Image courtesy of Pittsburgh-Blitz.com
With a lengthy break in the NHL schedule for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, there are several intriguing headlines across the league. The biggest stories surround a defenseman on a rival team suffering from an unusual health predicament for a professional athlete, a Western Conference club that might be on the verge of major changes, big names in trade rumors, and NHL players representing their countries at the Winter Olympics.
Metropolitan Division
According to ManGamesLost.com, the Penguins lead the league in man-games lost this season with 351 and will only see that number rise with the loss of Kris Letang, as the blue liner recently suffered a stroke. The 26-year-old blue liner will miss at least six weeks, as it was discovered that he evidently has a hole in heart, which has been there since birth, but has only recently been discovered. According to the team, Letang’s injury isn’t threatening to his career.
As for the New York Rangers, the club has looked great since the start of 2014 and is 12-5-1 since January 1st. One big reason for their huge surge in the standings is Henrik Lundqvist, who has won five straight starts and 10 of his last 12 while posting a save percentage of .948 over that stretch of time. On top of Lundqvist’s play, the biggest news surrounding the Blueshirts are the trade rumors involving Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi. Callahan has been mentioned in a deal to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Chris Stewart, while some feel Girardi would be a good addition to the Anaheim Ducks’ blue line.
The Orange and Black currently sit third in the standings, as they enter the break with the league’s longest winning streak. Claude Giroux, who was overlooked for a second time this week to be a member of the Men’s Canadian ice hockey team, has seven points on his current four-game point streak and has recorded 15 points in his last 11 games. Steve Mason has recorded two shutouts and four wins in his last five games, a pace he and the Flyers’ defense will need to keep up if they want to survive their difficult remaining schedule.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are one point outside the final wild card spot, as Sergei Bobrovsky has helped the team surge in the standings with a .931 save percentage and a record of 10-3-1 since his return in early January. Nathan Horton has also helped the Blue Jackets playoff push, as he has 11 points in 18 games since his Columbus debut on January 2nd. It’s also worth noting that since Marian Gaborik, who suffered a broken collarbone against the Flyers on December 21st, will not be able to play for Slovakia in the Olympics, former Flyer Branko Radivojevic will be going to Sochi.
Also a point out of the final wild card spot and fifth in the division is the Washington Capitals. The Caps have won three of their last four, but are 5-7-3 since January 12th and have needed a league-leading eight wins in shootouts to help them grab their 63 points so far this season. It was announced this week that Martin Erat, who scored his first goal of the season in his 51st contest of the season, will join the Czech Republic’s roster at the Olympics and Marcus Johansson will fill in for the injured Henrik Sedin with Sweden. Alexander Ovechkin also leads the NHL with 40 goals in 55 games.
The Carolina Hurricanes find themselves in a peculiar position entering the break, as they aren’t sure whether or not they are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. Jim Rutherford has succeeded with several low risk-high reward deals recently, as Manny Malhotra is a productive bottom-six forward, while Ron Hainsey and Andrej Sekera have proven effective on the blue line for the Hurricanes. Anton Khudobin was named the First Star of the month for January across the NHL with a 2.19 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 14 games.
Also sitting at 61 points, the New Jersey Devils still have a shot of reaching the postseason, as they have a rather favorable schedule down the stretch. One player that will need to continue playing well for the Devils is Cory Schneider, who has a .926 save percentage and 1.85 GAA this season. Schneider said this week he isn’t looking too far ahead with the Devils in terms of a contract extension, as he is more focused on just reaching the postseason for now. One rumored trade that may help the Devils reach the playoffs is the addition of Mike Cammalleri, who has been heavily linked to landing in New Jersey recently.
Last in the division are the New York Islanders, who may be making several moves at the trade deadline. The biggest name going is obviously Thomas Vanek, who the Isles gave up Matt Moulson, their 2014 first-round pick, and their 2015 second-round pick for and has totaled 40 points in 44 games with New York. The Isles also traded Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Peter Regin to the Chicago Blackhawks this week for a fourth-round pick in this year’s Entry Draft. Along with the trades, Lubomir Visnovsky was ruled out of the Olympics and won’t represent Slovakia.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Despite missing Zdeno Chara for the last two games before the break, the Boston Bruins grabbed three out of four points in their final two games before the break. One of the bigger issues surrounding the Bruins is filling in the hole that Dennis Seidenberg has left on the blue line, as Andrej Meszaros’ name has been tossed around as a possible solution. Jarome Iginla is finally starting to click in Boston, as he has 14 points in his last eight games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning sit second in the Atlantic, as they are expected to get a big boost after the break with the return of Steven Stamkos. The team’s elite forward won’t take part in the Olympics, which led to his teammate Martin St. Louis taking his spot on the Canadian roster. Valtteri Filppula is expected to miss the Olympics with a fractured ankle.
