March Recap
Chicago hasn't slowed down a lot while missing
Patrick Kane, driven by consistent two way play from
Toews and
Saad and the best pairing in the league in
Keith and
Seabrook. Keith leads all defensemen in scoring with 64 points. Nashville is gaining ground on them all the same and hit fifty wins.
Filip Forsberg is tied for the league lead in goals with Ovechkin with 44,
Ribeiro just hit fifty assists and
Matt Moulson has 7 goals and 13 points in 15 games since joining the team at the deadline. It doesn't hurt at all that
Carter Hutton, an unknown before this season, has been an absolute revelation in net, stealing and keeping the crease from
Pekka Rinne and sitting currently on a league leading 16 shutouts. The Central is stacked, also featuring a strong St. Louis team, Colorado with their skill and goaltending and Minnesota, who should make the playoffs and make some trouble there, especially if
Pominville can come back in time for the postseason.
Niederreiter has 33 goals for them so far, good for seventh in the NHL. Over in the mediocre Pacific it is the Canucks atop the division and then a logjam trying to squeeze into those final two spots and get in the playoffs. Currently the Sharks and Coyotes have the inside track, sitting at 79 points each, but the Ducks are just two points back and the Oilers, though four points back, have a game in hand on Arizona. Surprisingly, the Flames and Kings, after both adding at the deadline, have faded from the race and the defending champs look to end up watching this postseason to see who will supplant them.
Detroit has continued to consistently dominate in the East and should cruise to the #1 seed.
Howard has been incredible in net, and
Tatar (24-53-77) and
Nyquist (32-28-61) have brought youthful offense to augment the star studded veteran lineup. Boston is dynamic and solid.
Brad Marchand is having a standout season for them, now tied with an injured Patrick Kane for second in the league scoring race at 84 points and
Patrice Bergeron is his steady self, reliable at both ends and great in the circle. Tampa Bay has the third seed in the Atlantic cleanly locked up and is hoping their blueline can get healthy for the playoffs. The Penguins and Islanders are neck and neck at the top of the Metro, with the #2 seed looking like it will end up playing Philadelphia in round 1 of the playoffs.
Crosby has been dominant and looks to be the only player to hit the century mark this year, in spite of his injury earlier in the year that cost him some games. He is currently riding a league best 21 game point streak. The Capitals are solidly locked into a playoff spot as a Wild Card as
Ovechkin has surged offensively and is now tied for the league lead with 44 goals and could push fifty yet again if he stays hot. The Devils are two points back of the Capitals, and whoever manages to earn the first wild card spot will be rewarded by not having to face the juggernaut that is Detroit in the first round. The Rangers faded quickly after losing
Chris Kreider to a suspension, and they are a loss or a Devils victory away from mathematical elimination.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Chicago (3.11), Boston (3.00), Detroit (2.99), Minnesota (2.84), Pittsburgh, St. Louis (2.80)
GA/gm - Chicago (1.76), Detroit (1.99), St. Louis (2.09), Nashville (2.10), Vancouver, Colorado (2.12)
PP - Chicago (24.5%), Detroit (22.9%), Washington (21.9%), Carolina (20.7%), Montreal (20.0%)
PK - Detroit (90.3%), Minnesota (88.8%), San Jose (87.4%), Dallas (86.6%), Colorado (86.4%)
Goalie Leaders (min 25gp):
GAA - Crawford (CHI) 1.77, Howard (DET) 1.80, Miller (VAN) 1.87, Varlamov (COL) 1.90, Backstrom (MIN) 1.95
Sv Pct - Miller (VAN) .937, Varlamov (COL) .933, Holtby (WSH) .932, Neuvirth (BUF) .929, Bishop (TBL) .927
GSAA - Miller (VAN) 30.86, Varlamov (COL) 27.03, Holtby (WSH) 25.18, Neuvirth (BUF) 19.09, Bishop (TBL) 13.23
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Gaudreau (CGY) 56, Pastrnak (BOS) 51, Klingberg (DAL) 44, Larkin (DET) 39, Draisatl (EDM), Akeson (PHI) 35
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - O'Reilly (COL) 69, Vlasic (SJS) 61, Doughty (LAK) 60, Brodin (MIN) 58, Suter (MIN) 57, Gorges (BUF), Tanev (VAN) 55
Hits - L. Schenn (PHI) 431, Bortuzzo (PIT) 371, Borowiecki (OTT) 325, Bjugstad (FLA) 273, Maroon (ANA) 245, Kassian (VAN) 232
Blocked Shots - Greene (NJD) 308, Alzner (WSH) 250, Beauchemin (ANA) 210, Brodin (MIN), Stuart (NJD), Suter (MIN) 207
PIM - Borowiecki (OTT) 243, Bortuzzo (PIT) 216, L. Schenn (PHI) 176, Clarkson (SJS) 149, Clifford (LAK) 138
FO% - J. Staal (CAR) 60.0%, Carter (LAK) 58.2%, Elkins (CBJ) 57.4%, Tavares (NYI) 56.9%, D. Moore (NYR) 56.2%
+/- - Saad (CHI), Toews (CHI) +40, Seabrook (CHI) +39, Keith (CHI) +37, Steen (STL) +35, Eriksson (BOS), Lee (NYI) +34
Injuries:
F Corey Perry (ANA) OUT 1-2 months (foot)
F Jakob Silfverberg (ANA) OUT 2-3 months (hand)
F Patrice Bergeron (BOS) DTD (knee)
D Zdeno Chara (BOS) DTD (leg)
D Jack Johnson (CBJ) OUT indefinitely (back)
D Fedor Tyutin (CBJ) OUT 1-2 months (knee)
D Nate Schmidt (CBJ) OUT 2-3 months (knee)
D T.J. Brodie (CGY) DTD (ribs)
D Deryk Engelland (CGY) OUT 2-3 months (neck)
F Sven Baertshi (CGY) OUT 2-3 weeks (foot)
F Patrick Kane (CHI) OUT 2-3 weeks (knee)
F Nathan MacKinnon (COL) OUT 2-3 months (elbow)
D Trevor Daley (DAL) OUT 1-2 months (groin)
F Stephen Weiss (DET) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
F Scottie Upshall (FLA) OUT 1-2 months (back)
D Erik Gudbranson (FLA) OUT 1-2 months (knee)
F Aleksander Barkov (FLA) DTD (eye)
D Willie Mitchell (FLA) DTD (ribs)
D Alec Martinez (LAK) OUT 2-3 weeks (shoulder)
F Jason Pominville (MIN) OUT 1-2 months (neck)
F Max Pacioretty (MTL) DTD (head)
D Shea Weber (NSH) OUT 1-2 weeks (back)
F Craig Smith (NSH) OUT 3-4 months (knee)
F Casey Cizikas (NYI) OUT 2-3 month (back)
D John Moore (NYR) OUT indefinitely (concussion)
F Mats Zuccarello (NYR) DTD (shoulder)
F Chris Kreider (NYR) OUT 2-3 weeks (abdomen)
F Maxim Lapierrre (STL) OUT 2-3 weeks (elbow)
F Ryan Reaves (STL) OUT 3-4 months (elbow)
F Paul Stastny (STL) DTD (hernia)
F Jaden Schwartz (STL) DTD (eye)
D Dan Boyle (TBL) DTD (knee)
D Anton Stralman (TBL) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
D Brooks Orpik (WSH) DTD (arm)
D Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) OUT 3-4 months (elbow)
F Andrew Ladd (WPG) OUT 1-2 months (leg)