Here’s a preview of some of the big games in the NHL this week. You can catch them all on NHL Network Radio!
After a terrible start to the season, the Oilers aren’t leaking oil any longer and have inserted themselves back into the Western Conference playoff picture. After surprising everybody but themselves this past spring by going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers picked up where they left off and are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
A Tale of Two Teams. Vegas, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and Ottawa, a bitterly disappointing team that has spent far too much time residing in the Eastern Conference basement this season. While the only question for the Golden Knights is where they finish in their division and conference, the Senators face a myriad of questions and challenges, foremost being if they can somehow pick themselves up and inch their way towards playoff daylight in the East.
Two months into the 2023-24 NHL regular season, the Wild have already replaced their head coach, and the Penguins have made it crystal clear that they’re not about to do the same. Still, Pittsburgh is already ensconced in a tooth-and-nail fight for a post-season berth in the Eastern Conference. Same with Minnesota in the West. The coaching change initially appeared to fire up the Wild.
Seven days ago, in mid-Manhattan, the Maple Leafs roared out to a 4-1 lead after the first period and cruised to a convincing 7-3 victory over the hometown Rangers. Tonight, in Toronto, the Leafs face a New York team that one would expect to have a better opening period this time around. Both these teams will be in the NHL playoffs this April, the only question being where they finish, and which team they face in the opening round.
So far, so good for both clubs, as the young Red Wings have been either in the top three in the tough Atlantic Division or occupying one of the two Eastern Conference wildcard slots. The Jets have surprised a lot of people by being in the top three in the equally tough Central Division.
It hasn’t been a season to remember to date for the Flames, who, after two months of games, find themselves stuck in the second division of the Western Conference. Calgary has recently put up some impressive efforts, but they haven’t always been rewarded with two points. Tonight, they visit a young Ducks’ team that got off to a blistering start, before returning to Earth.
More than a few people wrote off this NHL season’s edition of the Boston Bruins as being over…done…finished. Not so fast. Okay, recently, the B’s haven’t been playing at the white-hot clip they began the season at, but they’re still leading the contentious Atlantic Division, and this evening visit a Jets’ squad who are trying to weather the sizeable storm of not having premier goal scorer Kyle Connor in the lineup, due to injury.
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