Hockey Standings
 

ESPN has finally gotten on board in their power rankings.

I hate when people refer to Detroit being better than St. Louis and listing them above St. Louis in standings. Detroit has played 5 more games (will be 6 tonight) than the Blues. In order for the Blues to just TIE the Red Wings, they would have to go 0-4-1-0 or 0-4-0-1. Not likely...

ESPN's Power Rankings, due to an email from a reader, ranked the teams based on Points Percentage (Pointed earned divided by games played x 2). The Blues were 2nd in the league, and that was before they went 3-0-0-0.

Current league leaders in Points Percentage (percentage of points earned versus points possible):

#1 St. Louis Blues: .722
#2 Philadelphia Flyers: .712
#3 New Jersey .696
#4 Toronto Maple Leafs: .677
#5 Colorado Avalanche .655
#6 Vancouver Canucks .650
#7 Detroit Red Wings .625

All that hard work, just so they can choke in the playoffs. It would almost be sad if it wasn't so damn funny. The Blues are the Buffalo Bills of hockey.

Now that is just a low low low blow.
This is the year....I will say it now.....this is the year.


























Detroit sucks.

Whine some more.

The Red Wings are missing 10 regulars. Could have something to do with why they are ranked higher.


Art

BTW you have Osgood in net. You will not win it all.


Art

St.Louis has always been the most underrated team in the NHL. But St.Louis always chokes in the playoffs. I'm kinda disappointed in them but since I am a Detroit fan I welcome them choking. Sorry to the St.Louis fans.

St. Louis will win the Stanley Cup within the next 3 years.

I know that's a bold prediction but their time is coming. We've seen the slow inevitable maturing that teams need over the last 4 - 5 years. Look back at Detroit, Colorado and Dallas and how they were before they started winning the Cup. Good teams that just couldn't seem to piece it all together when it counts but after a few years of suffering through playoff disappointment they matured enough to finally punch through.

They key is keeping your core group of players together for the time it takes. Many teams, including St. Louis teams of the past get too frustrated too soon and start making wholesale changes to their lineups. They bring in big names with big contracts and all they get for it is more disappointment. Detroit, Colorado, Dallas, they were patient and let their players grow together as a team.

St Louis has learned this lesson the hard way. You still may need to make small tweaks to the lineup from time to time but don't mess with the core.

Oh and by the way, yes I am a St Louis fan. Born and raised to bleed blue. But more importantly I am a Hockey fan and I try not to let my love of the Blues cloud my judgement when it comes to objectively analyze a situation or team. I truley believe it is their time not just because I am a Blues fan but all the signs are there.

Please Detroit do not whine about losing regulars.
Do not whine.
If you mention the Blues, you have to deal with injuries.
Pronger, MacInnis, our top defensemen have been plagued, although Prongs is back and healthy. MacInnis, arguably the best defensemen in the league, is out for the year. Jackman, Rookie of the Year, is out indefinitely. Eric Bounieckie is out with a shoulder injury.
Do not make excuses for your team. It is 3-1 now so Detroit will be 3 points ahead of the Blues with 6 games in hand. I think the Blues can muster out 3 points in 6 games.

St. Louis the Buffalo Bills of Hockey? They need to get to the big games in order for that title. Detroit will own the blues when the time comes, and St. Louis will choke as always. Next to Colorado, I love the rivalry between Detroit and St. Louis, there always seems to be a little spark in each game.

http://www.dvsn.com/Canucks/images/canucks.jpg



nuff said.:thumbsup:

I am not whining that they are out. I am giving you a reason as to why they should be ranked higher.

Canucks...yeah there is a good laugh. Who is in net for you guys again?


Art

go leafs!

The only Wings I root for are Datsyuk and Hasek because they are both on my fantasy hockey team. (I picked up Datsyuk in FA about 2 months ago and he has been money ever since.)


GO BLUES!!!!






Detroit sucks...

Whose whining? Detroit has rocked the casba with those 10 players out. Its sad that Detroit can rise to the top of the league with an AHL team playing in their place.

And one image comes to mind when summing up the Blues. It is that of Pronger, after looking like a fool for half a game, trying with all his heart to lay a punishing check on Yzerman (who is playing on one leg as everyone is quick to point out), only to fall flat on his face and knock himself out of not only the rest of the playoffs , but the entire next season as well. All because Yzerman kept his head, and ducked. One tiny little veteran play, and St. Louis' playoff hopes crumbled to a heap on the ice.

osgood's won a cup - where have you been?

personally, i'm a huge Devils fan - two days ago i got to have my picture taken with the stanley cup (i got to touch it too) - one of the perks of being a season ticket holder for the stanley cup champions!!!

Top of the league? Hardly.

Did you not see the Points Percentage? Detroit was #7 in the NHL. Pretty easy to have more points when you have played 6 more games than the Blues. Like I mentioned before, and the whole point of the thread, was that Detroit was being named the top team when in reality they are 7th in the league, the Blues are #1.

Well, as soon as the league starts using win percentage in place of a points system to determine ranking, then you might have something. And having six games in hand, and actually winning those six games when it counts, is a whole other story. We know how well the Blues perform under pressure.

Detroit 44pts
Toronto 44pts
Phlidelphia 44pts
St. Louis 41pts

no hardly about it, just plain fact.

Hey.... wait a minute! I'm a Bills fan and I take exception to that!
Although the Bills never won the Super Bowl, they were statistically the best team of the 90's. Unfortunately, I'm dealing with the present situation, Our offense sucks moose dick!

