The NHL

You know what's scary? Looking at the Western Conference

Every team in the West is playoff worthy the way they're playing right now.

Nashville and Minnesota have been consistent low seeds the past few years with a drop-off recently. Nashville is in 4th while Minnesota is 4 points out of 8th place, currently in 11th. Those are the 2 worst teams (in my opinion) in the West.

The teams behind Minnesota? In this order: Anaheim (35 points), Columbus (35 points), Edmonton (34 points), St. Louis (33 points). 3 of those 4 teams were in the playoffs last year, with Edmonton getting beat out by Anaheim in the last couple of days of the season. With Hemsky out for the season, maybe the Oilers are not playoff bound this year either. But it really is surprising to see the other teams rounding out the bottom of the barrel.

Just a year ago, the Predators, Kings, and Coyotes were pretty much free wins. Today, they are 4th, 5th, and 7th respectively. Nashville has one of the best road records in the NHL, the Kings have finally played to their potential, and the Coyotes have the 2nd fewest goals against in the Conference, behind Chicago with an astounding 71 GA (the Yotes have 83).

Honestly, every single team in the West can be argued for deserving a playoff spot this year.

Looking out East... Carolina is dead last with 24, and the Flyers are surprisingly 2nd to last with 32 points. Outside of them, the standings aren't too surprising, with the Islanders, Maple Leafs, and Lightning all tied for 13th place with 33 points. Those teams are pretty much free wins on any given night (unless they're playing each other).

The West is pretty freaking crazy.