February Recap
Chicago continues to be the undisputed class of the league, leading in most significant statistical categories, with
Patrick Kane dominating the league and leading in goals (37), assists (47) and points (84). His recent injury, which could keep him out until the playoffs, will be the greatest adversity they have faced this year so it will be interesting to see how they respond and who steps up.. The Central looks incredibly competitive after them, with St. Louis, Nashville, Minnesota and Colorado all having good seasons and able to make a case for being a contender. Of those five teams, Minnesota has the worst goal differential at +23. By way of comparison, the top team in the Pacific, Vancouver, has a goal differential of +1. The Canucks are barely clinging to their lead in the Pacific, with Calgary pressing. San Jose, Los Angeles, Edmonton and Arizona are all tied with 63 points trying to squeak into that final playoff spot in their division. The Kings have an inside track with two games in hand, but their -18 goal differential looks bad and they will need some semblance of offence down the middle from a struggling
Anze Kopitar (25 points so far and just 4 goals) and
Mike Richards (just 6 points in 29 games).
Detroit is firing on all cylinders, riding a five game win streak into March and leading the Eastern Conference. Their top line of
Nyquist,
Datsyuk and
Tatar has created lots of offence and
Jimmy Howard has been closing the door in net. The Islanders have surpassed the Penguins to lead the Metro, but Pittsburgh has three games in hand and they have been one of the more dominant teams all year. Boston is in the conversation as one of the contenders in the East, but missing
Chara will hurt them.
Brad Marchand is fourth in the NHL with 32 goals. Inspired by
Jaromir Jagr and backstopped by prime
Cory Schneider (six shutouts this year), the Devils are charging hard into the playoff race, on a seven game winning streak to put them in the top wild card slot. The Rangers are struggling with
McDonagh and
Girardi out, but still find themselves within striking position of the final playoff spot, four points back of the Capitals but with two games in hand. Washington is pushing though, with a resurgent
Ovechkin and the addition of veteran
Scott Hartnell to round out their scoring.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Chicago (3.27), Boston (2.94), Detroit (2.92), St. Louis (2.90), Pittsburgh (2.82)
GA/gm - Chicago (1.89), Detroit (1.95), St. Louis (2.03), Nashville (2.16), Pittsburgh (2.21)
PP - Chicago (23.8%), Detroit (22.7%), Carolina (21.8%), Pittsburgh (20.4%), Washington (19.4%)
PK - Detroit (91.6%), Minnesota (89.0%), Dallas (87.1%), San Jose, Washington (86.1%)
Goalie Leaders (min 20gp):
GAA - Howard (Det) 1.78, Crawford (CHI) 1.90, Elliott (STL) 1.95, Backstrom (MIN) 1.96
Sv Pct - Miller (VAN) .934, Holtby (WSH) .932, Bobrovsky (CBJ) .930, Varlamov (COL) .929
GSAA - Holtby (WSH) 22.85, Miller (VAN) 21.87, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 19.14, Varlamov (WSH) 16.44
SO - Hutton (NSH) 13, Crawford (CHI), Varlamov (COL) 9, Fleury (PIT) 8
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Gaudreau (CGY) 43, Larkin (DET) 39, Pastrnak (BOS) 37, Klingberg (DAL) 34, Trocheck (FLA) 31
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - O'Reilly (COL) 65, Doughty (LAK), Suter (MIN) 49, Vlasic (SJS) 48, Filppula (TBL), Gorges (BUF) 47
Hits - L. Schenn (PHI) 391, Bortuzzo (PIT) 301, Borowiecki (OTT) 238, Maroon (ANA) 202, Bjugstad (FLA) 190
Blocked Shots - Greene (NJD) 251, Alzner (WSH) 210, Beauchemin (ANA) 183, Stuart (WIN) 182, Schultz (PHI), Suter (MIN) 174
PIM - Bortuzzo (PIT) 181, Borowiecki (OTT) 179, L. Schenn (PHI) 164, Clarkson (TOR) 147, Clifford (LAK) 115
FO% - J. Staal (CAR) 63.0%, Carter (LAK) 57.6%, Gordon (EDM) 56.6%, D. Moore (NYR) 56.5%, Horvat (VAN), Dubinsky (CBJ) 56.2%
+/- - Seabrook (CHI) +36, Toews (CHI) +35, Saad (CHI) +34, Bergeron (BOS), Keith (CHI) +32
Injuries:
F Corey Perry (ANA) OUT 2-3 months (foot)
D Zbynek Michalek (ARI) OUT 2-3 weeks (back)
D Zdeno Chara (BOS) OUT 1-2 months (leg)
F Patrick Kane (CHI) OUT 1-2 months (knee)
D Jack Johnson (CBJ) OUT indefinitely (back)
D Fedor Tyutin (CBJ) OUT 2-3 months (knee)
F Nathan MacKinnon (COL) OUT 3-4 months (elbow)
D Trevor Daley (DAL) OUT 1-2 months (groin)
D Sergei Gonchar (DAL) OUT 1-2 weeks (upper body)
F Stephen Weiss (DET) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
F Aleksander Barkov (FLA) OUT 1-2 months (eye)
D Erik Gudbranson (FLA) OUT 2-3 months (knee)
F Jason Pominville (MIN) OUT 2-3 months (neck)
D Shea Weber (NSH) OUT 1-2 months (back)
F Craig Smith (NSH) OUT indefinitely (knee)
F Casey Cizikas (NYI) OUT 3-4 months (back)
D Ryan McDonagh (NYR) DTD (hip)
D Dan Girardi (NYR) OUT 2-3 weeks (hamstring)
D John Moore (NYR) OUT indefinitely (concussion)
D Dan Boyle (TBL) OUT 1-2 months (knee)
F Ryan Callahan (TBL) DTD (arm)
D Anton Stralman (TBL) OUT 1-2 months (knee)
D Brooks Orpik (WSH) OUT 1-2 months (arm)
D Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) OUT indefinitely (elbow)
F Andrew Ladd (WPG) OUT 2-3 months (leg)