Random thoughts 10 days away

It's been a month: time for another post. 10 days away from the playoffs, and some random stats to throw out there:

-Det is 13-2-3 since Franzen returned

-The biggest knock on Phoenix as a Cup contender? Shootout wins: the future Jets have 12

-Jay Bouw is getting paid 2.22 million per goal, the highest in the league

-Alex Burrows is getting $57,142 per goal, the lowest for a non-rookie contract (Stamkos leads overall)

-A ballyhooed fact is that Ovechkin has been in the Art Ross hunt despite missing 10 games. Less noted is that he is 4th in ice time per game (21:48), while Hank is 45th (19:30), meaning their minutes played per point is almost identical (Sedin, 14.250. Ovechkin 14.248)

-Much has been made over the dominance by the West over the East. The 13th ranked Stars would be in 9th in the East. However, the argument has been made many times that the East is ismply uneven: that the best of the East can compete with the best of the West. Counting OTLs as losses (as they will be in the playoffs) however, only 3 eastern teams have a winning record against the West (Buffalo and the Islanders are 10-8, Washington is 9-8) and only 2 have a .500 record (Pittsburgh and Ottawa). In the West, only 3 teams have a sub .500 record: Dallas, Columbus, and Edmonton, who rank 13th thru 15 in the West