NJ Devils & Atlantic Division Snapshot: 4/4 - 4/11

by John Fischer on Apr 4, 2010 10:59 AM EDT in Division Snapshot

It's going to go right down to the wire for four of the five teams in the Atlantic Division. The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will be battling each other for the top of the Atlantic Division, and implicitly fighting the Buffalo Sabres for whether the Atlantic Division will have the second or third seed in the East. They have the exact same record, meaning the Devils have the advantage based on head-to-head record (6-0). Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers are suddenly finding themselves back on the playoff bubble and needing points to stay ahead of the New York Rangers. The Rangers have had the good fortune of teams losing in front of him and playing well to win games to give themselves an actual shot at sneaking in the playoffs. As for the New York Islanders, they have one role for this final week (+1) of NHL games: spoiler.

It's the final division snapshot of the season. Who knew it was going to be this interesting right to the end?

Atlantic Standings

	GP	W	L	OTL	PT
New Jersey	78	45	26	7	97
Pittsburgh	78	45	26	7	97
Philadelphia	78	38	34	6	82
New York Rangers	78	36	32	10	82
New York Islanders	78	33	35	10	76

(updated 4.4.2010 at 8:47 AM EDT)

For the Devils, winning the division is simple: do as well as or better than the Penguins. The Penguins have it a little bit trickier, they just need more points than the Devils. Both teams will play on the same night through the end of the season. Therefore, if you care that much about the Devils winning the division, you're cheering on Pittsburgh's opponents as well as the Devils.

Mind you, winning the division could lead to the Devils play someone like Philadelphia in the first round. I wouldn't call that a reward, even if it means the Devils would avoid the Washington Capitals should the Devils get out of the first round.

	Potential Points	Last Week	Conf. Position
NJD	8	1-1-2	2nd
PIT	8	2-1-0	4th
PHI	8	1-2-0	8th
NYR	8	3-0-0	9th
NYI	8	2-1-0	11th

The Flyers have the advantage over the Rangers with more wins. However, given how they have been playing recently, they are playing with fire. They needed wins like yesterday. They need points ASAP, PDQ to ensure a playoff berth. If not, then they'll be passed by the Rangers. The Rangers are hot and have got nearly all the breaks needed to climb back into the playoff picture. I would like to congratulate Glen Sather for putting together a team that doesn't say die; may he continue to be the GM of the Rangers for as long as he wants. What makes this more delightful is that the final two games of the season for both of these teams are against each other. Should they still be in eighth and ninth place, it's going to be a spectacle on April 9 and 11.

The Islanders are done, but they will finish with a better record than they did last season, 26-47-9. Good for them. They'll have a shot of ending the season on a high note will disappointing a few playoff-bound teams. Given how they did last week, it doesn't seem like they'll go quietly into the end of the season. Devils fans should hope they'll be particularly pumped for their games on April 8 and 11 - against the Penguins.

	4/4	4/5	4/6	4/7	4/8	4/9	4/10	4/11
NJD			@ ATL		@ FLA		vs. NYI	vs. BUF
PIT			vs. WSH		vs. NYI		@ ATL	@ NYI
PHI	vs. DET		@ TOR			@ NYR		vs. NYR
NYR			@ BUF	vs. TOR		vs. PHI		@ PHI
NYI			vs. MTL		@ PIT		@ NJ	vs. PIT

I wasn't kidding when I said the Islanders are spoilers: three intra-division games to close out the season, against teams fighting for the top of the division. As noted earlier, Philly and the Rangers could very well fight each other for eighth place by this coming weekend. Exciting stuff, I'd say.

Now, here's a sub-plot. The Buffalo Sabres have a record of 43-25-10, they sit as the Northeast Division leader with 96 points. Short of a collapse by the Sabres (and a run by the Ottawa Senators), they're going to take the division. So they'll be fighting for the #2 seed from here on out. They play on the same nights as the Devils and Penguins as well and will have an arguably tougher schedule: vs. NYR; @ BOS; @OTT; and @ NJ. The first two are against teams still trying to ensure/make the playoffs; the third is an intra-division game; and the last one is against the Devils. Not easy at all for the Sabres.

Now, if the Devils/Penguins end up in the third seed, that isn't such a bad place to be in. A first round win would still see them avoid the Capitals in the second round. Maybe they would avoid the Flyers in the first round at #3. Still, it's another team to keep an eye on as the Devils are on the ice, hopefully finishing up the season with strong performances and good results.

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Comments

Last Week of the Regular Season!!

