Top 10 NHL Halfway Headlines
It’s that time of year again hockey fans. Take a break from shoveling your driveway and have a seat. It’s the midway point in the NHL season and I’ve got the Top 10 NHL Halfway Headlines for you. Let’s just say this year hasn’t been short of storylines worth following. It was tough to narrow the field down to 10 but I did my best.
Starting from the bottom…
#10 Colorado in One Word: Regression
Just 9 months ago, in April 2014, the Avs finished the regular season 52-22-8 giving them a Central Division leading 112 points. They had a great mix of veteran leadership and young talent coupled with solid coaching. Their early exit in the playoffs was unfortunate for Avs fans but the future appeared to be overflowing with promise. Clearly the team, lead by young guns, just needed another year to develop and playoff success would become the norm. Then October rolled around… and the Avalanche faithful watched in pain stricken awe as their team went down like the Hindenburg. Winning just 4 out of their first 17 games, the Avs were once again amongst the bottom feeders in the NHL. They have recovered somewhat since the first quarter of the season, but are no where near where they were last year. As of right now Colorado is 19-17-9, just 5 losses short of their total for the entire season last year. What happened in Denver? While I don’t know what is going on in the locker room, I can tell you that there is a serious lack of production and possibly accountability from Colorado’s top forwards. Last season Landeskog, Duchene, O’Reilly, and MacKinnon combined for 311 points; Halfway through this season they combine for 103 points. These are 4 of the best players in the league. Duchene in particular is putting up the worst numbers in his career. Colorado won’t find success until those 4 guys step up.
#9 Seguin - Stamkos - Nash - Tarasenko
The Rocket Richard Trophy will end up in one of these 4 players hands I can almost guarantee it. These players are on top of the scoring race right now but they are all in entirely different spots in their careers. Seguin has gotten better every year he’s been in the league and this year is no different. He is on track to just break the 50 goal mark this year. Nash is having one of his best seasons at the age of 30 and is on track to break the 50 goal mark for the first time in his career. Vladamir Tarasenko is in his 2nd year in the NHL and currently making less than $1 million. His scoring ability is off the chart. He is setting an incredibly high bar for himself to live up to going forward in his career. Last but not least, Steven Stamkos is having another Stamkos like year. He’s a goal scoring machine who possesses the most lethal shot in the world when it comes to speed and accuracy. However, Stamkos is still young (24 years old) and I would very much like to see him take his game to an even higher level and cement his legacy as one of the greatest scorers of all time.
#8 The Islanders.
The team that finished last season with 79 points and dead last in the Eastern Conference is currently leading the Metropolitan Division and in 2nd place in the East. The U-turn their franchise executed from last season is admirable. They will undoubtedly make the playoffs this year and more than likely will have a high seed. It will be interesting to see what happens. Two good hockey teams in New York at once? Is that allowed?
#7 Edmonton has gotten worse
After finishing last season dead last in the West with a 29-44-9 record, the Oilers are on track to do worse this year. Their 10-26-9 record midway through this season has them on track to maybe win 20 games. Probably not though since games only get tougher as playoffs get closer. It’s becoming painful to watch. They’ve won 4 out of their last 30 games. This team might lose to a D1 college team or a Major Junior team, no joke. There is clearly some major issues going on within the organization and locker room. This will be an offseason story to pay attention to. Their roster is loaded with young talent that a lot of teams would love to get their hands on.
#6 Goaltending Situation in Detroit
This is a brand new story but worth paying attention to. Jimmy Howard was taken off the ice on a stretcher last Saturday in Washington and an MRI revealed a slight tear in his groin muscle. He will hopefully only be out 2-4 weeks but that remains to be seen. Groin injuries can plague skaters for a long time and for goalies it’s even worse. It’s an injury you absolutely cannot rush back from; until he really feels 100% he won’t be wearing a Wings’ jersey. If it looks like it might develop into something beyond 2-4 weeks you better believe the Wings will be on the phone looking for a goalie to head into playoffs with.
#5 Washington Heating Up
On December 2nd the Caps were 10-10-4 and having a pretty shitty season. Fast forward to today, the Caps are 24-11-8 and right in the middle of the playoff race. They’ve earned at least a point in 18 of their last 19 games. That’s an impressive run if you ask me. A large part of their success can attributed to Ovi peppering goalies on a nightly basis. The guy has 204 shots on goal… 104 more than the closest guy on their roster. Nevertheless, the Caps look like they’re ready to make a solid run for a playoff spot down the stretch. Who knows what will happen in playoffs but I expect the Caps to be in there.
#4 Who can stop the Blackhawks?
The Hawks are hanging right around the top in the league. They may have popped up on top for a couple days, I’m not sure, but they’ve managed to linger around the top all season. They have the 2nd best goal differential in the league after Smashville. The Hawks are going to be one hell of a tough out for any one in the post season. With their roster and coach I would not be surprised at all if they won another Cup this year. They have all the guys to do it and all of them have been there before. If Detroit comes out of the East I think they would have the best shot at stopping Chicago in the finals. Last time the two clubs met, an injury stricken Detroit team took the Hawks to Game 7 OT. A rematch would be great for hockey as a whole.
#3 Bruce Boudreau and the Mighty Ducks
Okay Bruce. Here were are again; You’re coaching a team who’s offensive weapons rival Russia’s nuclear arsenal and rolling through the regular season like it’s pond hockey. Remember that team on the other side of the country you coached? The Caps team that finished the season with over 100 points 3 straight years and never did so much as make a Conference Finals appearance. Well, you see the thing is Bruce, people are are talkin' and there’s some doubts about your “style”. If the regular season was all that mattered, you might be the greatest coach since Bowman. Unfortunately for you, that isn’t the case. How many powerhouse teams have to head into the playoffs with a 1 seed only to be seen hitting the links 2 weeks later before serious questions must be asked? Anaheim is too good not to make a deep run in the playoffs this year. Even in a highly competitive West.
#2 Turmoil in Toronto
With the recent firing of head coach Randy Carlyle, it’s safe to say troubles a’brewin in Toronto. There’s reports of a divided locker room, rumors of a lack of respect for Captain Phaneuf, and some seriously pissed off fans. I don’t know if you (the reader) are aware of this but hell hath no fury like a pissed off Leaf fan. They are the Los Angeles Lakers of the NHL and like LA, are under constant scrutiny from every direction when the ship isn’t sailing smoothly. There’s rumors that the organization is going to make a move for Mike Babcock when the season is over. Does anyone really think Babs is going to give up when he has in Hockeytown to assume control of the shit show in Toronto? Furthermore, if the best plan Toronto has to fix their issues is the Hail Mary of landing Babcock then Leaf fans have good reason to get mad. The club that was once the model franchise of the league needs to come up with solutions that are real and start turning the ship around today.
#1 Smashville.
A team that spent last spring on the golf course throwing back cold ones is on top of the hockey world half way through the season. If you don’t know who I’m talking about it’s the Nashville Predators. Smashville, as I and many others have come to call them, has trounced over opponents through the first half of the season. They are not the team anyone wants to face right now and for good reason. They have a monstrous goaltender in Pekka Rinne, an incredibly solid defensive core lead by Shea Weber, and a lethal offense. On top of their already loaded offense, the addition of rookie forward Filip Forsberg makes them the team to beat. Forsberg currently leads all rookies in scoring with 15 goals and 39 points. Smashville is headed for a 1 seed and looking to make their first legitimate run at a Stanley Cup this spring. Look out hockey world.
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