The National Hockey League has reached the traditional midpoint of its season with the All - Star Game to be played Sunday 25 January at 4pm MST (Versus) from The Bell Centre in Montreal, in the 100th anniversary season of the Canadiens. Every club has played at least 44 games, and Anaheim has completed 49 of its 82 game schedule, most in the league to this point. The parity in the league this season is very even, as only a sprinkling of clubs has little or no chance of making it to the sixteen - club Stanley Cup Playoffs following completion of the regular season on Sunday 12 April. And while there have some impressive displays of execution and play by three clubs in particular - Boston, San Jose, and the defending Cup champions Detroit - a number of other clubs have shown streaks of solid play that could result in a new champion when all is said and done after Memorial Day.Here is a look at each conference from top to bottom as each club stands, starting with the Eastern Conference.
Boston Bruins: Clearly among the most surprising teams in the league that has strongly exceeded expectations. The B's have a solid power play (25%) and are playing as well on the road as they have at home which is usually not the case for teams in the league. Boston has been beset by a series of injuries in the last few weeks that will test their depth and resilience, but this is a club that looks to have all the pieces in place to win their division and finish as the top seed in the East with their defense, goaltending, and special teams, and their offense is the best in conference and second best only to Detroit in the league. The Bruins are a good bet to go all the way if they can continue playing well as they have up to now.
Washington Capitals: There is more to this team than the electric Alex Ovechkin. Washington has the fortune of playing in a weak division which ensures them a division title. The Capitals are not as prolific as the Bruins on defense, but their offensive firepower is more than a match in most contests. The Capitals are not likely to make it to the Cup finals with that defense, but an appearance in the Eastern Finals is a strong possibility.
New Jersey Devils: It is a four team race in the Atlantic Division with the scrappy Devils having the lead at the break. In spite of losing long time goalie Martin Brodeur to injury for most of the season, New Jersey has remained competitive and has played well on the road with a solid penalty kill and and a superb defense to back up solid backup goaltending. The Devils are a playoff team and may yet take the Atlantic flag in a brutal struggle with the Rangers, Flyers, and Penguins.
Montreal Canadiens: The best of the rest that are not division leaders, the Habs were the Eastern Conference preseason favorites along with Pittsburgh. The Canadiens' power play has been atrocious and that has been their biggest undoing in falling precipitously behind the upstat Bruins. Montreal has had some injuries like all teams have experienced, but overall is taking care of business in preparation for an epic postseason challenge as the club tries to snap a 15 year Stanley Cup drought, longest in their history. They stand likely as the biggest challengers to the Boston Bruins for the Eastern Conference title.
New York Rangers: The Rangers got off to a fast start in the opening two months, but largely have gained little additional traction since then. They are in a titanic struggle for the Atlantic Division with the Devils, Flyers, and Penguins. The Rangers undoing is their offense which clearly a solid notch below most of the other playoff competing clubs in the conference. Their defense is okay, but is being saved by an electric 87.5 % penalty kill special teams, best in the league. Many observers feel the Rangers are succeeding by using smoke and mirrors, but that will not work in the postseason. New York may yet take the Atlantic but they are clearly not in the same category as Boston, Washington, and Montreal.
Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers are winning because of their offense and its excellent 26.3 % power play success rate. Defensively they are mediocre. Philadelphia hustles and plays hard and they excell at home. Avoiding injuries and developing better defensive consistency is key for the club as they try to win the division and advance once again at least to the Eastern Conference Finals as they did last season. Don't look for a repeat performance.
Buffalo Sabres: Buffalo in in the 7th position at the moment in the East, and this position is where it gets competitive to actually earn a playoff spot. The Sabres are among four clubs, and perhaps with as many as eight, trying to earn one of the two final playoff spots, Buffalo has been quite inconsistent and only their penalty kill (86.2 %, third in the league) is noteworthy. But being only slight above average maybe enough to get the Sabres in the playoffs. But it won't be easy, and more talented clubs like Pittsburgh or Florida are likely to knock them out with the Sabres playing in the rugged Northeast Division.
Carolina Hurricanes: Carolina's offense is awful with just 121 goals in their first 48 games and a power play that is successful but 15.8 % of the time, better only than the Rangers in the East. Their defense is just as lacking with a penalty kill that is at 78.1 %, worst of all the contending clubs in the East and only better than moribund clubs like Toronto and the Islanders. Carolina has no chance of catching Washington for the Southeast Division title, and it will be as struggle for them to hold off Pittsburgh and Florida, two clubs that are better than them on paper and statistically in many ways. Look for the Hurricanes to be on the outside looking in at the conclusion of the regular season as it was in '07-'08.
