A blog for ice hockey nuts and particularly fans of the NHL where standings,game scores and other statistics on hockey will be shared.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Power Rankings: The Washington Capitals just keep gaining on the rest of league
The Washington Capitals
look unbeatable and are beginning to run away with a loaded
Metropolitan Division, holding a seven-point lead on Columbus and
Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, last year's Stanley Cup finalist, the San Jose Sharks, are starting to make their move, too.
Washington
had a perfect weekend, with a win Saturday afternoon at Montreal and
then a smoke job of Los Angeles at home on Sunday. The only thing that
can slow these guys down before the playoffs is boredom.
The
impressive Wild wrap up their Western Canadian road trip Tuesday in
Winnipeg and then open up an eight-game home stand, which is a chance to
put real distance between themselves and Chicago for the Central
Division lead.
The
sizzling Sharks are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games as they embark on a
four-game road trek through Buffalo, Boston, Philadelphia and New
Jersey, their last games in the Eastern time zone this season.
The
Hawks are four points back of division-leading Minnesota but have
played three more games -- which is another reason Wednesday's road tilt
against the Wild is a huge one for them.
The
Oilers entered their five-day bye week with a big 1-0 shootout win at
Montreal on Super Bowl Sunday. They've scored only three goals in four
games since the All-Star break, not counting the shootout decider
Sunday, obviously.
The
Ducks opened their six-game road trip with back-to-back losses against
the two Florida teams. Next up, the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on
Tuesday.
One
more compressed week for the sputtering Habs -- four games in six days
again -- before they can breathe during their five-day bye break next
week. After that, the schedule is a little more humane.
Since
winning an amazing 16 consecutive games, the Jackets have gone 6-8-1.
They've also given up four or more goals in six straight games. But
Columbus also still has the league's top power play.
Sometimes the smallest moves can pay off at this time of year. Perhaps that will be the case with fourth-line center Vernon Fiddler, whom Nashville acquired from the Devils on Saturday. He's a gritty, character guy who adds defensive depth down the middle.
The
Atlantic Division-leading Habs have been vulnerable during their
compressed-schedule stretch over the past six weeks, and second-place
Ottawa has four games in hand. Yet the Sens haven't taken advantage,
losing four of their past six games -- including 4-0 at Buffalo on
Saturday.
The
young Buds snapped a three-game losing streak with a massive,
character-building win at Boston on Saturday night. The win moved
Toronto just one point behind the B's for the third playoff spot in the
Atlantic with five games in hand.
Are
these guys a playoff team or not? There might not be a team that
confuses me more than the Flyers do. They can look legit some nights,
not so much on others.
Losing the talented Robby Fabbri
for the season to a torn knee ligament -- as the Blues fight for their
playoff lives -- is a crushing blow. One has to assume that whatever Kevin Shattenkirk nets in a trade before March 1 will include a forward in return, although you can't easily replace a player like Fabbri.
The Doug Weight
mojo train takes a hit with tough, back-to-back 5-4 weekend losses to
Detroit and Carolina. The Isles are five points back of a playoff spot,
and it's time for another run.
The
Bruins have played more games than anyone in the Eastern Conference,
which on one hand makes them vulnerable. But on the flip side, in the
year of the compressed schedule, it might not be such a bad thing to be
done with it and have fresher legs the rest of the way.
Oh,
those streaky Canes. Four consecutive wins followed by five consecutive
losses followed by three consecutive wins. Carolina is four points
behind the Flyers for the last wild-card spot with two games in hand.
The
Flames are in a six-team race for one of two wild-card spots. They need
to tighten up defensively if they're going to hold on to one of those
spots.
The
crazy thing is that even with the Bolts sitting last in the Eastern
Conference, they're still within shouting distance of the third playoff
spot in the inviting Atlantic Division. Might be too little, too late.
Very
few teams have salary-cap space; the Devils have loads of it. GM Ray
Shero wants to use that as an asset as he continues to reshape this
roster over the next six months.
It
just doesn't feel like a run is going to happen for Dallas, so GM Jim
Nill is going to have to be a seller. The Stars have oodles of talent
but they continue to be porous defensively as a team plus can't buy a
save (Dallas is 28th in team save percentage, at .896).
If
a cat has nine lives, I wonder how many a Coyote has. Now that the
Tempe arena plan is dead, the franchise will look at its other local
options for a new home. But ownership was really banking on the Tempe
deal, so it's in a tough spot.
John Mitchell, Rene Bourque, Fedor Tyutin and the great Jarome Iginla
are among the pending unrestricted free agents who could be moved
before the March 1 trade deadline. Iginla, 39, wants to join a playoff
team, and who could blame him? This could be his last hurrah.
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