After a shortened 2012-13 campaign which saw no inter-conference match-ups in the NHL, hockey fans have been quite happy to see some unfamiliar teams and long-awaited players come through their buildings during the first month of the season. Well fans of Western Conference teams at least, because the West has been absolutely dominating the East to this point in the season.
Collectively, teams in the Western Conference boasts a 66-26-10 record against the East prior to Friday night’s games. Anaheim, Colorado, Chicago and Vancouver already have seven victories each over their Eastern counterparts, while almost every other team in the West is above .500 against the East.
The only team who sports a losing record versus the East is the woeful Edmonton Oilers. In 16 total games thus far the Oilers have played 12 inter-conference games, but have just four wins to show for it (it’s worth nothing that those four wins represent the team’s total; they’ve yet to defeat a Western Conference opponent).
Meanwhile in the East, only five teams (Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Detroit and Boston) have winning records against the West, the other 11 clubs are a combined 17-45-11. Certainly a team like the Red Wings, who has a winning record against both Conferences, are quite happy to be moved over to the East where the competition is apparently lesser. However, you have to feel bad for the Winnipeg Jets, who moved over to the West this summer, and have an awful 4-8-1 record against their new conference opponents.
That’s a lot of numbers, but it’s pretty easy to see just from face value standings how good clubs from the Western Conference have been. Take the Canucks for example, who are currently 6th in the West with 22 points, a total that would tie the Penguins for first in the East. In fact, just two teams (the Penguins and Lightning) are in the top ten overall in the NHL standings.
For years now the West has been dominating the East in inter-conference play. In 2011-12 they were 136-93-41 overall against the East and in 2010-11 the record was even better: 142-88-49. Additionally, the West has captured three of the last four and five of the last seven Stanley Cup championships.
The question is, with so many of hockey’s brightest stars such as Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and many others playing out East, why can’t they seem to overcome the West?
One long-held theory is that the West plays a tighter-checking game that allows for less scoring opportunities and limits the abilities of some of these great players. However, that seems to be somewhat of a misnomer this season, as the top five scoring teams in the league are all from the West, while the worst five scoring teams are from the East. Additionally, when you look at the teams that allow the fewest goals against, you see Eastern teams like Boston, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Toronto in the top eight.
The difference may lie in nothing more than the relative strength of each Conference’s make-up. Columbus, New Jersey, Florida, Philadelphia and Buffalo have been, in a word, atrocious this season, not just against a Western opponent, but any opponent. You could probably add Carolina, Ottawa and the New York Rangers into that mix as Eastern teams that have sub .500 records overall.
Conversely, the West features only three teams, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton, who are below the .500 mark. Overall, six of the seven worst teams in the NHL come from the East, so it’s easy to see why the West is able to rack up the victories.
So while playing Western Conference opponents has been far from pleasant for the majority of Eastern teams, there is a silver lining. Before the season began, much was made of the new realignment and how teams in the Western Conference would have an easier path to the playoffs by virtue of having only 14 teams to the East’s 16. However that appears to not be the case thus far.
Take the Rangers for example. After their first game home from a brutal nine-game road trip to start the season, they were sitting with an unimpressive 3-7-0 record and a playoff position already seemed like a long shot. Three games and three wins later however, and the Rangers find themselves just one point out of eighth in the East.
So, with the relative weakness of the Eastern Conference, it looks like teams in the East will actually have an easier time making the playoffs, even if they are a bad team. Let’s face it, the Rangers are still struggling to adjust to life under a new coach, and their 14 points would have them tied for 12th in the West. But with the East as bad as it is they, and many other teams in the East, are able to mask their short-comings and just might have a chance to sneak into the post-season.
Whether they can defeat the Western Conference champion in the Stanley Cup Final however, well that’s another question entirely.
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