I thought I would take a look at the schedules of the Tips, T-birds and Rockets, and see if I could predict a bit of the future. It turns out I'm no math whiz, so I can't, but maybe there are some folks (or accountants) out there who can play with these numbers and come up with a happy ending. Here's how it looks to date with each team's number of remaining games and versus the following:
Everett (9); vs Portland (2); vs Chilliwack (1)
Seattle (10); vs PG (2); vs Portland (2)
Kelowna (9); vs PG (1); vs Portland (1); vs Chilliwack (2)
As of today, Seattle has 77 points, Kelowna 76 and Everett 73.
Everett and Seattle play 3 games against each other, and Seattle and Kelowna play one final time in the regular season.
What remains are games against Spokane, Tri-City and Vancouver. If it can be assumed (and can we?) that Prince George, Portland and Chilliwack will be notches in everyone's belts, then it appears that Everett needs to win out and will still need help if they hope to secure 4th place and the final playoff position that offers home ice advantage in the first series. Then again, given how streaky Everett has been all season long, perhaps for this team, home ice advantage won't be a major factor anyway.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, the spotlight will shine on our number one netminder once again. As goes Irving, so goes Everett. However, Leland will need help, meaning that the Tips can't allow 35, 40 and 50+ shots per game and expect to win. Ellington and Alexander are sorely needed back to shore up a defense that has performed mostly on grit, emotion and luck, and the playoffs will take a toll on teams with injuries.
One final comment--at this point, I'm not even sure who I want to see Everett face in that first round. Thoughts, anyone?
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