[CanuckJohnny]

NHL Update and Storylines




February 25th, 2018 -

EAST

• The Montreal Canadiens are dominating, with a +72 goal differential as they sit atop the standings
• The Penguins have scored the most goals in the NHL and are positioned relatively comfortably atop the Metro
• Speaking of the Metro, the Islanders have been surging lately, riding a five game win streak to third spot in the Metro
• Conversely, Detroit has been falling fast, dropping their last four in a row and on the brink of sliding out of a wild card if their poor play continues
• There are five teams within 3 points of the final wild card spot, and including the two current wild card teams there are seven teams within 3 points of each other vying for two playoff spots
• Of those teams within spitting distance of a wild card, Ottawa may be the most intriguing, they've lost an astounding ten games in the shootout and two in overtime - if a couple of those go differently they could be in a playoff spot right now
• Washington looks best positioned for a strong finish to earn their way into one of those wild card spots based on their +19 goal differential, but they will have to figure out how to win on the road and correct their abysmal 10-18-2 road record

WEST

• The Flames really look like the class of the conference despite being second in the Pacific to San Jose, they have the fewest goals allowed and the best goal differential in the conference as well as the most Regulation and Overtime wins, the Sharks have benefitted from six shootout victories and coming out on top of a lot of close games but their goal differential is only +5, the worst of any West playoff team
• Vancouver has been on a surprising run, including a current four game win streak, to sneak into that final Pacific playoff spot - they've struggled on the road though and will need to steal some wins in other buildings to hang onto their current position
• Despite a midseason coaching change the Wild are struggling, dropping their last four in a row as they drop out of a playoff spot. They're a better a team than this - the only team in the West who is outside the playoff picture with a positive goal differential
• The Oilers are the closest team to finding their way back into the playoffs, they sit five points back of Vancouver for the final spot in the Pacific and seven points back of the Predators for the final wild card spot
• The Avalanche are barely on top in the hotly contested Central, but they boast an impressive road record of 19-11-2
• The Blues have the most goals for of any Western Conference team and the best goal differential in the Central and are only two points back of the Avs but sit in third because the Blackhawks are on fire, riding a five game win streak at the moment and sitting at second in the Central against all odds

LEADERS

• Ovechkin is well on his way to another fifty goal season and may even crack sixty this year
• Johnny Gaudreau is a huge part of Calgary's offensive dominance this year, leading the league in assists and points
• Brendan Gallagher has been healthy all year and his contributions have been helping boost the Canadiens to the top of the league, he has 40 goals (t-3rd) and 77 points (t-6th)
• Tavares has been great in the circle again this year for red hot Islanders, leading the league with a 59.4% faceoff percentage
• Chris Tanev of the Canucks leads the league in blocked shots to the surprise of nobody, he is fearless and reckless with his body and anticipates well in his own end
• Cole Cassels of Vancouver is developing a reputation for playing hard and occasionally over the edge, he is eighth in the NHL in penaly minutes in his sophomore season
• Auston Matthews is having a stellar sophomore year with 34 goals, eighth in the league
• Oscar Klefbom is really establishing himself as a top tier defender, second in the league in blocked shots and sixth in takeaways
• Mark Giordano leads the NHL in takeaways and is fourth in DGR
• Although youngsters Dylan Larkin and Connor McDavid are as high in the scoring race as they were last year, their overall game rating shows they are still at the top of the league in performing and driving play and influencing games
• Keith Yandle has reinvented his game to a degree, grading out the highest in the league in defensive game rating despite having a reputation as more of an offensive defenseman
• Another player with an offensive reputation who has looked surprisingly effective and efficient in his own zone this year is Canucks blueliner Derrick Pouliot
• Brandon Manning has been throwing his weight around this year, leading the NHL in hits by a significant margin
• Justin Abdelkader has been getting more icetime as captain of the Golden Knights and has been leading with his physical play, fifth in the league in hits
• The Canucks have two rookies in the top three of rookie scoring, this year's fourth overall pick Nico Hischier with 39 points to lead all rookies and a second round pick last year, Mikhail Sergachev, who leads all rookie defensemen with 30 points
• Patrik Laine has 16 goals and 27 points in his rookie year, and he is doing that while getting relatively little ice time for the playoff bound Blues, he's fourth in the NHL behind only Gaudreau, Ovi and Crosby in points/60.
• The Vezina race is shaping up to be a four horse race, with Carey Price (the league leader in GAA) being challenged by Vancouver's Jacob Markstrom (who has been on fire after a rough start and has carried his team into a playoff spot and leads the NHL in save percentage and GSAA), Calgary's Devan Dubnyk (generally the third after those two in Vezina conversations but in the top five in most goaltending statistical categories and leading Calgary in a very succesful season) and Colorado's Michal Neuvirth (whose stellar stats are somewhat diminished in weight because he is sharing a crease with Varlamov and has only played in 34 games).
• One surprising story is Buffalo's 24 year old netminder Andrey Makarov who has taken over the starter's crease from Jhonas Enroth after being called up early in the season from the AHL. Makarov had a great year in the AHL last year with 43 wins and a .924 save percentage but he was expected to soon be leapfrogged in the organization by other higher profile goaltending prospects like Cal Petersen and Carter Hart. Instead Makarov leads the league in shutouts at the deadline with seven, despite playing behind a poor team and poor defense in Buffalo.
• Frederik Andersen has carried a heavy workload in Vegas, claiming the crease from Marc-Andre Fleury and performing well despite facing a lot of shots on most nights. He is third in the NHL in GSAA with 21.98.
• 24 year old John Gibson is carrying the heaviest workload in the league, playing in almost every game for the struggling Ducks. He leads all NHL goalies in gamaes played (60), saves (1939) and goals against (182).