The More Things Change

Four days have gone by since the last update so it's time to answer that vexing question of "has anything changed?"

In the interests of space, as well as actually being able to draw some conclusions, we'll address the question through the basic lens of making vs missing the playoffs. Fear not, Montreal, Detroit, San Jose and Pittsburgh... the focus will be back on you once the actual postseason begins.

Below is represented the Sat-Tues results of the teams that "most likely" have either a shot of cracking or falling out of the top 8 in each conference.

* Standings shown as of Wed Mar 26.

Eastern Conference:
7. Philadelphia- 2-0-0
8. Boston- 1-0-1
9. Washington- 1-0-0: 2 points out
10. Buffalo- 0-1-0: 5 points out
11. Florida- 1-1-0: 5 points out

Conclusions to draw... Buffalo and Florida (particularly Buffalo) suffered painful losses Wednesday and are in danger of slipping out of contention.

Western Conference:
7. Vancouver- 0-1-0
8. Colorado- 1-1-0
9. Nashville- 2-0-0: 2 points out
10. Edmonton- 2-0-0: 3 points out

Conclusions to draw... Things should stay interesting to the final weekend. Debatable at this point whether Edmonton or Nashville is at a better spot (given both are currently on the outside looking in). Edmonton gets to play the teams they're chasing, but then... Nashville doesn't have to play the teams they're chasing.

Nashville may well be in a better position, but the Northwest Division (Vancouver, Colorado, Edmonton and oh yeah, Minnesota and Calgary) games will be much more fun to watch.