The third day of the Kings’ winter hibernation was fairly kind to them, I think. Here’s what happened yesterday…
Chicago 3, Detroit 0: WIN. The Blackhawks are still ahead of the Kings (and everyone else in the conference), but the Red Wings now remain six points behind the Kings, with only one game in hand.
St. Louis 3, Vancouver 1: WIN. The Blues still have three games in hand over the Kings, but they’re also 10 points behind the Kings. I’m of the mind that you want to keep a team behind you as long as possible. This loss keeps the Canucks seven points behind the Kings, with only one game in hand.
Today’s games, with the better Kings result in bold: Colorado at Minnesota, San Jose at Dallas, St. Louis at Edmonton, Columbus at Phoenix.
Hey Rich,
Is there any way to get an automatic email sent us when you update your site? I feel like I check your site every hour…lol
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Pretty interesting way to keep us all interested during this stretch of no games, Rich! Keep up the good work!
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So here’s this morning’s “estimate” of what the top ten teams in the standings could look like on the morning of Dec 26 (or, for that matter, Dec 24.) It is calculated based on teams winning an average of 1.3 points per road game and 1.6 points per home game, while the Kings don’t play at all.
Pos Team Games Pts
1 Chicago 36 52
2 San Jose 37 50
3 Colorado 39 49
4 Nashville 37 48
5 Los Angeles 37 47
6 Phoenix 38 47
7 Calgary 36 46
8 Dallas 37 44
9 Detroit 37 43
10 Vancouver 37 42
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I will be equally happy if San Jose loses.
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Rich,
Thanks for the update, but I’m not certain why you feel it’s better for the Kings for San Jose to win instead of Dallas. Wouldn’t it be better for Dallas to win in regulation, keeping the Sharks tied with the Kings in points but having one less game in hand?
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I agree. Dallas over San Jose is better. If SJ keeps losing, we could pass them back into 2nd without playing a game!
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@Tom in Colorado,
You can subscribe to the RSS feed in the RSS reader of your choice so that new posts are delivered directly to you. I like Google Reader: http://www.google.com/reader
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Thats a tough call, we would stay even with SAn Jose, but then we are inviting another gal(dallas) to the dance (top of the standings)
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For what it is worth, I like San Jose right where they are at 47 points. I would be perfectly content to see the Sharks stay at 47 points all week. As far as Dallas is concerned, I don’t mind them getting a few points because the Kings handle the Stars pretty well. We can create the separation when we beat them. That being said, I have no problem seeing Dallas lose to the Jackets or the Avs this week.
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Agreed, go Dallas.
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Only Phoenix can pass up the Kings, and they just might do it with facing Columbus and Anahiem at home.
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I agree with San Jose winning is a negative, and would add that Chicago beating Detroit is a negative as well. We should be looking at those ahead of us, not those behind us. To quote Satchel Paige, don’t look back, sumpin’ might be gainin’ on you.
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Three-point games.
What we really don’t want is three-point games. It looks like we’ve been fortunate so far with those since the Kings have been out of action. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall any overtime games.
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I don’t care what the other teams do. The fact that Smyth is back skating is good news. Any Simmonds update?
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