittsburgh with .595).

East: Pitt .595
West: LA .550
Central: .479
North: Calgary .478

Pretty weird, bizarre take, when there is no inter divisional play. There are plenty of reasons to explain why a 5th placed team has a good, or poor record. More parity, better teams at the top, mean lower percentage below... just nice theories, with no evidence to back it up at this point really.

As to the original question, Rangers, Devils, Sabres aren't making the playoffs... The last spot, hard to say at this point.

 

[Gurglesons]

Tbh. From my viewing this year either PHI or WAS. Which is bizarre because most people say they are favorites heading into the year.

 

[Chrisinroch]

This is a silly take. The East has had more OT games. (22)

By comparison, the North has had 12

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Pittsburgh??

Maybe then we can finally see a coaching change.

 

[dlawong]

The Sabres play in the East division and will most certainly miss the playoffs.

Too close to call but the obvious one is Sabres.

Rags near bottom but has great talents on paper and last year they were hot in the 2nd half so who knows?

NJ has a very good defense with a couple of high end skill forwards and if some of their other forwards start to produce more, they may become a threat.

Pens may still make the playoff as Crosby will always be competitive and Malkin may rebound in the 2nd half. The team does has a decent supporting cast and likely will paly better once all their Ds are healthy.

Flyer is overall a very well constructed team but Hart has been somewhat inconsistent this year. If he can go on a hot streak again the team can bounce back to no. 1 spot

The Caps just have too many skilled smart veterans on the team and Wilson and Chara are tough to play against physically.

Then there is the Bruins - a team that seems to always play best when it matters and they do have one of the most dangerous top line in NHL. The team seem to have regressed a bit from last season though.

My fav team Isles has a strong defensive system game. They have an extremely tight team playing with a team first mentality. Barzal can dazzle you most nights and the team is capable of getting goal scoring from their top 3 lines with a 4th line that plays physical in your face type of game. So far the goalies has played well in most games. Their main problem have been Caps and Pens this year because both teams can strike fast with their skilled goal scorers. Flyer is also a tough opponent for Isles.

 

[Mikeshane]

Pittsburgh embarrassed themselves the last 2 playoffs, I don't see any reason to believe in them.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I honestly have no idea. Boston is the only team I don't think has a chance of missing... the Perfection Line is too dominant to let them fall that far. My bias tells me that Washington is safe -- they are one of the best goal-scoring teams in the league and have done well so far despite a new coaching staff and horrid goaltending, and they're one of the top teams in the NHL in terms of controlling high quality scoring chances. The Islanders feel safe because they're very difficult to score on and Trotz's system will keep them in every game even though they don't have the same high-end talent as the other contenders in their division. They just do not give their opponents a lot of good looks on net. I guess that leaves Pittsburgh and Philly... both of whom are playoff-quality teams, I think. I can't count out a team with Crosby, Malkin, and Letang and while I like Philly, it still seems like they're a year or two away, and they have awful underlying stats; they get cratered on high-danger scoring chances but seem to have been buoyed so far by a lot of luck (they currently have the highest PDO in the league).

So yeah I have no idea but my best guess is Philly misses. But at the moment I think the 5th place team in the East will be more deserving of a playoff spot than the 3rd place team in the North.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Pittsburgh has looked rough but I expect they'll have a better second half. They haven't played Buffalo or NJ yet.

Based on everything I've seen I think Boston is safe but any of the others could miss. As of now Pittsburgh is the most likely to be 5th but it wouldn't surprise me if they turned it on and finished 2nd either. 14 straight playoff appearances so I don't think they'll go quietly into the night.