Penguins Streaking Again as They Get Ready for Playoffs
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five straight as they improved their Eastern Conference leading record to 33-10 with a 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. The Pens game scheduled for Friday at the Boston Bruins is in jeopardy as the manhunt for Monday’s bombing suspect continues.
Pittsburgh has a seven point lead in the Eastern Conference over second seed Montreal at 59 points. Third is the Bruins with 57 points. The Southeast Division leading Washington Capitals would be the three seed however with 50 points because they are a division leader. The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the fifth seed at 54 points and the Ottawa Senators are sixth with 52. The New York Islanders are seventh with 51 points and the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets are tied for the eighth spot at 48 points.
There are roughly four games left in the regular season and with so many teams withing just a few points of each other, the playoffs seeds could change a lot between now and the end of the season.
If the season ended today the playoff match-ups would be:
Pittsburgh vs New York Rangers- A likely sweep by the Pens
Montreal vs New York Islanders– Two teams with rich history trying to end a long drought.
Washington vs Ottawa-Â A very political oriented match-up.
Boston vs Toronto– Two of the “Original Six” going at it is always fun.
The Western Conference looks like this:
The Chicago Blackhawks at 70 points have a 10 point lead on the second place Anaheim Ducks at 60. After that it is a logjam at seeds three through five with the Vancouver Canucks getting the three seed because they are leading their division with 55 points. The San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings also have 55 points in the fourth and fifth spots. The St Louis Blues are sixth with 52 points and the Minnesota Wild is seventh with 51 points. Rounding out the top eight is the Columbus Blue Jackets with 49 points.
The first round matches would look like this:
Chicago vs Columbus- Chicago wins easily.
Anaheim vs Minnesota- A hunting enthusiasts dream match-up.
Vancouver vs St Louis- The Canucks are Western Canada’s only hope.
Los Angeles vs San Jose- Northern California takes on Southern California
