NHL This Week
Another week of NHL hockey has past. This past week has been filled with action-packed games, overtime victories, and bare-knuckle bouts. This goes without saying, this past week has been nothing short of high-octane hockey.
Currently, as of February 10, 2013, several Eastern Conference teams have been making a great impact at this point in their season. One team that has got off to a great start this season is the Toronto Maple Leafs. “The who?” a hockey fan may ask. Yes you read correctly, The Toronto Maple Leafs are in fact doing notably well at this point in the season. This may be surprising to some since the Leafs have been on the lower end of the NHL for quite some time. However, as of February 10, 2013, the Leafs are ranked at 5th Place in the East with a record of 7-5-0 and a total of 14 points. The Maple Leafs success of late has stemmed from goal scorers like James van Riemsdyk, Matt Frattin, and Tyler Bozak. With solid goal-scoring forwards, the Leafs have also had solid goaltending performances with the like of starting goaltender James Reimer and backup Ben Scrivens. Reimer has a good Save Percentage (SV%) of .929 and a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.30. However, with all this success the Leafs are still missing one thing. That is the goal scoring of star forward, Phil Kessel. Kessel, a 30+ goal scorer in his last 4 NHL seasons, has only registered 2 goals so far this season for the Leafs. Although he is currently 6th in the NHL for Shots Taken, he just cannot discover a way, as of late, to find the back of the net. If the Leafs’ defense holds up, their forwards continue to excel on the score sheet, and Kesssel turns up his game and starts producing goals, the Leafs can hold their own against the rest of the East and hopefully even make a Stanley Cup Playoff appearance this season.
On the opposite side of the Eastern Conference spectrum, the Washington Capitals have been struggling for points. The Caps currently, as of February 10, 2013, sit on the very bottom of the NHL as the dreaded 30th ranked team with only 7 points and a record of 3-8-1. With players that have such offensive potential like NHL all-star Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Troy Brouwer, the Capitals have still managed to remain in the bottom of the NHL so far this season. This is most surprising since for the past few seasons the Caps have been an Eastern Conference top tier team. Fans may be questioning the Caps starting with Ovechkin and how his offensive numbers just aren’t where they used to be. He has been an enormous contributor to the Capitals’ success since he was drafted, however, over the past few seasons Ovechkin has experienced a decline in putting up the gaudy offensive numbers that he once amazed the league with. Is Ovechkin slowly fading away? Caps fans certainly hope not! One thing is for sure; the Capitals must turn their season around, and fast! Sooner or later the point differential from the top eight teams in the East is going to start pulling away from the Caps if they stay where they are. The Caps need to start winning games, maximizing offensive potential, solidifying a not-so-impressive goaltending duo with Neuvirth and Holtby, and light a fire under superstar Alex Ovechkin to start producing the numbers that the Caps need to be considered a threat this season.
In the West, teams have been nearly in the same position as last week. However, one significant change is that of the San Jose Sharks’ undefeated record. The Sharks undefeated 7-0-0 record was tainted this week as the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated them. Therefore, the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, and the Vancouver Canucks now lead the Western Conference. These teams are followed by the usual likes of San Jose, Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis, and Dallas.
Those Western teams sitting below the top eight teams are Edmonton, Phoenix, Minnesota, Calgary, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Columbus. Unfortuneatly, these teams are the usual bottom eight teams as of the last several seasons. Calgary, Colorado, Los Angeles, and Columbus are all tied at 8 points each. Nothing impressive has come from these teams thus far. The LA Kings are still struggling to produce wins and very well may still be in their Stanley Cup hangover, hoping to break out soon. Columbus still hasn’t got the memo that winning games needs to be a consistant practice in order to succeed in the West. These bottom four teams may soon surpass one another, maybe even escape the bottom four, however at the rate their all going, it will be a long summer of golf playing and watching their Western Conference rivals fight their way to the Cup.
Blackhawks Update
The mighty Blackhawks have still not simmered down on their hot winning streak so far this season. The Hawks have still managed to gain at least one point from every one of their 12 games and not to lose a single game during regulation; their two post regulation losses both came from shootouts. The Hawks currently, as of February 10, 2013, sit on top of the NHL with a record of 10-0-2 and a total of 22 points.
Of course as the Blackhawks keep up their red-hot point streak, there are many to thank. Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp have all continued to put up their spectacular offensive numbers against their opponents. More importantly, the Hawks role players like Bickell, Bolland, Stalberg, and Shaw have also been penciling numbers in their stat sheets by giving assists and scoring goals. The Hawks defense has also been spectacular with Keith, Seabrook, and Leddy all contributing to not only a stellar defensive core, but on the offensive side of the ice as well. Goaltending for the Hawks has also been great with both Crawford and Emery. Crawford holds a 1.62 GAA and a .935 SV% while Emery as a backup has a 2.59 GAA and a .920 SV%.
Lastly, congratulations to rookie forward Brandon Saad on his first NHL career goal! His goal was scored at a crucial point in time against rival San Jose and helped put the Hawks in position to take hold of another victory. Us Blackhawks fans hope that this is the first of many for Saad and that we hope he not only continues to contribute offensively but also to mature offensively as well.
The Blackhawks need to keep this point streak going as long as they can, continue scoring when needed, and keep the defense solid so that there is no question that they belong in the Stanley Cup Finals in hopes of bringing the Cup back to Chicago.
Current Division Leaders
Eastern Conference: New Jersey Devils (ATLANTIC); Boston Bruins (NORTHEAST); and Tampa Bay Lightning (SOUTHEAST).
Western Conference: Chicago Blackhawks (CENTRAL); Anaheim Ducks (PACIFIC); and Vancouver Canucks (NORTHWEST).
Frank Markasovic
Sports Editor