Six games to go, and The Tank is back in full effect. And, the Jackets are getting some help! Thanks to a 7-4-1 run, the Maple Leafs have come back to the pack, and are actually now in 29th place. Edmonton remains the black hole from which no good hockey can escape… even with generational players on their roster. Here’s how things are looking as of this morning:
| Team | Pts | GP | ROW |
| Calgary | 70 | 76 | 30 |
| Winnipeg | 69 | 76 | 29 |
| Columbus | 68 | 76 | 24 |
| Vancouver | 67 | 76 | 23 |
| Toronto | 67 | 76 | 22 |
| Edmonton | 67 | 79 | 26 |
Some things of note:
- ROW – This actually works in the Jackets’ favor somewhat compared to Edmonton. Toronto, Vancouver, and Columbus are all so far below the others in ROW with so few games to go that, should a bunch of teams end up tied at the end of the season, ROW will come into play in a big way.
- There’s some hope that Edmonton can fall back to the pack a bit, despite their inexplicable lead in games played. By one measure I saw that compared all teams’ remaining strength of schedule (based off of opponents’ winning percentage), the Oilers have the easiest schedule remaining in the league at 38%. The Jets are at 52% (8th), the Flames at 49% (18th), and the Canucks (22nd), Leafs (24th), and Jackets (26th) are all at 47%.
- There are, interestingly, quite a few head to head matchups, with only the Jets having a “clean” schedule the rest of the way. So, *somebody* is getting some points the rest of the way. Consider:
April 2nd: Flames at Oilers
April 6th: Blue Jackets at Maple Leafs
April 6th: Canucks at Oilers
April 7th: Canucks at Flames
April 9th: Oilers at Canucks
It’s a real limp to the finish!