HailToTheDeacons
Fantasy Sheep Champion
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The Canes look great! I'm not sure it mattered what division they got placed in - they're a top team. But speaking of competitive divisions...(from The Athletic)
The East Division is a gauntlet, featuring one of the most fascinatingly cruel playoff races in recent memory. A very good team is going to miss the playoffs.
Here’s what the top five teams would currently be on pace for in a normal 82-game season.
1 New York Islanders 114
2 Washington Capitals 112
3 Boston Bruins 107
4 Philadelphia Flyers 103
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 102
The margins are razor thin, every game already matters and it wouldn’t be a shock to see a team with a 100-point calibre season miss the playoffs – that’s how difficult this division is. In the Central, the fifth-best team is on pace for 82 points, in the North, it’s 79 and in the West, it’s 92 points (and I doubt the Kings keep it up).
The competition is fierce in the East and pretty much non-existent everywhere else. It’s led to some rather comical playoff probabilities where all five have been above 50 percent since mid-February. At one point, all five were at 70 percent or higher.