NHL Weekly recap: Bad Knight for the Bolts
This weeks lead
We are still waiting on Alex Ovechkin to become the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 career goals. It's hard to imagine it will take very much longer. Ovechkin is one of, maybe the, best goal scorer the game has ever seen. His next opportunity is tonight, when the Washington Capitals visit the New Jersey Devils. We will all have to endure at least one more games worth of holding our breath every time the puck touches Ovi's stick blade.
Tight races for division titles and wild card spots are the theme right now. Teams are approaching the 20 games to go mark. The trade deadline is Monday. With so many teams still solidly in the playoff race defining buyers and sellers is difficult. With the exception of Boston and Tampa Bay no one has separated themselves at the top end. With only a hand full of teams looking as if all hope is lost, it could be hard for GM's to sell assets if they believe they have a chance at a playoff birth.
There have already been some notable trades.
Blake Coleman was acquired by the Tamp Bay Lightning. The New Jersey Devils got a return in the form of Nolan Foote and conditional 1st round draft pick. This feels like the lighting over payed for a 3rd line winger.
The Vancouver Canucks aquired Tyler Toffoli from the LA Kings in exchange for Tim Schaller, Tyler Madden and a 2nd and 4th round conditional draft pick in 2020.
On Friday the Boston Bruins acquired Ondrej Kase from Anaheim Ducks, the Ducks receive David Backes (Bruins retained 1.5 million, 25% of Backes' salary) Axel Andersson and a 2020 1st round draft pick.
The Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and LA Kings all appear to be trying to acquire draft picks and prospects.
It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of days. There are enough teams with playoff hope that we could see the unexpected, or the deadline could come and go with barely a whimper. I'll have my eye on the trade trackers and update on Twitter and Facebook.
Notable wins and losses.
The Tampa Bay Lightning's 11 game win streak came to a screeching halt, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. The 5-3 loss was their first since January 27th.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had dropped four straight games before snapping that streak on Thursday in a 4-0 throttling of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The St Louis Blues faced the Dallas Stars Friday night in a battle for first place in the Central Division. The Blues dominated from beginning to end winning 5-1.
Top player news
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington shut out the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes in back to back starts for his first two shutouts of the year. He recorded five in thirty starts last season. It's an encouraging sign for Binnington who hasn't been putting up the same numbers as last year. He receive a lot of help from his defense however, facing only 17 shots and 14 shots respectively.
Speaking of the Dallas Stars. Captain Jamie Benn was ejected from Wednesdays game against Arizona for a boarding penalty on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman Larsson was able to return to action. Benn avoided fines and suspension. Benn is a critical to the Stars both in leadership and on the ice. Missing games in the midst of a furious battle with the Blues for first place in the division would have been a big blow.
Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen will miss several weeks to an upper body injury. He sustained the injury Monday after being tripped by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak. Rantanen is a key part of the Colorado offense, having racked up nearly a point per game (19 goals, 21 assists in 42 games played). Colorado is trying to hold on to a top three spot in the Central division, I expect them to try to make a deal before the trade deadline to fill the gap Rantanen's injury leaves, and bolster their depth for their playoff push.
Edmonton Oilers captain and super star Connor McDavid returned to practice Thursday night. McDavid could return as early as Sundays match against the LA Kings.
Ten seconds into his first shift, in his first NHL game, LA Kings center Gabriel Vilardi took his first shot, and scored his first NHL goal. Vilardi, LA's 2017 first round (11th overall) draft pick had been recalled from AHL affiliate Ontario Reign late Wednesday night. The Kings eventually went on to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4. The Kings have had a forgettable season. But this is a moment for fans to be excited about. Vilardi should be a large part of getting them out of the cellar and back to competing for Lord Stanley's cup.
We are still waiting on Alex Ovechkin to become the eighth player in NHL history to score 700 career goals. It's hard to imagine it will take very much longer. Ovechkin is one of, maybe the, best goal scorer the game has ever seen. His next opportunity is tonight, when the Washington Capitals visit the New Jersey Devils. We will all have to endure at least one more games worth of holding our breath every time the puck touches Ovi's stick blade.
Tight races for division titles and wild card spots are the theme right now. Teams are approaching the 20 games to go mark. The trade deadline is Monday. With so many teams still solidly in the playoff race defining buyers and sellers is difficult. With the exception of Boston and Tampa Bay no one has separated themselves at the top end. With only a hand full of teams looking as if all hope is lost, it could be hard for GM's to sell assets if they believe they have a chance at a playoff birth.
There have already been some notable trades.
Blake Coleman was acquired by the Tamp Bay Lightning. The New Jersey Devils got a return in the form of Nolan Foote and conditional 1st round draft pick. This feels like the lighting over payed for a 3rd line winger.
The Vancouver Canucks aquired Tyler Toffoli from the LA Kings in exchange for Tim Schaller, Tyler Madden and a 2nd and 4th round conditional draft pick in 2020.
On Friday the Boston Bruins acquired Ondrej Kase from Anaheim Ducks, the Ducks receive David Backes (Bruins retained 1.5 million, 25% of Backes' salary) Axel Andersson and a 2020 1st round draft pick.
The Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and LA Kings all appear to be trying to acquire draft picks and prospects.
It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of days. There are enough teams with playoff hope that we could see the unexpected, or the deadline could come and go with barely a whimper. I'll have my eye on the trade trackers and update on Twitter and Facebook.
Notable wins and losses.
The Tampa Bay Lightning's 11 game win streak came to a screeching halt, falling to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. The 5-3 loss was their first since January 27th.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had dropped four straight games before snapping that streak on Thursday in a 4-0 throttling of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The St Louis Blues faced the Dallas Stars Friday night in a battle for first place in the Central Division. The Blues dominated from beginning to end winning 5-1.
Top player news
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington shut out the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes in back to back starts for his first two shutouts of the year. He recorded five in thirty starts last season. It's an encouraging sign for Binnington who hasn't been putting up the same numbers as last year. He receive a lot of help from his defense however, facing only 17 shots and 14 shots respectively.
Speaking of the Dallas Stars. Captain Jamie Benn was ejected from Wednesdays game against Arizona for a boarding penalty on Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ekman Larsson was able to return to action. Benn avoided fines and suspension. Benn is a critical to the Stars both in leadership and on the ice. Missing games in the midst of a furious battle with the Blues for first place in the division would have been a big blow.
Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen will miss several weeks to an upper body injury. He sustained the injury Monday after being tripped by Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak. Rantanen is a key part of the Colorado offense, having racked up nearly a point per game (19 goals, 21 assists in 42 games played). Colorado is trying to hold on to a top three spot in the Central division, I expect them to try to make a deal before the trade deadline to fill the gap Rantanen's injury leaves, and bolster their depth for their playoff push.
Edmonton Oilers captain and super star Connor McDavid returned to practice Thursday night. McDavid could return as early as Sundays match against the LA Kings.
Ten seconds into his first shift, in his first NHL game, LA Kings center Gabriel Vilardi took his first shot, and scored his first NHL goal. Vilardi, LA's 2017 first round (11th overall) draft pick had been recalled from AHL affiliate Ontario Reign late Wednesday night. The Kings eventually went on to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4. The Kings have had a forgettable season. But this is a moment for fans to be excited about. Vilardi should be a large part of getting them out of the cellar and back to competing for Lord Stanley's cup.
Comments
Post a Comment