Florida Panthers: Little was expected of the Panthers, and preseason forecasts had the Panthers slotted for last place in the Southeast Division. But somehow Florida is getting it done through teamwork and a strong effort in spite of less than sterling numbers. The Panther offense is quite substandard, and their power play is abysmal at 16.3 %, only better than Montreal in the East. The defense is a little better which is what is keeping Florida competitive although the penalty kill is so-so at 82.3 %. The Panthers are better than their individual players add up to, and having a better team on the ice than on paper may be enough to allow the upstart Panthers to sneak into the postseason and perhaps even give a higher seed a worthy challenge in the first round of the playoffs, but thats about the best Florida can hope for.
Pittsburgh Penguins: The defending Eastern Conference champs have been among the biggest disappointments so far this season, and both sides of the puck can take blame. The defense has been atrocious and the penalty kill stands at only 79.5 %. Offensively the Penguin powerplay has been flimsy at 16.7 %. Pittsburgh has been merely average at home and has matched up poorly thus far in their division with the Devils, Rangers, and Flyers. The Pens have the talent and firepower to make it into the postseason yet, but clearly there are some missing pieces at this time that will prevent them from returning to the Stanley Cup Finals again.
Toronto Maple Leafs: The 42 year drought of no Stanley Cup will continue with the Leafs as there is little to be enthusiastic about this club. The Toronto defense is plain bad and the Leaf penalty kill stands at a morbid 73.2 %, worst in the league even to the pathetic Islanders. the offense is nothing much to talk about either, and the club has a losing record at home making the natives quite restless. Toronto has missed the postseason the last three years and, barring an epic miracle, will make it a fourth year much to the growing anger and frustration of generations of citizens throughout Ontario.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa got off to a horrible start under Barry Melrose, but since his dismissal, the club has shown small but steady improvement over the last two to three months. The Lightning still have very poor special teams (16.7 % power play and 79.7 % penalty kill), but they have positioned themselves to have an outside possibility for postseason play. While still unlikely, the club appears to be on the rise and with a strong group of young and talented players, could yet make a run before the season ends, but they probably will be unsuccessful. The future is bright for this Gulf Coast hockey team in the next few years.
Ottawa Senators: Next to Pittsburgh, this is among the league's most disappointing clubs. Two years removed from being in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Senators have crashed towards the basement of the East. Intangibles, among them team chemistry, work ethic, and coaching, are being blamed for the demise. The Senators' offense is clearly the worst in the league (only 108 goals in 44 games) and they are moribund away from home. Expect a lot of heads to roll in the coming weeks and months with a clean sweep of much of the roster due to happen. Its going to be a couple of years before the Senators rise again.
Atlanta Thrashers: The Birds of the South are quite lost and largely directionless as they rebuild once again. The Atlanta defense has given up a league high of 172 games in 48 games, and their penalty kill is an anemic 74.1 %, second worst in the league to the Maple Leafs. The Thrashers are going nowhere fast, and only the Islanders are keeping them from being the worst club in the league.
New York Islanders: Unequiviocally the worst club in the league with anemic to putrid numbers everywhere on both sides of the puck. The club is largely forgotten in suburban Nassau County with strongly declining attendance that has ownership conniving to relocate to either Houston or Kansas City in 2010. The Islanders have been decimated by injuries and a lot of youngsters will have to stand out for the club to win 25 games this season.
As for the Western Conference, all 15 clubs are in contention for a playoff spot.
San Jose Sharks: The Sharks have been the class of the league for almost the entire season up to this point. San Jose has lost but one regulation game at home so far, and they are very worthy on the road as well. The Sharks' defense is about the best in the league and their offense stands toe to toe with anybody in the league as well. Special teams are among the best. All the pieces are in place for a Stanley Cup run, and San Jose now needs to prove itself in postseason where it has come up short through the club's history. Detroit looms as an overwhelming challenge, but they may have to first get past a club rapidly on the rise in Chicago. 2009 appears to be the year finally the Sharks get over the hump, and they are among the best bets to win the Cup.
Detroit Red Wings: The defending champions have continued where they left off last season, and the club can largely be defined as a machine, particularly on offense with a potent 27.6 power play success rate and a league leading 173 goals. Defensively, the club is a notch below the other powers in the league, and this may yet be their undoing. But Detroit will not go down easy, and they have the personnel and talent to grind to a repeat of their '08 Cup win.