Well, hypothetically, if the Blues win ALL 6 of the games, they will be at 53 points.....9 more than Detroit
5 games......7 more
4 games......5 more
3 games......3 more
2 games......1 more
1 games......1 less

so all the Blues have to do is go 2-4-0-0 and they are beating Detroit.

If the Blues go 0-0-6-0, (or 0-0-0-6), they would still be 3 points ahead of Detroit.

Either way, the main point you have to consider the fact that 6 is a lot of games.

Yeah, but as all true hockey fans know - the real season doesn't start until April. The Blues are having a very good year, but let's check back in a few months from now.

Yes we will, I just hope the Red Wings have fun watching at home the Blues win the Stanley Cup.


This IS the year

Do the Blues play in a vacuum? The problem with your math is that during those six games, which won't actually be fully made up until early march, Detroit continues to play games and score points. Not to mention there are 3 more (i think) Det-Stl matchups left this season. So those games are almost like 4 point swings for both teams. If the Blues lost, not only would Stl not get those points to gain on Det, the Wings get those points to pull away.

And don't be so negative about the Bills comment perripken. As much as I dislike the Blues, they are one of the most consistently good regular season teams over the last 20 years. Thats one hell of a stretch in any sport.

Also helps when the top 8 teams in a conference are admitted. Theoretically, a team last year could have lost EVERY game (0-0-0-82) or TIED every game (0-0-82-0) and have been in the playoffs.

Nikilidstrom, the point that I am trying to make is whie the Blues are keeping up with the points (we are 1 behind now), they still have 5 games in hand. It would be different if we were around 8-10 points behind, but only 1 point seperating and 5 games.........just something to think about.

Remeber the game last year when the Blues were getting their asses beat (i think 6-1) and in the last minute there were 229 penalty minutes given out. Crazy.

everyone says this is the year and it's not for the blues, the red wings, the flyers, the avs.......................whose going to win the cup drumroll.....................................................THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS. Look back to this thread and i will take congrats for this prediction after the play-offs lol

the only way your team could make it to the finals would be if jersey AND philly AND ottawa got knocked out by other teams.

THAT'S VERY UNLIKELY.

i'm sure the leafs will choke just like they do every other year...

Does anyone other then me think that the president's trophy race is between Philly and Jersey this year?

I have to go with the leafs having a better chance then Ottawa and Philly but not Jersey. Jersey will win the Stanley Cup only if they have a decent offensive output. And with the rumours of trading Niedermayer it doesn't look too good for the Devils. I'm looking at Leafs vs. Jersey in the East and Detroit vs. Colorado in the west. After that I'm kinda biased since I'm a Red Wings fan but still thats my prediction. But yet again this year St.Louis will choke like in past years.

It definitely is a tight race all the way around in the west. And while that game was a runaway, soccerchamp76, nothing beats seeing Reed Low having his ass handed to him by Darren McCarty :), except maybe a Kocur vs Quenneville brawl. That whole series saw alot of heart and soul hockey.

Leafs won't win.
Age will catch up to them sooner or later.

I'm hoping Ottawa takes it this year.
Or, if my Flames keep playing the way they have.. heheheh... :)

Yeah Osgood won a cup with the Red Wings. I could have won a cup with the Red Wings that year.

The Blues are no where near as good as the Red Wing team that Osgood won with.

Osgood will let in 4 soft goals per playoffs series, minimum.


Art

The Blues are as good.....Weight, Tkachuck, Demitra, Mellanby, Pronger.

Surely you jest about them being as good as the Red Wing team that Osgood was on.


Art

all I have to say to that is

Detroit 2
St. Louis 1

go Datsyuk!!!

Cmon, how can you say the leafs are gonna choke? We have sundin, nieuwendyk, nolan, belfour, roberts and mogilny (he hasnt even played and we're still 1st). Thats a lot of veteran players who know what it takes to win with nieuwendyk and belfour having rings from dallas. We're also on a 15 game point streak (13-0-1-1).

NJ: only in it because of they're amazing defense and goalie, if you look they have one of the lowest goals scored totals in the league. If any of their key defensive players or brodeur gets injured they're screwed.

Ottawa: Usually loses to the leafs in the playoffs anytime they play each other

Philly and Detroit: Both high scoring teams esp. w/ good young players like datsyuk and comrie. Probably the only real opposition and detroit isnt even a probel til we hit the Cup.

I knew someone was gonna say something about it, Nikilidstrom.

As much as I like the Blues and hate Detroit; the Blues are not perfect and Detroit has the Blues number.



P.S. The ONLY positive that came from that game for me was that I have Datsyuk on my fantasy hockey team. I picked up Datsyuk about 2 months ago on a FA pickup and he has been golden for me. The only Detroit player that I would like to do good, I was just sad he decided he wanted to do it against my team.

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl...ak_143x140.JPG

You'll all be sorry when my Golden Seals win the cup this year and you'll look back at this thread at this post and i will laugh!

Harry Howell's gonna do it for us this year, i can feel it..

Oh my god the Leafs in first place overall holy shit that rocks GO LEAFS GO

Leafs #1?!?!?! I'm pretty sure that this is one of the signs of the apacolypse. There are going to be alot of monkeys flying outta peoples butts this season :)

As much as I dislike the Leafs, they've had a really good team for a few years now. I'm not surprised they're #1. Seems like they've spent less time whining to the media and more time... y'know, playing hockey.

they rock

I'm sorry but win % don't mean crap.

It's like saying a team that is 1-0 is better than a team that is 81-0. Just pointless really.

Leafs are playing real well despite the fact I hate everything about that team and organization. Everything from the crazy spending to their plans on their own outdoor game. Belfour is carrying that team on his back. He would be my MVP nomination for the first half of the season.