All teams have played eight games each, so we're at the three-quarter mark of Season 3. If the playoffs were to begin today, the Vics and Comets would return to the championship series, as they're tied for first place with 9 points apiece. The Bulldogs and Thistles are right behind them with 7. Directionally, though, the Bulldogs are kind of a mess, with a -8 goal differential, lousy special teams, inconsistent goaltending, and star players who have been mired in terrible slumps. The line of Roberts, Stuart, and Dunderdale should be the best in the league, but these guys are getting stymied out there. The Thistles, meanwhile, are trending in a much better direction. It wouldn't surprise me if they leapfrogged over the slumping Victorias and stole a slot in the finals. Their efforts to improve defensively have really paid off, as they're averaging only 2.63 goals against so far this year (4.00 last year). If they can squeeze a bit more production out of snipers like Alf Smith and Tommy Phillips, they'll be a dangerous team as we enter the last quarter of the season. I'd love to see a Comets/Thistles playoff, but the two-time defending champs, the Victorias, can't be counted out just yet. Cyclone Taylor is on track to win his third straight scoring title, and the Vics have quite a few underperforming players; a bit of positive regression to the mean would give them enough juice to stumble their way back into the finals. And the Comets? They're tied for first in goals per game (3.13), first in goals allowed per game (2.38), first in power play percentage (23.81), and first in penalty killing percentage (86.67). Their +6 goal differential is also tops in the league. They're looking like a lock for the championship series.
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