Today I mentioned on Twitter that I’ve been checking the NHL standings, like, 45,000 times a day. Almost instantly I got a ton of replies from other Sabres fans basically saying, “Yo, me too. I can’t stop gazing at the standings.” I’m not even sure why I’m so captivated by the standings, but man, I’m bewitched. It’s sounds like you are too.
Just in case you’re somehow not bewitched, here’s how things currently stand:
Don't look away... or blink. Stay focused.
It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The playoffs are finally starting to feel like a real thing- something that might actually happen. We still have a LONG way to go, and Lord knows nothing is set in stone (did you hear that, Hockey Gods? WE’RE NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANTED), but the Sabres have put themselves in a good position. Things are going well.
If you’re like me, you’re also quite fascinated by the graphs at Sports Club Stats that track the Sabres chances of making the playoffs. Right now, according to Sports Club Stats, the Sabres have a 91.6% chance of making the playoffs. That’s pretty good, especially considering that they had less than 6% chance on January 1st. They’ve come a long way.
This is a very appealing shape for a graph like this to be.
I’m still a fairly new fan, so I haven’t had any experience with charging towards the playoffs like this. This is exhilarating. I’m going to go so far as to say this is more fun than last year, when they made the playoffs with ease. The Sabres have clawed their way back into the hunt, and I’m incredibly proud of them. This season has been almost disorienting, and I mean that in a really, really positive way. There’s nothing quite like sloooowly realizing that you need to reconsider everything you thought you knew about your favorite team. Sometimes it feels great to be wrong.
One of the things I really like about this graph is how it’s such a complete picture of every twist and turn of the season so far.
But we haven’t crossed the finish line yet. There is still such a long way to go before they actually make the playoffs, and then, well… we’ll see.
You can do it, Sabres!
:)
Was there anything more fun that seeing **Carolina -16.7%** at sportsclubstats.com this morning? It was like Christmas morning.
Hahah! Dude, for real.
This was a total scream! Love it! Actually got my Monday off to a decent start! That second graph was HYSTERICAL!!! HURRAY FOR PEGULA DAY!!!
See you in the playoffs!
Thanks Musing Mary Jane! Sorry that your comment got stuck in the spam bin! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! PLAY-OFFS! PLAY-OFFS! PLAY-OFFS!
I love that graph. I think I will get it tattooed on my forehead. This has been a crazy season hasn’t it? Here’s hoping it lasts a while longer yet.
Love graphbits. I want all charts to have annotated comments like that.
If I had the skill, Katebits, I’d draw a graph with a line starting in the lower left corner measuring how much I continue to love your blog. The line would rise sharply into the upper right corner and continue infinitely into space.
AW! Hahaha! Nicest comment ever, ToonTom. Thank you! Now i want to graph everything…
Quit worrying, you guys will make the playoffs easy!
Hockey Gods, please note that this is my own comment and does not reflect the opinion of Katebits, the employees of Willful Caboose LLC, the Sabres fans, or the Sabres themselves.
Your interpretation of the graph is pure genius. Unfortunately, it led me to click over to Sports Club Stats (which I’d actually never heard of!) and take a look at Minnesota’s graph…
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Western/Northwest/Wild.html
My less sophisticated interpretation is as follows: HEYNOwww… hmmm… ugggggggh… heywaitaMINUTEohprobablynotBUTTHEYMIGHT… ohhhhh. oh. ew. fuuuck.