The Montreal Canadiens are just a point behind the Lightning, as they expect Carey Price to have a chance to start for Team Canada. With the job between him and Roberto Luongo, Price has posted a record of 26-17-5 this season with a .925 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA. Montreal will also send Max Pacioretty to Sochi to represent Team U.S.A. as the forward recorded a hat trick on Thursday despite missing two penalty shots. Dale Weise has an assist and two PIMs with a plus-1 rating in his first three games with the Canadiens.
Also with 70 points in the Atlantic are the Toronto Maple Leafs. Phil Kessel will enter the Olympics as one of America’s hottest forwards, as he has 27 points in his last 15 games. Sitting firmly as the top wild card team, the Maple Leafs may make some moves at the trade deadline, as rumors are swirling around the movement of Nikolai Kulemin, who has 18 points in 48 games this season.
Despite a staggering amount of injuries, the Detroit Red Wings have the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. With stars like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jimmy Howards each missing several games this season, the Red Wings are still without the services of Johan Franzen, Jakub Kindl, and Stephen Weiss. Howard will represent U.S.A at the Olympics games, but he probably won’t see much action behind Jonathan Quick and Ryan Miller.
The Ottawa Senators are sixth in the division, but just one point out of a playoff spot with a record of 26-22-11. Before Saturday’s loss, the Sens endured a three-game point streak that was highlighted with a 46-save effort from Robin Lehner in a 5-4 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Ottawa has a great chance to gain ground in the standings after the Olympics, as five of their first six games come against Western Conference teams outside the playoff picture.
The Florida Panthers are having yet another upsetting season, but they did recently learn forwards Tomas Kopecky and Aleksander Barkov will be representing their countries at the Olympics despite recently being injured. To sum up Florida’s ticket sales, the Panthers are exchanging losing lottery tickets for tickets to games. Two of the bright spot for the Cats this season are the play of blue liner Tom Gilbert, who has 25 points in 58 games at a cap hit of $900,000, and Brad Boyes, who has 15 goals on the season at a cap hit of $1,000,000.
Worse off than the Panthers are the Buffalo Sabres, as their only bright spot on the season is Miller possibly starting for Team U.S.A. Several trade rumors surround the netminder, as the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues have been linked to bringing in Miller. The Sabres will most likely be active at the deadline, as the group of Matt Moulson, Steve Ott, and Henrik Tallinder can be key pieces for contenders.
CENTRAL DIVISION
The St. Louis Blues lead the toughest division in hockey, but that doesn’t mean they are fully satisfied with their roster, as rumors surrounding Callahan and Miller have the two stars possibly ending up in St. Louis. Team U.S.A. will feature two of the Blues’ biggest players in David Backes and Kevin Shattenkirk, as Backes is hoping to avenge the painful loss in 2010 and Shattenkirk is at the games for the first time.
The Chicago Blackhawks have just as many points as the Blues, but it took them three more games to do so. Along with acquiring Marc-Bouchard and Regin, the biggest news of the week with the Blackhawks was Patrick Kane recording a three-point night against the Los Angeles Kings shortly after learning his grandfather had passed away. Kane also missed Chicago’s game Friday against the Phoenix Coyotes to attend his grandfather’s funeral.
Third in the division with 79 points is the Colorado Avalanche. One of the biggest surprise teams of the season has impressed due to several players stepping up. Semyon Varlamov has a .924 save percentage with a record of 28-11-5, while Ryan O’Reilly, who missed part of last season due to a contract dispute, has 21 goals and 40 points this season. It also doesn’t hurt the Avalanche that Nathan MacKinnon leads the team with 22 goals and leads all rookies in scoring with 44 points.
