Spring Is Here—Time To Polish Lord Stanley's Cup, Pt. 1: Western Conference

(Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

Early spring is the time of the year when there are only two things going on: March Madness and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

(If you thought "major league baseball's spring training," you are a loser. That did not matter when baseball still did, as in 15 years ago before the New York Yankees could buy their way into the playoffs by spending more on one player than teams like the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates can on their whole roster.)

Since only 24 teams' fans and gambling addicts really care about March Madness now, let's look at the world's fastest, most skilled, and most dangerous sport—as well as the most poorly run; case in point: Carolina and Washington have only eight games left, while Philadelphia and Chicago have 12.

Name another sport that would ever have teams playing half-again the number of games of those they are chasing. Name another sport that would consider the team with fewer wins in more games played ahead of its competition in the standings.

But enough of my annoyance at the way the NHL determines its standings. I will list each of the playoff-bound teams as they should be, by point percentage, and give where I believe they will finish—both in the regular season and the playoffs—and why.

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks (.732), 11 games remaining, five at home.

This team has really been struggling to score, but did just put five up on the Dallas Stars, and after a 2-5-1 stretch has now won four of five. They have five games left against three of the six teams in the league who are under .500. Unfortunately, most of those games are at home—games they were counting on winning anyway.

They are the only team in the NHL to be in the top five in all major categories: shots on goal, shots against, goals, goals against, power play, and penalty kill.

They currently have an injury report as long as Pacman Jones' arrest sheet, with five players on injured reserve and four more hurt, but all are expected back for the playoffs. For the first time since the lockout, this team also has championship experience

The Sharks will not lock up the first seed, but will win the West.

2. Detroit Red Wings (.729), 10 games remaining, six at home.

The Red Wings are playing great hockey in March (7-1-1) and are the defending champions. They are relatively heathy, with only one player on injured reserve, and have more home games left than all but two teams in the West.

They have the league's best offence (shots and goals scored) and power play, its best forward unit and its best blueline. So why won't they repeat?

1. They have only one game remaining against a team under .500 (at home against the Islanders) and three more against teams that might not make it in—all before they will be eliminated; thus, they are not likely to win the top seed.
2. They also rely a lot on their power play, getting almost a third of their goals from it; the playoffs are notoriously lower in penalties.
3. They are inconsistent at best in net, leading to them having one of the worst goals-against averages despite giving up fewer shots than almost anyone.

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