8. Avs - 84 points
9. Preds - 82 points
10.  Oil - 81 points

I still think the Preds have the inside track since the Northwest teams could very well derail one another.  The Preds only face the Wings once more in their final game of the season.  A playoff berth could be on the line.

Posted by Dave on 03/22/08 at 04:49 PM ET

I agree. I was just arguing with someone about that, actually. I wouldn’t count the Preds out yet, looking at the NW Division mess.

Which I imagine must make Wings fans giddy… even if Nashville makes it to the playoffs, they’d likely be roadkill in a Wings/Preds series.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/22/08 at 04:56 PM ET

With the playoffs you never know but after Leopold and Poile gutted the Preds this offseason you’d think they’d struggle to make it out of the first round.

Quenneville ain’t exactly angling for a Jack Adams trophy and Colorado’s goaltending leaves much to be desired.  I just hope the Wings don’t lose that #1 seed to the Sharks.  They are just ridiculous with how they are playing right now.

I look forward to seeing Luongo try and cool them off. 

Posted by Dave on 03/22/08 at 05:05 PM ET

After they were gutted last summer, it’s a miracle they’re even in the running for a berth at all.  Barry Trotz can clearly make wine out of vinegar… just maybe not great wine.

As for the Luongo crack… we’ll see. Frankly, there’s no one in the playoffs that any Canucks fan could possibly want to face. It’s all rather frightening. 

So I’m sorta hoping someone just gives my team a ‘bye’ into the second round.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/22/08 at 05:12 PM ET

No crack on Luongo.  Trust me, as us Red Wings fans are relying on the Czech Miracle of Insanity as IWOcpo has named Hasek.  He hasn’t exactly been a Vezina candidate this season.

I think Poile is a great GM for Nashville and that Trotz has done a decent job.  What does it tell you when Poile turned down overtures from Toronto to stay in Nashville?

My guess is it means that a franchise that was as good as dead at the time was still more appealing than dealing with MLSE board.

Posted by Dave on 03/22/08 at 05:35 PM ET

8. Avs - 84 points
9. Preds - 82 points
10.  Oil - 81 points

I still think the Preds have the inside track since the Northwest teams could very well derail one another.

You may very well be right, Dave. Let’s update those standings…

8. Avs - 84 points
9. Preds - 84 points
10.  Oil - 83 points

And here’s an interesting quote from Quenville after today’s game…

“We lost three tough games, all one-goal games.

The last of which they lost 7-5. Ah, Joel, maybe you should check with someone about that goal-differential thing.

Maybe the Dive can’t win because the coach can’t count. 

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/22/08 at 06:57 PM ET

Dave— There are quite a lot of dental procedures I’d rather undergo—sans painkillers—before having to answer professionally to MLSE. 

OlderThanChelios— Your quote from Quenneville (ie. “We lost three tough games, all one-goal games”) is particularly fun given that they’ve lost 4 straight games, and only <u>one</u> of them was a 1-goal loss.

I’ll assume he’s setting aside empty-netter goals or whatever.  But still… that’s a whole lotta counting problems.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/22/08 at 07:08 PM ET

I put up a post like that way before AD did.  Like, a whole two minutes or so.  But I certainly wasn’t changing my post even with the ill-fated comeback

We all know our coach is clueless.  Either that or he just doesn’t give a rats you-know-what. His quotes just prove it.  He’s all about “close” and “good enough” and “lucky bounces” 

Q doesn’t appear to have a shred of passion left in his body although I hear he wasn’t that passionate of a player either.

Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 03/22/08 at 07:14 PM ET

Shane— “But I certainly wasn’t changing my post even with the ill-fated comeback”

Of course you wouldn’t - you’re a hockey blogger (!!) and thus stand behind your rants even if/when they sometimes come back to haunt you… unlike far-too-many members of our illustrious hockey media. 

Although, I shouldn’t point to Dater in particular—I can’t honestly say I’ve seen him do it—but plenty of others are certainly bad about making those little ‘alterations’ when it suits them.  (Plus, I suppose there are a couple of notable exceptions in blogging, too. Eklund is notorious for altering posts without accounting for the changes… but that’s a subject for another day).

Is Quenneville passionless? I never really got that before. But, like OlderThanChelios, I am starting to wonder about his math skills.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/22/08 at 07:32 PM ET

Quenneville stinks i have lost count of how many times this team has entered a important game with zero passion.

Posted by cupster33 on 03/22/08 at 07:45 PM ET

Dater’s good about not altering his stuff.  He has deleted a post or two but that’s been about his editors/bosses, not his personal choice.  Heck, he’s left up some posts that were clearly written on a whim and contained a few…well, let’s call them “untruths”.

As for Quenneville, he tends to bring his passion out at the wrong time.  Today, he stood with his hands in his pocket all game long.  Then when the refs awarded the empty net goal on the Stastny hook, he decided to blow up.  Yeah, 10 seconds left in the game is the time to get angry cause that’s when you’re going to turn things around.  Yeesh.

Posted by Shane from Saskatoon on 03/22/08 at 07:48 PM ET

As for Quenneville, he tends to bring his passion out at the wrong time.  Today, he stood with his hands in his pocket all game long.

Gee, that sounds like a Wings head coach that we’ve all come to love…and quickly forget. Why Mr. I. thought Mr. Moustache was an NHL head coach is beyond me. Thank God we’ve got a coach that at least knows how to throw the refs a wry smile when they screw up.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/22/08 at 08:31 PM ET

“Thank God we’ve got a coach that at least knows how to throw the refs a wry smile when they screw up.”

Babcock?  I don’t think that’s a wry smile. I think that’s just glimpses into his confusion as he contemplates the possibilities for the following day’s lunch menu… or God-only-knows what.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/22/08 at 09:37 PM ET

I’ve never, ever seen a worse looking power play, and for that there is no good explanation.

He’s obviously not seen the Rangers’ power play.  Jagr, Shanahan, Drury, Gomez…and they can’t buy a goal (something like 1-for-the-last-25).

Posted by K24 from NYC on 03/22/08 at 10:08 PM ET

I think that’s just glimpses into his confusion as he contemplates the possibilities for the following day’s lunch menu… or God-only-knows what.

Well, my dear cherubic one, Babs in no Vigneault, that’s for sure. Oh, wait. That would be a plus, wouldn’t it?

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/22/08 at 10:37 PM ET

Wow, a couple of weeks ago Adrienne was waxing about how the Avs would beat Detroit in the first round.

Now he understands how bad that hockey team is.

Terrible writer. Mediocre knowledge of the game. And what’s worse is that he’s too cowardly to admit he was wrong, and that us childish message board/blog types were right.

Posted by Nathan on 03/23/08 at 09:25 AM ET

That’s not a wry smile.

He’s just hiding the fact that he is trying to decide whether to use the chef’s knife or the bread knife from his kitchen when he “discusses” the quality of the officiating with league officials. 

(Or he’s trying to figure out how a biped with so few neurons devoted to sight can still manage to skate without running into things more often.  My theory is a lateral line system - it works with fish!)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/23/08 at 10:39 AM ET