Is the West the Best?
Three of the four hottest NHL teams over the last month are Western Conference clubs: Anaheim, Nashville and San Jose. So, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that the Western Conference is 109-80-17 (or 109-97) in that span, while the Eastern Conference is 99-89-22 (or 99-111). In head-to-head meetings dating to Nov. 19, the West has won three of every four matchups with the East, posting an 18-6-0 record. For the season, 10 of 14 Western Conference clubs have yet to lose to a team from the East, and those 10 teams have combined to go 15-0-0. Only Dallas and Minnesota -- both 0-2-0 -- have failed to beat an Eastern Conference club and have been saddled with more than a single loss. Meanwhile, New Jersey (0-4-1) and Carolina (0-3-1) have had the most trouble against the West, and five other clubs -- Atlanta, Florida, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Toronto -- have lost their one Western Conference encounter in 2006-07. Only 2-2-0 Ottawa has more than a single win against the West. So, is there any doubt the West is the dominant conference? After lowly St. Louis ended an 11-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh Tuesday night, maybe the answer is no.
Comments
Of course the west is the best but you have also failed to mention that because the west is so competative that maybe we should look at changing the sheduel so that teams get to see everyone more in a year so that teams like Calgary are not stuck playing the Oilers 10 or more times a year. Our confrence has a point difference of three or 4 when teams like Detroit get to beat up on St Louis and Chicago all the time and don't have as much of a challenge no wonder they are top of the division every year. Bettman needs to pull his head out of his ass and change the sheduel back to the way it was and maybe scrap some of these retartded rules and give us our game back. Canada loves the game the way it is Bettman leave it alone it was just as exciting to watch a 1-0 game as it is to watch a 7-6 game. Now all we can do is feel sorry for the goalies that have to put up with the speed and open play. And not to mention the fact that the defensman are scared to push in front of the net for fear of a penalty let them play. GIVE US OUR GAME BACK!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Stax | December 20, 2006 06:32 PM
So how does Carolina running over Anaheim fit into this story (and Carolina was coming off of playing Buffalo the the night before) ? "West is best, East is least" is old news and a tired story line.
Posted by: Hurricane Hockey | January 1, 2007 12:42 AM
First of all to Stax the game is better how it is now. It is drawing fans who didn't like hockey before and the teams is saving money by not having to fly teams across country as often. Keep the schedule and rules and Hurricanes hockey is right too. West is best is an old story.
Posted by: Go hurricanes | January 4, 2007 12:00 AM
Oh and I forgot about this. Even though 3 of the top teams are Western Conference try looking at the bottom of the scale. 4 out of the 5 worst teams in the league are from the west.
Anaheim
Buffalo
Detroit
Nashville
Atlanta
Phoenix
Columbus
Los Angeles
St. Louis
Philidelphia
Posted by: Go hurricanes | January 4, 2007 12:06 AM
It's a valid point that the imbalanced schedule favoring play within divisions allows Detroit and Nashville to beat up on Columbus and St. Louis, though the same can be said about Atlanta and Carolina getting so many matchups with Washington, Tampa Bay and Florida. Where would the Hurricanes be without 10 wins in 13 games within their division? Though the gap has been closed a bit, the Western Conference still has won 48 of 83 games against the East, and only five of 15 clubs from the West have losing records against the East. St. Louis, Los Angeles and Phoenix, who are among the four worst teams in the West standings, are 9-2-1 against the East. They've beaten some solid teams, too, including the Rangers, Islanders, Sabres and Devils.
Posted by: TH | January 4, 2007 08:04 PM
As a Columbus fan, it's frustrating to watch a decent team have to play against the league's best game after game. The BlueJackets are having a difficult time earning the respect they deserve because of the great teams the current schedule forces them to play against. We do, however, have to remember that if Columbus played more Eastern teams, the rest of the Western Conference would also be playing more Eastern teams. It makes you wonder if it would make a difference or not.
Posted by: Jackets Fan | January 6, 2007 02:47 PM
Maybe it wouldn't make a big difference, but it wouldn't hurt the BlueJackets if they played more games outside of their division. The Central Division is one of three divisions that has two teams with more than 50 points. This season Columbus is 1-6-0 against division rivals Nashville and Detroit, two of the three top Western Conference clubs in points. The Jackets are 15-15-4 in all other games. Playing the likes of Nashville and Detroit repeatedly takes its toll. Since play resumed after the lockout, Columbus is 2-8-2 against the Red Wings, 3-8-0 facing the Predators.
Posted by: TH | January 6, 2007 06:04 PM