WEEK 23 (FINAL)

There were no surprises on the final day of the week as all the leaders maintained their position. Erik Karlsson and his Wild Ducks advanced and will next face Mark Scheifele and the Central Red Army. The other semifinal battle finds Nikita Kucherov and the Ice Cats facing off against the playoff's number one seed, the Nicklas Backstrom-infused Misconducts.

Round One, H2H Playoffs

Wild Ducks: 53.1
Bluliners: 36.1­
The Wild Ducks defeated the Bluliners with one Malkin tied behind their back, the shorthanded Ducks coasting to a 17.0 point victory. The Bluliners offered no resistance on the final day, failing to pot a single point. As such, the Ducks advanced to the semifinals while the ousted Bluliners will now turn their attention to the overall standings.

Central Red Army: 37.8
SC Cobras: 25.3­
The SC Cobras posted the worst score of the week, falling hard in the opening round of the playoffs. With one of the lower scores, the limping Central Red Army were fortunate to advance, outpointing their opponent by 12.5. Next, the Army will try to regroup as they enter the semifinal round of the playoffs, while the snakes - with their tail between their legs (if snakes had legs) - will take to the links.

Ice Cats: 60.5
Ice Hogs: 44.2­
The Ice Hogs were no match for the Ice Cats high-powered offense, GM Cutshall's one-sided team skating to an easy 16.3 point win. Despite their lot in the overall standings, the hot-handed Cats have a real chance to capture the H2H crown and it's $100 prize. Even though they lost, it wasn't all doom and gloom in Hogsville, the team still in the chase for the FHL's big prize.

The Battle for the FHL Cup
The Wild Ducks carded 7.0 points on Sunday, again outpointing the Ice Hogs, GM Collard extending his lead to 19.8 points. From there it's beginning to look like a two team race. The 3rd place Misconducts gained a bit but are still a distant 45.9 points back while the 4th place Bluliners - with only two weeks remaining in the season - trail by a mammoth 54.6 points. The Central Red Army are faring even worse, the 5th place team now 60.9 points behind the Ducks; 15.0 points shy of the money.

The Skirmish for the Laughing Bag
Between the Pipes shoved the Boulder Flyers into the basement on Sunday, an 8.5 point outing placing GM Miller's resurrected squad 0.5 points in front of the floundering Flyers. The Silicon Valley Slashers slipped a bit in Week 23, the 10th place team now only 22.1 points clear of the cellar.

LINK: Standings