WEEK 24 (thru Friday)

At a glance all appears well with the Wild Ducks as they're leading the chase for the FHL Cup - and they're also beating the Central Red Army in the semifinals of the playoffs. A closer look however suggests that the seemingly impervious Wild Ducks are ripe for the picking; John Tavares suffering a serious hamstring injury on Friday, the superstar forward joining fellow superstars Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin on the shelf.

The Battle for the FHL Cup
The Wild Ducks padded their lead on Friday but there is no joy in Ducksville, GM Collard's once soaring team now limping to the finish line. With the tide turning in their favor, the Ice Hogs have nine game-packed days to make up ground, trailing the suddenly vulnerable Ducks by 31.8 points.

The Bout for the Money
The Bluliners were the beneficiary of three Patrick Kane assists, GM Hamilton's squad posting the best Friday score. The scoop: The Misconducts are still in 3rd place but saw their lead over the Bluliners reduced to 3.5 points. The Central Red Army trail the money by 11.6 points while the Ice Cats are now 18.4 points behind the green.

The Scrap for the Laughing Bag
It's starting to look bleak for the Boulder Flyers as they were shoved even deeper into the basement on Thursday, GM maybe-I-should-change-my-name Morgan now 5.3 points behind the 11th place Between the Pipes.

Semifinals, H2H Playoffs

Wild Ducks: 44.2
Central Red Army: 32.6­
The Central Red Army fired blanks on Friday, the underdog team now trailing the wounded Ducks by 11.6 points with two days remaining in the week.

Misconducts: 29.2
Ice Cats: 41.3­
The Misconducts potted 4.6 points on Friday but they'll have to perform better to catch and pass the Ice Cats, GM Cutshall's cushion still relatively thick at 12.1 points.

LINK: Standings