There are a lot of words that could be used to describe the Islanders’ season, but I’m supposed to keep this relatively clean, and using words that would make George Carlin blush would likely make this my last ever entry.
Greek mythology is being re-written, with the Sword of Damocles being replaced by the Contract of John Tavares. Jon Taffer needs to be brought in to explain how giving away so many shots is costing the team victories.
I know there is still a game left on Sunday afternoon, but these will be the final LHH Power Rankings of the 2017-2018 season.
Here’s what the pros said about us:
Entry # 5 - Feb 17, 2019
Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
Buffalo News | 2/16/2019 | 6 | 6 | Playoff site decision using both arenas is probably best compromise. |
The Hockey Guy | 2/16/2019 | 3 | 3 | There isn't a player on this roster that is not playing well. |
Brian Simmons | 2/15/2019 | 3 | 4 | |
ESPN | 2/14/2019 | 6 | 5 | What's so wrong about loving two goalies equally? Robin Lehner has gotten a bit more attention, but Thomas Greiss is only a slight step behind and has gone 4-0-1, saving 154 of 157 shots (.981 save percentage) in his past five games. |
SportsNet | 2/13/2019 | 4 | 4 | Trade Deadline Prediction: Trader upgrader… we’re guessing. Lou Lamoriello’s lips are sealed like the Ark of the Covenant, but the GM has to reward a group that has rocked the Metropolitan, doesn’t he? While his lack of a 2019 third- or fourth-round pick gives us reason to think he’d be hesitant to let go of a first or second as well, the Islanders should be in the mix for the high-end forwards that become available. |
NBC | 2/11/2019 | 7 | 7 | The Islanders are a perfect 9-0 in the second half of back-to-backs. |
CBS | 2/6/2019 | 6 | 6 | They're legitimate. They beat who they're supposed to and give the real ones a fight. Barry Trotz really got this defense up to par. |
NJ.com | 2/5/2019 | 5 | 5 | A 1-0 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning provided another example of how the Islanders can hang with the league's top teams. After being the NHL's worst defense in 2017-18, things have turned around dramatically on Long Island. |
The Metro
How bad was the Metropolitan Division this year? It’s the only division whose LHHPR results didn’t closely mirror real life. As expected, Washington ended up on top (8th overall) by a fairly wide margin, but second place (13th) was a tie between New Jersey and Philadelphia. The Penguins dropped to 4th (15th), and Columbus ended 5th (18th). Using the LHH formula, the Blue Jackets would have missed the playoffs, losing the last wild card spot to Florida. Rounding out the rest, Carolina 6th (21st), the Islanders 7th (24th) and the Rangers 8th (27th). A lot of the change can be attributed to the LHH formula counting games not settled in regulation as ties.
Metro - 100.5
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
1 | New York Islanders | 58 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 72 | 116.0 | 4 | 115.6 | 4 |
2 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 57 | 33 | 23 | 1 | 67 | 109.7 | 7 | 105.2 | 10 |
3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 58 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 61 | 107.6 | 10 | 112.3 | 7 |
WC1 | Carolina Hurricanes | 59 | 30 | 26 | 3 | 63 | 102.8 | 13 | 96.5 | 18 |
WC2 | Washington Capitals | 58 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 62 | 102.6 | 14 | 100.4 | 12 |
12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 58 | 25 | 30 | 3 | 53 | 90.0 | 22 | 88.0 | 26 |
14 | New York Rangers | 57 | 19 | 30 | 8 | 46 | 87.7 | 25 | 85.8 | 26 |
15 | New Jersey Devils | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 87.6 | 26 | 88.7 | 25 |
The Atlantic
Not much change, again. Boston finished on top, with Tampa on their heels. Both clubs were in the league’s top 5. Toronto finished third (7th), and Florida in 4th (17th). The other 4 teams were 2⁄3 of the bottom 6 in the league, including spots 29, 30 and 31.
Atlantic - 102.0
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 59 | 40 | 14 | 5 | 85 | 128.3 | 1 | 126.2 | 1 |
2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 | 36 | 22 | 0 | 72 | 117.6 | 3 | 117.5 | 3 |
3 | Boston Bruins | 59 | 32 | 24 | 3 | 67 | 107.5 | 11 | 100.2 | 14 |
9 | Montreal Canadiens | 58 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 60 | 101.9 | 15 | 100.2 | 14 |
10 | Buffalo Sabres | 57 | 24 | 28 | 5 | 53 | 94.6 | 18 | 96.0 | 19 |
11 | Florida Panthers | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 49 | 94.0 | 20 | 93.2 | 21 |
13 | Detroit Red Wings | 59 | 21 | 31 | 7 | 49 | 88.2 | 24 | 89.2 | 23 |
16 | Ottawa Senators | 58 | 22 | 36 | 0 | 44 | 84.1 | 31 | 81.7 | 31 |
The West
Not going to write too much here. The Predators took the top spot, as in real life. Winnipeg came in second. The formula got all 8 playoff teams correct.
