NATION DRAFTS 2015 CHARITY PLAYOFF POOL UPDATE

The Nation Network isn’t accustomed to playoff success. What else do you expect from a blog network based out of Edmonton?

We’re experts in the draft lottery though, and we know a thing or two about playoff pools – particularly the Nation Drafts charity playoff pool that we run annually. With the puck set to drop on the 2015 Stanley Cup Final this evening, let’s, look back at rounds one, two and three, and check out the progress that the Nation Network’s poolies are making in the competition!

Here’s how our top-10 leaderboard looks following the first round of competition:

With the Conference Final round in the books the Cape Breton Ice Dogs have built up a commanding 7 point lead, ahead of our second place poolie Rjayd2.

The Cape Breton Ice Dogs have a major lead, but they only have 7 players remaining for the Stanley Cup Final, so holding on to win could prove tough.

New to the Top 10, it appears Joker’s On You has the best roster for the Stanley Cup Finals, with 10 players remaining. Joker’s On You is currently tied for 6th and sits 10 points back of 1st place. If Joker’s On You is going to take the lead this round it will be on account of Tyler Johnson, Duncan Keith and Anton Stralman – three players that Cape Breton Ice Dogs doesn’t own.

At the bottom of the Top 10, look out for Moose Guy and Schultz’s Heroes. Both teams have 9 players left. Although they likely can’t takeover first position, expect both to make a run for the 3rd or 4th place money.

After solving Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist in back-to-back rounds, Tampa Bay is going to make Corey Crawford work for every save. Tampa’s offence has been consistently hot this postseason with Stamkos, Johnson, Kucherov, and Palat all notching 5 points in their last 5 games.

In Chicago, the trio of Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane have once again dominated the Western Conference in order to get to the Stanley Cup Final. Both Keith and Kane have 7 points in their last 5 games, while Toews has notched 6 points over the same span. Keith has been relied upon to play massive minutes during this cup run. The biggest challenge for Chicago’s defense will be maintaining their super-human endurance as they go up against one of the leagues’ best offensive teams.

After 3 long playoff rounds, only ImTopher has remained in the Top 10 after each round. With only 5 players remaining, if ImTopher wants to stay in the Top 10 after the final round, he’ll be hoping for a sweep. The longer this series goes, the more likely teams like Joker’s On You will climb to the top of the ranks.

It’s almost over folks. Who’s going to win the $1500 Prepaid Visa? We’ll find out after what promises to be an epic Stanley Cup Final.