The Home Stretch!

We've passed the three-quarter mark! Season 5 of my pre-modern hockey league is careening toward an exciting end to the regular season. Here are a few key storylines I'll be watching as the teams make their push for the playoffs...

• Three Tiers: The teams have settled into three distinct tiers, with the Thistles and Millionaires vying for first place and therefore the crucial bye into the Creighton Cup Finals; the Bulldogs and Victorias as deeply flawed teams struggling to snag the third and last playoff spot; and the Comets suffering through a wire-to-wire stint in the basement. 
• Photo Finish: Four players are in contention for the scoring title, with Dan Bain (11 G, 11 A), Barney Stanley (11 G, 11 A), Cyclone Taylor (7 G, 15 A), and Hod Stuart (5 G, 16 A) all within a point of each other. One of these four will most almost certainly take home that trophy, and I'd say Bain and Stanley are co-frontrunners for the Forward MVP, while Taylor and Stuart are co-frontrunners for the Defenseman MVP. Multiple trophies up for grabs!
• Record Breakers: The single-season record for points (32), assists (18), and plus/minus (+13) might all be broken this year. (Not surprisingly, we haven't seen a single shutout so far!) On the other end of the spectrum, the record for worst plus/minus (-10) and most penalty minutes (28) might also be set. 
• Race to the Bottom: Somebody has to win Rookie of the Year, right? Top contenders Duke Keats (6 G, 4 A, -6) and Frank Foyston (4 G, 7 A, -11) have produced well enough offensively, but they both rank among the league's worst in plus/minus.