Thee Olde Rivalry stretches back to last century, though these days it’s pretty one-sided. Still, the rebuilding Canadiens have shown they can put it all together when facing the Maple Leafs, including an opening night shutout win. Toronto has been in first place in the Atlantic Division since October, though they’ve lost a few games in the past couple of weeks. The recent stellar play has inserted Montreal into the Eastern Conference wildcard conversation.
The head coaching change in Motor City appears to have worked wonders, as the Red Wings recently reeled off an impressive seven-game winning streak and are also back in the Eastern Conference wildcard conversation. Tonight, they visit a Stars team that resides in the tough Central Division (along with Winnipeg, Minnesota, and a resurgent Avalanche team). Dallas has been hot the past few weeks and is back in the race for the top spot in the Central.
Who would you rather be right now, the young, rebuilding Sharks, who aren’t close to a playoff spot, or the Bruins, who are but appear to be slipping? Like the Canucks, Boston also recently had to contend with alleged dressing room drama, but all the reputed antagonists were quick to stamp out that rumour. But when you’re on an elongated losing streak, there are sure to be fissure cracks visible in the façade. As for San Jose, they have a number of exciting young players (Macklin Celebrini the most notable one), and a future All-Star goaltender in Yaroslav Askarov. How things change in one calendar year.
The Expansion Class of 1970 is one of the few that has yet to win a Stanley Cup. Forget the Cup, ya gotta get to the playoffs first. The Sabres haven’t been there since 2011 and haven’t shown many signs that they’ll return to the post-season this time around. The Canucks recently underwent some internal drama, and that led to rampant speculation that one of their star forwards would be traded. As The World Turns.
The reigning Stanley Cup Champions visit a robust Kings’ team that has defied expectations in the Pacific Division. And you don’t wanna play L.A. in L.A., as they’re almost unbeatable on home ice. That’s alright with the Panthers, who sport an impressive road record as they look to catch Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The Capitals were one of the top teams in the entire league over the first half of the regular season and look to improve on that mark. Alexander Ovechkin continues his pursuit of the career regular-season goal-scoring mark (Wayne Gretzky 894). At the same time, his Caps look to solidify their hold on the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. As for the Kraken, they are ensconced in the Western wildcard showdown, though recent play has them sitting further back on that dusty trail.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is having an outstanding season so far, as he is one of the leading candidates for the Vezina Trophy as top netminder and Hart Trophy as top player/MVP. But the Jets are more than just Hellebuyck. They boast balanced scoring and impressive team play and have held on to the top spot in the contentious Central Division for most of the season. The Utah Hockey Club remain within shouting distance of a Western wildcard spot, but they’ll have to start stringing together some winning streak if they entertain any realistic notions of playing playoff hockey their first season in Salt Lake City.
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