November Recap
Somewhat surprisingly, the
Ducks and
Canucks sit atop the Pacific. Anaheim has seen resurgent seasons from
Getzlaf (23 points) and
Perry (14 goals) but also has been helped by contributions from the young guns like
Rakell (18 points),
Silfverberg (6 goals),
Palmieri (7 goals) and of course rookie of the year candidate from the blueline
Shea Theodore (15 points).
Anisimov also proved to be a savvy free agent acquisition as he's contributed 15 assists and 18 total points so far centering the second line.
San Jose is a surprise on the other end of the spectrum. After adding
Ryan Miller and
Michael Neuvirth in net,
Mark Streit to the blueline and
Brandon Saad, Jeff Carter and
Brad Boyes up front many were picking them to take the division but instead they sit second last in their conference, neither
Miller nor
Neuvirth has hit 5 wins yet,
Boyes has yet to score,
Saad has only 9 points and captain
Joe Thornton has produced only 8 points.
Brent Burns (19 points) and
Mark Streit (13 points) form a dynamic duo as their top pairing, but the rest of the team needs to rally around them and step up before the season is lost.
Colorado is absolutely riding
Semyon Varlamov, who has started 23 of 24 games for them, to the top spot in the West.
MacKinnon (11 goals) and
Duchene (12 goals) are driving their offense.
Nashville is very much in the mix, getting great goaltending from Pekka Rinne after moving on from
Carter Hutton in the offseason. Their league leading powerplay is firing on all cylinders, powered by the duo of
Josi and
Weber on the blueline. After tearing up the league last year,
Filip Forsberg is off to an abysmal start with only 2 goals and 8 total points. He is playing more of a backchecking, responsible role on that top line right now but still greatly disappointing offensively.
Montreal continues to be carried by
Carey Price to the top of the league with 18 wins already.
Boston has an incredibly high firing offense led by NHL leading scorer
Brad Marchand (17 goals, 31 points), sophomore star
David Pastrnak (27 points) and offensive defenseman
Torey Krug (5 goals, 28 points) - they are right on
Montreal's heels.
Washington is led by their dynamic duo of
Ovechkin (15 goals, 25 points) and
Backstrom (21 assists, 27 points) as they sit at the top of the Metro division. The
Isles and
Flyers are close behind, with
Tavares (15 goals, 25 points) always keeping the
Islanders relevant and
Philadelphia staying in games with their penalty kill (second in the NHL at a 90% efficiency).
Pittsburgh is a surprise, sitting at seventh in their division after being only a game short of the Cup last year.
Oshie,
Malkin and
Letang have all missed time already and with everybody healthy they still have a good chance to climb back up the standings this early in the season.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Boston (3.55), Washington, St. Louis (3.04), Tampa Bay (2.96), Anaheim (2.92)
GA/gm - Montreal, NY Islanders (1.88), Columbus (1.96), Vancouver (2.12), Colorado (2.13)
PP - Nashville (27.6%), Chicago (26.1%), Pittsburgh (22.7%), St. Louis (22.6%), Detroit (21.1%)
PK - Detroit (91.0%), Philadelphia (90.0%), Toronto (89.7%), Pittsburgh (88.5%), Tampa Bay (88.3%)
Goalie Leaders (min 10gp):
GAA - Price (MTL) 1.46, Halak (NYI) 1.62, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 1.71, Kuemper (MIN) 1.86, Markstrom (VAN) 1.92
Sv Pct - Bobrovsky (CBJ) .943, Allen (ARI) .942, Markstorm (VAN) .941, Halak (NYI), Price (MTL) .940
GSAA - Allen (ARI) 17.00, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 15.47, Markstrom (VAN) 13.01, Halak (NYI) 12.67, Bernier (TOR) 11.15
SO - Halak (NYI), Varlamov (COL) 6, Fleury (PIT), Price (MTL) 5, Bobrovsky (CBJ), Holtby (WSH), Rinne (NSH) 3
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Theodore (ANA) 2-13-15, Schmaltz (CHI) 5-6-11, McDavid (BUF) 4-7-11, Duclair (NYR) 4-5-9, Hrabarenka (NJD) 4-4-8, Danault (FLA) 3-5-8
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - Nielsen (NYI) 24, Brodin (MIN), Korpikoski (ARI), Ladd (EDM) 22, Datsyuk (DET) 21
Hits - Tinordi (MTL) 139, Bjugstad (FLA) 122, L. Schenn (CGY) 120, Manning (PHI) 111, Borowiecki (OTT) 92
Blocked Shots - Vlasic (SJS) 100, Brodie (CGY), Tanev (VAN) 81, Girardi (NYR) 78, Alzner (WSH) 73
PIM - L. Schenn (CGY) 73, Tinordi (MTL) 70, Borowiecki (OTT) 67, Manning (PHI) 59, Hartnell (ANA) 48
FO% - Glendening (DET) 61.6, Vermette (PHI) 61.2, Crosby (PIT) 60.6, Gordon (PHI) 59.9, Toews (CHI) 58.1
+/- - Backstrom (WSH), Ovechkin (WSH) +17, Niskanen (WSH), Parise (MIN), Pastrnak (BOS) +14
Injuries:
D Cam Fowler (ANA) OUT 1-2 weeks (foot)
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) OUT 3-4 months (head)
D Darnell Nurse (EDM) OUT 2-3 weeks (ankle)
F Kyle Clifford (LAK) DTD (ankle)
F Marcus Kruger (LAK) OUT indefinitely (elbow)
D Colin Miller (LAK) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
F Dwight King (LAK) OUT 1-2 weeks (ankle)
D Jonathon Blum (MIN) OUT 2-3 weeks (knee)
D P.K. Subban (MTL) DTD (head)
D Adam Larsson (NJD) OUT 1-2 months (arm)
F Vladimir Sobotka (NJD) OUT 3-4 months (ankle)
D Ryan McDonagh (NYR) OUT indefinitely (concussion)
D John Moore (NYR) OUT 1-2 weeks (concussion)
F Jeff Carter (SJS) OUT 3-4 months (shoulder)
F Logan Couture (SJS) OUT 1-2 months (ankle)
F Alex Killorn (TBL) OUT 2-3 weeks (hand)
D Derrick Pouliot (WPG) DTD (back)
D Jacob Trouba (WPG) OUT 2-3 weeks (hand)