OpIv37
03-02-2010, 11:38 AM
A regulation win tonight puts us ahead of Pittsburgh (4th vs 5th) in the standings. NJ has a tough game on the road in San Jose, so if they also lose, then we'll be tied with them for points (which only matters if we either overtake Ottawa or they fall behind Pittsburgh).
Being 4th instead of 5th means home ice advantage for the first round.
We play Philly at the end of the week, and they're only 8 points behind us for 5th place.
Washington is too far ahead of us in the standings to worry about catching them, but we need some points to stop the bleeding that started before the Olympic break.
I realize that each team has 20-22 games left or so, and the standings will change several times, but the Pittsburgh and Philly games are 4 point swings in the conference standings. Better to get those points now than to try to worry about it down the stretch.
Being 4th instead of 5th means home ice advantage for the first round.
We play Philly at the end of the week, and they're only 8 points behind us for 5th place.
Washington is too far ahead of us in the standings to worry about catching them, but we need some points to stop the bleeding that started before the Olympic break.
I realize that each team has 20-22 games left or so, and the standings will change several times, but the Pittsburgh and Philly games are 4 point swings in the conference standings. Better to get those points now than to try to worry about it down the stretch.