The Minnesota Wild have a hold of the top wild card with 69 points in 59 games. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will be key players for Team U.S.A. in Sochi over the next few weeks, while their teammate Mikko Koivu will miss the Olympics due to an ankle injury. Along with Parise and Suter, the pair of Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter will participate in the Olympics, as Granlund will play for Finland and Niederreiter will play for Switzerland.
The newest team to join the playoff mix in the Western Conference is the Dallas Stars, who just recently nudged the Vancouver Canucks out of a postseason spot. A big reason for their recent playoff push is the play of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, who each already have 50-point seasons while the third-highest point producer on Dallas is their linemate Valeri Nichushkin, who has 28 points. Blue liner Stephane Robidas is evidently making amazing progress in his recovery from a fractured leg, but is still expected to be out until mid-March.
Now just two points out of a playoff spot, the Winnipeg Jets have found new life under Paul Maurice, as they are 9-3-1 under the former Carolina Hurricanes’ bench boss. The Jets have also been doing fine in the absence of Evander Kane, who has missed Winnipeg’s last six games and has missed 18 games total this season. Chris Thorburn, who had a total of four points last season in 42 games, has produced two goals and two assists in his time on the second line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler in Kane’s absence.
Last in the Central are the Nashville Predators, who had a couple notable people related to the organization suffer injuries this week. General Manager David Poile needed surgery after being struck in the face with a puck during the Predators’ morning skate on Thursday. On the same day, Nashville’s play-by-play announcer Pete Weber suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, both Poile and Weber are doing fine at the moment. As for play on the ice, Devan Dubnyk is 0-1-1 in two games with the Predators, as he has a .850 save percentage and a 4.35 GAA.
PACIFIC DIVISION
The Anaheim Ducks lead the NHL with 87 points thanks to a 41-14-5 record. The only thing you can complain about right now if you’re a Ducks’ fan is the team’s play at home recently. After starting the season 20-0-2 at home, Anaheim has gone 2-5-0 in their last seven at the Honda Center. Flyers’ 2007 draft pick Patrick Maroon has 14 points in 40 games this season with the Ducks.
The San Jose Sharks are second in the division and were struggling to score before the break. Before beating the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Friday, the Sharks went six straight games where they scored two goals or less. Joe Thornton is second in the NHL with 48 assists, but the fact he only has eight goals most likely hurt his chances of representing Team Canada at the Olympics. San Jose is also hoping Antti Niemi can return to his normal form after the break, as the netminder has a .912 save percentage on the season.
Regardless of how bad the Sharks have been struggling to score goals, the Los Angeles Kings are in worse shape. The team recently experienced a six-game stretch where they only scored three goals and have only scored more than two goals in a game once in their last eight games. Luckily for Los Angeles, the team has a chance to recover after the break, as they are in fact the best puck possession team in the league and possess arguably the league’s best defense.
The Phoenix Coyotes are fourth in the division and barely out of the playoffs, as they have one less regulation or overtime win (ROW) than the Stars. Thomas Greiss has been a pleasant surprise for the Coyotes, as he is 7-4-1 on the year with a .932 save percentage and 2.09 GAA. In the team’s last season as the Phoenix Coyotes before changing their name to the Arizona Coyotes, the club is rumored to be in the mix to grab Ray Whitney from Dallas at the trade deadline.
Dropping seven straight games before the Olympic break, the Vancouver Canucks have fallen out of a playoff spot and sit fifth in the Pacific. Owner Francesco Aquilini has already come out and backed Mike Gillis, which means both Gillis and John Tortorella most likely aren’t going anywhere. Unfortunately for the Canucks, they’ve lost Mike Santorelli for the season.
The Calgary Flames are most likely already out of the playoff hunt, as they will be sellers at the deadline. The biggest name to move will be Cammalleri, who has been linked to the Devils, Canucks, Kings, and Red Wings. A player who will be with Calgary for the next few seasons is Kris Russell, who signed a two-year contract extension on Saturday and has 20 points in 44 games this season. Jiri Hudler, who has 43 points in 58 games, is considered one of the Olympics biggest snubs, as he didn’t make the cut for the Czech Republic squad.
The Edmonton Oilers have already made several trades this season, but it sounds as though one more significant trade is on the table for the team sitting last in the Western Conference. Sam Gagner is rumored to be moved by the trade deadline, as there have been talks that the Oilers might send Gagner to the Kings in exchange for forward Kyle Clifford.
