As most of you will remember, I put up a statistical algorithmical piece last week projected the final points and standings for the Western Conference this season.  Well, it got enough praise for me to continue it as a weekly thing for the rest of the season.  Let's see how my results from last week was affected, shall we?

Evening update: Beantown Canuck felt there was something too fishy about my algorithm saying that many of these teams will go 1 point per game for the rest of the season, which didn't make sense.  I checked my stuff, and it turns out that the rounding function I was using in my new Excel spreadsheets was taking away too many potential points.  I've now updated the post with all the decimal places included.

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Hey look, it's March! 

And in the NHL, that means it's time to get ready for the playoffs.  For some teams, they are already shoe-ins to make it to the ball.  For others, it's still a dog race to even get a playoff spot, especially in the Western Conference this year.  And then there's those who might as well look towards the draft, since there's no way they're making it.

I know I've been promoting the Sports Club Stats pages like crazy, but a table of numbers can only provide so much insight, especially for those of you who might not be such big fans of numbers.  So, I've decided to do a weekly column for the rest of the season, looking at projected point totals based on the games each team has left in each division and their average points-per-game in those divisions. 

Take a look past the jump to see my results.

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It has come down to Canucks fans doing the unthinkable and cheer for the Oilers in their last two games against the Flames. You put aside your built-in hatred for the enemy from Edmonton and perhaps bring yourself to get giddy whenever they score a goal.

In your mind you:

- apologize to Zack Stortini for calling him an ape, an asshat, a mindless tit, etc

- want Craig MacTavish to become Coach of the Year in the span of two games.

- become religious, as you pray not only for an Oilers win, but for someone to take out Kiprusoff's knee(s)

- believe that Jeff Deslauriers is going to play like Billy Ranford in 1990.

- promise the Oilers that the Canucks will go easy on them next year; that Alex Burrows won't pull anyone's hair; that Luongo will let a soft Hemsky shot go through his five-hole to allow him to break out of an impending slump; that Shane O'Brien will score at least 1 goal on his own net against them next season; that Rypien won't beat an Oilers within an inch of his life.....

You gotta love sports. One minute you hate the enemy and before you know it you're asking them for favors. Let's hope the Oilers play for the sake of pride. We know they don't care about doing us any favors, nor should they.

The race ensues with several key games tonight.

The Wild have to beat the Flames tonight, not only so Vancouver gets a chance to pass the Flames on Sunday (oh hell yes), but also so that they can tie the Predators for 8th spot and not get left behind. Yes, GO WILD GO! You won't hear that from a Canucks fan very often.

At the same time, I'd like to see the Blues beat the Blue Jackets in regulation to keep Columbus 4 points behind us in the standings. If St. Louis wins, they could take over 8th spot.

Being a Hab and Rangers hater, I really want to see the Sabres beat Les Canadiens in regulation tonight to inch them closer to Montreal or even the Rangers. We'll see how many games Buffalo can win with Ryan Miller back in net.

Florida will then have to beat Dallas tonight with Montreal losing in regulation to tie the Habs at 85 points. But the Panthers are slowing.

Now you know who I'm rooting for. How about you (besides the obvious Flames fail)?

Just so you know, every team with a link attached to them leads to a blog on this network minus Columbus. Go ahead and check out those sites for live blogs of these games.

In the Western Conference rat race between the Flames, Blackhawks, Canucks and Blue Jackets, it is the Canucks who play the most road games down the final stretch.

-Vancouver plays 7 of their final 11 games on the road. And just to stir the pot a bit, they have lost their last 4 straight road games.

-Calgary plays 6 of their final 11 games on the road.

-Chicago plays only 4 road games in their final 11 games. I wonder if the return of Patrick Sharp (after missing 16 games) is going to spark the Hawks now.  The Hawks only won 6 of 16 without him. Sharp returns tonight, scores 2 goals and adds an assist in a 4-1 win over the Kings. The Hawks do play the Red Wings twice in April and the Sharks, Devils and Canucks in their next 3 games.

I'm also seeing that the Hawks have been dismal against their own division this season. 4 wins and 11 losses I believe. The Hawks final 7 games are against division opponents. Huh.

-Columbus plays only 4 road games in their final 10.  They have won 8 of their last 11.

I'm not jumping to any serious conclusions here. Yet the Canucks are in tough to not only catch Calgary, but also to catch Chicago and stay ahead of Columbus. This is going to be a nail-biting, hair-greying ride in the final 11 games. Hope you have your licquor cabinets topped up, or whatever it is that you use as a crutch.

My confidence waivers. If you can figure out what Han Solo's line is in the above image....well that sums up my feelings on the matter right now, anyway.

Alright, I am just going to focus on the schedule for the Northwest Division teams in regards to how many games they have left, how many games they play on the road and at home, how many times they play teams that are currently 9th or worse in the East and 11th or worse in the West. I'd say 10th or worse in the West, but the Wild are only 3 points away from 8th, where the Hurricanes are 7 points out of 8th in the East.I know, it's skewed logic.

Take this with a grain of salt, or for viewing pleasure. Not too much can be read into it, but there are some eye-opening factors here.

Calgary Flames

72 points, 20-7-4 record at home, 13-11-2 record on the road, 4-4-2 in their last 10

25 games remaining

15 games on the road, including 7 straight road games between March 3-14.

10 games at home.

8 games versus teams that are not in a playoff spot as mentioned above.

Play back to back games 5 times.

Vancouver Canucks

64 points, 14-11-4 record at home, 14-10-4 record on the road, 6-2-2 in their last 10 games

25 games left

13 games on the road, including 6 straight road games between March 21-31

12 home games left.

13 games against teams currently not in the playoffs as mentioned above.

Play back to back games 1 more time.

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