Another reason why this is the best time for sports (Final 4, Masters, NHL/NBA final stretch/playoffs, NFL Draft). The division race should be fun with each team playing a division leader, a bubble team, and 2 spoilers. I feel the Devils should be able to get the division and most likely the 2 seed with tiebreakers. As long as they play like they did the last 2 games of course.

With the Flyers beating the Red Wings today, they look like a lock for the playoffs and even the 7th seed because of the wins tiebreaker (3 more than both Boston and the Rags with 1 more game played). But that home and home with the Rags should be interesting. One of them will make it unfortunately with Atlanta playing NJ, @WSH, PIT. Tough break for Bergs and Oduya.

Honestly, if the Devils are on their way to a surge, I don’t care who they play in the 1st round. Also, bring on the Capitals. Sure they score a lot, but they don’t give out a trophy for most goals forced in a season. And with Marty playing like he’s been playing, it becomes a defensive/goaltenders battle. Advantage: Devils.

by Matthew Ventolo on Apr 4, 2010 7:46 PM EDT reply actions

If there’s any team in the Eastern Conference that I’d want to avoid in the first round, it’d be the Flyers. The Devils simply cannot match their physicality, and it always bites them in the ass

by Jago on Apr 4, 2010 8:11 PM EDT reply actions

I hate this argument. It’s the same thing professional prognosticators have been saying all season (i.e. they can’t match the scoring of Pittsburgh or Washington and can’t match the physicality of the Flyers) about why the Devils aren’t true contenders.

Pittsburgh has owned the Flyers all year, and not by matching their physical play, but by being the better team. Trying to match a physical team’s physicality is playing into their hands, and is exactly why teams lose to physical teams.

If the Devils play the game we all know they can play, I worry far more about losing a player to the Flyers’ “physical play” (a euphemism for questionable/dirty hits) than losing the series.

That’s not to say the Devils wouldn’t have to be tough to get through the series, because they would, but they’ve played some physical games themselves this year and shown (me, at least) that they can be physical enough when they need to be.

by elesias on Apr 5, 2010 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions

You can’t play the “should we lose to avoid so-and-so in the opening round of the playoffs” game. Worry about winning the division first, and who you end up playing somewhere further down the line…. you can come up with a reason to want to play a specific team, and a reason not to play them almost without trying.

My preference is that I’d rather avoid Washington for as long as possible. Their offense can win a series on its own, and their goaltending can lose a series on its own. Then, there’s the fact that Washington has gagged away two pretty significant series leads (on home ice, no less) the last two years, and I wonder if they have the intangibles to avoid it a third time. All things being equal, however, I’d rather have others do our dirty work if possible, because the Capitals scare me in a way Pittsburgh does not, even if Pittsburgh knows us better and has been to the Finals the last two years.

The only concession I’ll make to the “do we take a game off” argument is the Sunday finale against Buffalo. If the Devils already have the division wrapped up, I’m not too particular about whether the Devils are the #2 seed or the #3 seed, so that might be a spot to rest a few guys (Brodeur included) if the opportunity presents itself. That’s several days away, however.

by acasser on Apr 4, 2010 9:56 PM EDT reply actions

Honestly, Devils have a playoff spot locked, so I don’t care who they end up with in the first round. If they wanna win the cup, that shouldn’t even matter. I’m just excited for playoff hockey again and to see how much Kovalchuk can help.

by undersuspicion426 on Apr 5, 2010 3:50 AM EDT reply actions

Just pointing out

that the Rangers could still play the Devils as well. If they win out, they could surpass the Flyers as well as the Bruins for 7th. I doubt they will be able to get sixth by passing the Canadians although it is mathematically possible. You did not mention Boston’s schedule, who has to play Washington twice, Buffalo and Carolina. This may not be relevant to where the Devils end up but it is relevant in predicting who they will face in the first round. If the Rangers end up in 8th, I doubt they will make it past Washington – there defense is too porous for the offense the Capitals can generate. If they end up in 7th, however, I don’t think the Devils want to end up in 2nd – I’d rather end up in 4th and play Ottawa (Devils are 3-1 against them over the season). In doing this, you may have to play the Capitals in the second round, but the Devils have done well against them this year and it would ensure that the Devils avoid the Rangers or Flyers for as long as possible. I think these are the teams to avoid since the Flyers have had the Devils number all season long and the Rangers have a lot of momentum now.

by NJPenguins08 on Apr 5, 2010 9:28 AM EDT reply actions