Central - 100.7
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
1 | Nashville Predators | 61 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 68 | 110.8 | 6 | 114.7 | 6 |
2 | St. Louis Blues | 57 | 30 | 26 | 1 | 61 | 109.7 | 7 | 101.2 | 11 |
3 | Winnipeg Jets | 59 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 71 | 109.0 | 9 | 115.4 | 5 |
WC1 | Dallas Stars | 58 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 60 | 104.8 | 12 | 108.8 | 9 |
WC2 | Minnesota Wild | 58 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 55 | 95.1 | 17 | 100.4 | 12 |
11 | Colorado Avalanche | 58 | 23 | 34 | 1 | 47 | 88.8 | 23 | 92.3 | 22 |
12 | Chicago Blackhawks | 59 | 23 | 34 | 2 | 48 | 86.6 | 27 | 85.1 | 30 |
Pacific - 96.9
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
1 | Calgary Flames | 58 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 74 | 119.2 | 2 | 118.8 | 2 |
2 | San Jose Sharks | 59 | 35 | 21 | 3 | 73 | 115.4 | 5 | 111.6 | 8 |
3 | Vegas Golden Knights | 60 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 63 | 98.8 | 16 | 99.4 | 16 |
9 | Arizona Coyotes | 58 | 24 | 31 | 3 | 51 | 94.1 | 19 | 93.8 | 20 |
10 | Vancouver Canucks | 60 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 52 | 92.6 | 21 | 98.6 | 17 |
13 | Los Angeles Kings | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 85.2 | 28 | 86.4 | 28 |
14 | Anaheim Ducks | 58 | 19 | 34 | 5 | 43 | 84.9 | 29 | 89.1 | 24 |
15 | Edmonton Oilers | 58 | 21 | 34 | 3 | 45 | 84.7 | 30 | 87.4 | 27 |
Changes are coming...
For next year, I’m tweaking the formula to bring you New Coke count only games that go to shootouts as ties. Here’s a look at how the standings would have been if that change had been in place all year, along with the standings the formula would produce:
New Formula
Team | GP | W | L | T | LHH Pts | LHH Rating | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | GP | W | L | T | LHH Pts | LHH Rating | Rank |
Nashville Predators | 82 | 48 | 22 | 12 | 108 | 125.3 | 1 |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 48 | 26 | 8 | 104 | 118.0 | 2 |
Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 101 | 117.2 | 3 |
Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 48 | 28 | 6 | 102 | 116.9 | 4 |
Boston Bruins | 81 | 47 | 28 | 6 | 100 | 114.0 | 5 |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 45 | 33 | 4 | 94 | 108.6 | 6 |
Minnesota Wild | 82 | 42 | 34 | 6 | 90 | 108.2 | 7 |
Washington Capitals | 82 | 45 | 33 | 4 | 94 | 108.2 | 7 |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 93 | 108.1 | 9 |
Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 40 | 31 | 11 | 91 | 107.4 | 10 |
Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 43 | 36 | 3 | 89 | 107.0 | 11 |
Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 89 | 105.0 | 12 |
Columbus Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 33 | 9 | 89 | 104.5 | 13 |
San Jose Sharks | 82 | 40 | 34 | 8 | 88 | 103.6 | 14 |
Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 85 | 103.4 | 15 |
New Jersey Devils | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | 102.9 | 16 |
St. Louis Blues | 82 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 85 | 101.1 | 17 |
Florida Panthers | 81 | 40 | 35 | 6 | 86 | 100.0 | 18 |
Calgary Flames | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 78 | 99.1 | 19 |
Dallas Stars | 82 | 38 | 37 | 7 | 83 | 98.7 | 20 |
Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 32 | 44 | 6 | 70 | 91.9 | 21 |
Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 33 | 43 | 6 | 72 | 91.0 | 22 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 32 | 47 | 3 | 67 | 91.0 | 22 |
New York Islanders | 82 | 32 | 44 | 6 | 70 | 90.3 | 24 |
Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 31 | 46 | 5 | 67 | 89.6 | 25 |
New York Rangers | 82 | 31 | 43 | 8 | 70 | 88.8 | 26 |
Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 27 | 48 | 7 | 61 | 84.7 | 27 |
Ottawa Senators | 82 | 26 | 47 | 9 | 61 | 82.9 | 28 |
Montreal Canadiens | 82 | 27 | 48 | 7 | 61 | 78.2 | 29 |
Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 25 | 52 | 5 | 55 | 78.1 | 30 |
Buffalo Sabres | 82 | 24 | 55 | 3 | 51 | 76.3 | 31 |
We can only guess as to what next season hold in store for us. GM For Life Snow will do something (doing nothing is doing something), whichever two unlucky sods we draft are already ruined. In fact, the top 15 eligible picks are already ruined just because we could conceivably win the lottery twice. We’ll get to see John Tavares at least twice next year... those of us who manage to stick around, that is.