[grooveless touque]

I hated that seeding rule too, especially back in the middle of the season...back then, tampa bay was 1st in the division but ELEVEN points behind the other two division leaders in the east. ELEVEN! And they were going to be one of the top three seeds!

I like Tampa Bay, and I am very happy that in the end, they EARNED their top three seed. When you play against the four weakest teams in the NHL, it's practically a gift for the top seed. In the end, of course, they played extremely well and became first in the east, but for a while there, Tampa Bay looked like they might make it into the top three seeds with fewer points than the 9th place team, which wouldn't have made the playoffs.

[farmerdan]

When you play against the four weakest teams in the NHL, it's practically a gift for the top seed. In the end, of course, they played extremely well and became first in the east, but for a while there, Tampa Bay looked like they might make it into the top three seeds with fewer points than the 9th place team, which wouldn't have made the playoffs.

yeah the funny thing is, they played worse against their horrible division. they were 13-8-3-0 in their division and 33-14-3-6 against non-division teams

[grooveless touque]

Wow, I didn't realize that. I knew they were almost perfect on their Westner road trips, but that road record is really impressive.

It's hard to believe Atlanta busted out of the gate at the beginning of the seaosn and looked like sure-fire winners of the division title. In the end they made me look like a putz because I picked them as my breakout team of the season. But I guess it's OK, because my friend picked COLUMBUS!!