Ye gods, you Canuck fans are broken records whining about "weaker schedules" and weaker/stronger conferences. Sometimes it works out that way. Did Canuck fans complain about it all these years the Oilers have been roadkill? Or when the Avs were struggling the last couple seasons? Or when the Flames haven't been good enough to make the post season? Where was the whining when Detroit could coast to a Presidents trophy in the years Columbus, Chicago, Phoenix and St Louis all made up the rest of the weakest division (by far) in hockey? There wasn't any because the fact of the matter is even bad teams can play you tough and just fall short in the end.
Actually I wasn't whining, I was just trying to give the proper perpective to those who are overwhelmed by Washington's apparent stellar record for the regular season. Yep, same thing applied to Detroit last year which I pointed out at the time too.