VHLM playoff teams are all but set

[hockeyis66 143]

With most VHLM teams having 9 or 10 games left in the season, both conference’s top 4 teams are set for the playoffs but there still is a little bit of playoff seeding that needs to take place over the final 10% of the season.

 

In the Eastern Conference, Halifax, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Ottawa will all make the playoffs.  Ottawa is locked into the 4^th seed and will face a team in the first round that will have more than double the wins and points than they did on the season.  Philly is locked into the 3^rd spot in the conference and will be a formidable opponent for either of the the top 2 teams.  In 14 games against those 2 teams, Philly does only have 1 regulation and 1 overtime win against them but the playoffs are a whole different matter as we have seen in the past.

 

Not only are Halifax and Minnesota fighting for the top spot in the conference, but also for the top spot in the league with Yukon.  Halifax does have a 3 point lead over Minnesota and Halifax does have 1 game in hand with 10 to play, but Minnesota has slowly been chipping away at their lead here in the second half of the season.  The teams do play each other twice in the final stretch of the season and Minnesota just defeated Halifax 3 to 1.  In the 6 games against each other this season, both teams have won twice in regulation and each team has won once in a shootout.

 

In the Western Conference, Yukon, San Diego, Saskatoon and Houston have all clinched playoff spots.  Yukon is currently locked into the first spot with a 13 point lead over second place San Diego.  Yukon also has a 5 point lead over Halifax for the most points in the league as well.  Yukon has won 5 out of 8 against Houston and 6 out of 7 against Saskatoon, but is only 3 and 3 against San Diego.  San Diego has also done well against Houston winning 5 out of 6, but Saskatoon has had their number this season as San Diego only had 2 wins in 7 games against them.

 

The real battle in this conference is for the 3^rd spot between Houston and Saskatoon.  Both teams have just 9 games left on the season and Saskatoon has a 4 point lead.  The two teams do not play each other the rest of the season and that is probably a good thing for Saskatoon since Houston won 6 out of the 8 games the two teams played including 5 in regulation.  Both teams have 5 home games left and Houston might have the tad bit easier schedule especially since they finish the season with 3 straight games against Ottawa even though 2 of them are on the road.  Both teams face some of teams ahead of them in the standings.

 

Yukon has a 5 point lead over Halifax and a 8 point lead over Minnesota for the top spot in the league.  Yukon has had trouble against the other teams that have over 90 points on the season and that will include San Diego as well.  It will be interesting to see how and if this plays out in the playoffs.  In the East, is the conference final destined to be Halifax v Minnesota or will Philly ruin that party by upsetting one of them in the first round?  Over in the West, the conference is Yukon’s to lose and which of other 3 playoff teams will take them to the limit?

[Smarch 2,995]

Review: 

 

Good overview of the seeding race for the VHLM playoffs. As someone that isn't in the VHLM this was a great recap of what to expect come playoff time for matchups. Pictures included helped the article , but some color and title would make this media spot really pop. 

 

8.5/10