VHL European Conference at the 1/3 Mark of the Season

[JCarson 701]

VHL European Conference  

 

Depending on the team the VHL is somewhere between 24 and 26 games, which is about 1/3 of the way through the season. At this point it looks like there is becoming a division between the top five teams and the rest. Now, please do not get me wrong, I fully understand that anything can happen, I would not suggest at this point that there is a team that is out of playoff contention, but it does look like the gap is widening which will make it more difficult for the bottom teams to push back into the playoff race. 

As of 11:30am EST Sunday Nov 27, 2022, when I am writing this the standings look as follows: 

 

HC Davos with 35 points 

Warsaw and Prague have 33 points 

Moscow has 29 points 

London has 28 points 

Helsinki has 22 points 

Malmo has 20 points 

Riga has 17 points 

 

What will be interesting to see over the remaining 2/3 of the season is how the race for 1st in the European conference plays out and how the race for 3rd plays out. 

 

The other point of interest will be the scoring differential. Currently HC Davos sitting in first place has 67 goals for and 61 goals against. While Warsaw, who sits in second place, has 89 goals for and 67 goals against. Prague, who holds third place, has 85 goals for and 73 goals against. It looks like Prague and Warsaw are having an easier time scoring and this may assist them in pushing HC Davos out of first place by season end. On the other hand, HC Davos is doing well at controlling other teams' scoring and may secure first place because of their defensive prowess. 

 

All that said I am not writing either Moscow or London off at this point, either of them could have a surge in production and could easily push their way up the standings. This is shaping up to be a great VHL season.