Calgary Flames: This may be the most overlooked club in the league, and particularly on defense. The Flames will have to earn it the hard way to take the Northwest Division. Offensively the club is a step behind San Jose and Detroit, especially on the power play. But Calgary is a dark horse to win it all. Jarome Iginala is among the league's most exciting and yet unknown players.
Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago is a club on the rise with a lot of young talented players along with a mix of good veterans thrown in. They are not in Detroit's class and still have to mature and develop better consistency, but the Blackhawks have one of the league's better defenses and are playing well on the road, an important step forward. They could make it to the conference finals, but the best years lie ahead for this club on the rise. A Stanley Cup for Chicago in the next few years is a clear possibility, and it has been since 1961 the Cup has been won by the Blackhawks.
Phoenix Coyotes: Phoenix is much like Chicago, a club on the rise and doing much better sooner than and better than expected. Although club ownership appears to be in financial trouble, the product on the ice has been superb and continues to improve. The one glaring weakness is on offense with a poor powerplay (13.9 %) and only 126 goals in 48 games. The Coyotes very well may end up with home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs if they continue to trend as they have in recent months under the great Wayne Gretzky as their coach.
Edmonton Oilers: Yet another young club making strides and likely to be in the postseason after a two year drought. The Oilers have issues on both sides of the puck that will keep them from doing much beyond making the playoffs particularly with a woeful penalty kill (76.3).
Vancouver Canucks: This is the Western Conference version of Florida. The Canucks are better than the sum of their parts. They have played better than expected, especially on the road, than what could have been anticipated in their conference. But the club has been backsliding the last six weeks and seem to be headed towards missing the playoffs unless there is a marked turnaround. Vancouver needs to step it particularly on offense and the power play.
Anaheim Ducks: Just two seasons removed from winning The Stanley Cup, the Ducks look to be a team that is old and in decline. The playoffs look to be uncertain as Anaheim has been so-so at home and lacks much firepower on offense thus far. Unless there is a sudden change, the Ducks very well could among the most underachieving clubs in the league this season.
Minnesota Wild: This club wins with defense and special teams, and their goals allowed (107) is second in the league only to Boston, and their penalty kill (87.4 %) is second in the league only to the Rangers. That being said, the Minnesota offense is mediocre at best. They will probably make the postseason, but catching an improving Calgary squad is out of the question. Unless there is an offensive genesis in Minnesota, the Wild are going to be one of those one and done teams, most likely at the hands of a definitively better Detroit or San Jose club.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Slowly but surely Columbus is making strides but they lack the offense to probably sneak into the post season this season. The Jacket power play is clearly the worst in the league at a pathetic 11.4 %. They are also in a tough division with Detroit, Chicago, and Nashville. They are probably a year away from being a playoff team.
Dallas Stars: A finalist in the Western Conference last season, the Stars got off to a particularly slow start but have shown improvement in recent weeks. The Dallas powerplay and penalty kill still leave much to be desired, but Dallas has the personnel and talent to sneak into the postseason and would be a dangerous opponent for either Detroit or San Jose. They will only get to the playoffs with marked offensive improvement the rest of the season.
Colorado Avalanche: The Avs are extremely inconsistent and show a tendency to play to the level of their competition. The Colorado powerplay remains much to be desired, and the overall offense is lacking. Defensively they have a lot of room for improvement as well. Goaltending remains a position where there is no clearly defined number one. There will be no postseason for the Avalanche this year with all their deficiencies.
Los Angeles Kings: This is the Tampa Bay Lightning of the West. The Kings are very young, and got off to a horrendous start. But improvement has been seen in recent weeks, but the Kings dug themselves into too deep a hole to have a realistic shot of making the postseason. Their schedule is also working strongly against them as 24 of their final 36 games are away from home. The long playoff drought of Los Angeles is likely to end in 2010, but they will be staying home from the postseason yet again this season first.
Nashville Predators: This is yet another underachieving club and the Predators have been careening downwards in the last month to six weeks after a decent start. The Nashville offense is atrocious with just 111 goals in their first 46 games with a power play that stands at a league second worst 13.7 %, ahead of only Columbus. The defense is nothing to talk about either, being only marginally better. No postseason this year for Nashville.
St Louis Blues: St Louis is making progress, but there will be no reward for the Blues this season as they will miss the postseason yet again. They play in a tough division which makes the challenges they face even more monumental. The St Louis offense is making strides but the defense leaves much to be desired, having given up 149 goals in 46 games with a penalty kill at 79.9 %. The Blues will have a say on who makes the playoffs and are competitive, but it is not enough in '09.
Right now I am forecasting a Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Chicago Blackhawks as dark horses.
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