NHL: Who Is Better? Eastern Conference Vs Western Conference

The NHL season is headed into the stretch run for the playoffs.  The Winter Classic has come and gone, so has the All-Star game and Peter Forsberg's annual return and then exit from the game.  The time has come to look ahead to the playoffs.

As the playoffs near, there are interesting races in each conference. 

Just as interesting is looking at which of the two conferences are the strongest.  Does the strength of a conference help or hurt the top teams?

The general consensus is that over the past five years the Western conference has had the stronger teams, but does that necessarily translate into dominance in the finals. 

In the past five years the West has claimed three cups to the East's two.  So in other words, pretty even.  How are the conferences matching up this year?

On the surface it would appear that the West is a deeper conference.  Going into tonight's action the ninth, 10th and 11th place teams in the West would have enough points to qualify for the playoffs in the East. Advantage West.

How have the conferences matched up head-to-head on the ice?  The East is 93-87-28 against their Western rivals while the West boasts a 115-64-29 head-to-head record.  Once again the advantage seems to go to the West.

These numbers can be skewed somewhat as bad teams like Edmonton, the Islanders and their ilk are in the mix.  Looking at the top five teams in each conference might get us a clearer picture at who has the strongest teams.

The top five teams in the East are Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington.  These five teams are a combined 27-27-9 against the Western Conference.

The top five teams in the West are Vancouver, Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim and Nashville.  These five teams are a combined 45-19-9 against the East. 

So, the top of the Western conference has fared better against the east than the top five of the East have.  Advantage West.

How have the top five in each conference fared against the other top five?  The East's top five are 11-10-3 against the West while the West are 13-7-4 against the East.  Anaheim has the best record of them all going 6-0 against the East so far.

The West again appears to be stronger.

Does this mean that a Western team has a lock on the Stanley Cup playoffs? No, it doesn't. 

One could argue that since the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a war of attrition, having to slug your way through three tough opponents can empty the tank come the finals and hurt a team from the West. 

The other side of that argument is that a team from the West will be more battle tested when they reach the finals having to had survive against tougher opponents.

It's your turn now, tell us what you think.  Which conference is tougher?