December Recap
Chicago has slowed down a bit and though they still lead the West, Nashville is nipping at their heels and only one point back.
Filip Forsberg is tied with
Patrick Kane for the league lead in goals with 24 as he carries his team towards the top of the conference, but the big story out of Nashville is that All-Star goalie
Pekka Rinne has only played seven games, while journeyman
Carter Hutton has taken the net and run with it, posting ten shutouts already to lead the league. The Canucks have clawed their way back into a playoff position, and Minnesota and Colorado both look poised to move up as well, while Los Angeles and Winnipeg don't look like they really belong right now and may slip a bit.
The basement in the East is very Canadian, with the Sens, Habs and Leafs all occupying the bottom three spots in the standings. The Maple Leafs have lost an astounding 13 games in a row, the wheels have completely fallen off there. Detroit is still leading the Atlantic with 53 points and look like possibly the most dominant team in the league statistically, led by
Jimmy Howard in net and lots of skilled contributors in their top six stepping up (
Tatar is tied for the league lead in assists with thirty, and is sixth in points with forty two, while
Nyquist has eighteen goals already). Pittsburgh is still leading their division.
Evgeni Malkin leads them in points with 46 (he had an 18 game point streak in which he scored 13 goals and added 19 assists, wow), good for third in the league. The Islanders are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the Metropolitan, pulling away and pushing Pittsburgh , on the back of
John Tavares and his 43 points.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Chicago (3.19), Detroit (3.00), St. Louis, Nashville (2.89)
GA/gm - Detroit (1.87), Nashville (1.89), Pittsburgh (1.92)
PP - Detroit (26.6%), Nashville (23.9%), Carolina (21.9%)
PK - Detroit (94.0%), Dallas (90.9%), Washington (88.8%)
Goalie Leaders:
GAA - Howard (DET) 1.60, Hutton (NSH) 1.94, Fleury (PIT) 1.95
Sv Pct - Bobrovsky (CBJ) .935, Niemi (SJS) .932, Howard (DET) .932
GSAA - Bobrovsky (CBJ) 16.32, Niemi (SJS) 13.10, Holtby (WSH) 11.19
SO - Hutton (NSH) 10, Crawford (CHI) 5, Fleury (PIT), Varlamov (COL) 6
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Larkin (DET) 29, Gaudreau (CGY) 25, Draisatl (EDM) 22
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - O'Reilly (COL) 46, Giordano (CGY) 35, Gorges (BUF), S. Weber (NSH) 34
Hits - L. Schenn (PHI) 222, Bortuzzo (PIT) 168, Borowiecki (OTT) 139
Blocked Shots - A. Greene (NJD) 154, M. Stuart (WPG) 116, Alzner (WSH) 115
PIM - Clarkson (TOR) 114, L. Schenn (PHI) 110, Borowiecki (OTT) 98
FO% - Horvat (VAN) 58.9%, Carter (LAK) 57.6%, Bergeron (BOS) 57.5%
+/- - Saad (CHI), Seabrook (CHI) +26, Kane (CHI), Toews (CHI), S. Weber (NSH) +25
Injuries:
F Sam Gagner (ARI) OUT 2-3 weeks (shoulder)
F Antoine Vermette (ARI) DTD (leg)
D Adam McQuaid (BOS) OUT 1-2 months (abdomen)
F Jay McClement (CAR) OUT 1-2 weeks (hand)
F Jordan Staal (CAR) DTD (leg)
F Victor Rask (CAR) OUT 1-2 weeks (back)
D John-Michael Liles (CAR) OUT 1-2 weeks (groin)
F Nick Foligno (CBJ) DTD (arm)
D Jack Johnson (CBJ) OUT indefinitely (back)
D Fedor Tyutin (CBJ) OUT indefinitely (knee)
D David Savard (CBJ) DTD (leg)
F Sam Bennett (CGY) OUT 1-2 months (shoulder)
F Matt Duchene (COL) DTD (knee)
F Nathan Mackinnon (COL) OUT indefinitely (elbow)
D Brendan Smith (DET) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
D Erik Gudbranson (FLA) OUT indefinitely (knee)
F Aleksander Barkov (FLA) OUT 3-4 months (head)
F Damien Brunner (NJD) DTD (groin)
F Frans Nielsen (NYI) OUT 1-2 weeks (concussion)
F Casey Cizikas (NYI) OUT indefinitely (back)
F Chris Kreider (NYR) OUT 1-2 weeks (ankle)
F Nick Spaling (PIT) OUT 1-2 weeks (back)
F Ryan Callahan (TBL) OUT 1-2 months (arm)
D Anton Stralman (TBL) OUT 3-4 months (knee)
F Derek Dorsett (VAN) OUT 1-2 motnhs (neck)
D Alex Edler (VAN) DTD (arm)
F Andrew Ladd (WPG) OUT 2-3 months (leg)
F Bryan Little (WPG) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)