February Recap
The Ducks are clipping along, leading the league in goals per game, second in powerplay efficiency and first in the Pacific with 82 points so far. The Sharks are rising fast and in a tight competition with Edmonton for the third playoff spot in the weak Pacific division. They are on a five game winning streak where neither goalie has allowed more than two goals. Recent acquisition Alex Killorn has 14 points in 11 games. The Flames have been murdered by injuries, missing three defensemen and three forwards for much of the month, though Lance Bouma and recently Ladislav Smid have been cleared for contact and Bouma should be back in the lineup by next game.
Nashville and St. Louis are in a close contest for control of the Central Division, with only one point separating them. Both teams boast incredible bluelines, with St. Louis' top four of Ekman-Larsson, Cole, Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk looking great, while their bottom pair consisting of an aging Jay Bouwmeester and fringe NHLer Chris Butler has been getting torched. The Predators have Ekholm, Ellis and Seth Jones all worthy of second pairing minutes, then they have an absolutely dominant first pair of Roman Josi and Shea Weber, leading their powerplay to the top of the league and their team to the top of the Central (for now at least).
Boston looks like the team to beat out east, boasting the league's leading scorer in Marchand, the second best goals for per game AND the second best goals against per game and rolling with Torey Krug as the NHL's leading scorer from the blueline. In spite of this, Montreal continues to put forward a spirited effort to push them, sitting at second in the NHL with 83 points and riding on Carey Price's incredible goaltending. Feisty twenty three year old winger Brendan Gallagher is also coming into his own this year, currently sitting at eighth in the league in points while maintaining a solid plus twenty rating.
The Metro is a logjam of a division, with four teams within five points of each other. Philadelphia is currently leading the division and benefitting from a good call in the offseason to acquire Antti Niemi and roll with him in net. In fact, all four teams are in the place they are due to excellent goaltending, the Devils from Schneider, the Capitals from Holtby and the Islanders from Halak. The Rangers also aren't going away this year, still in striking distance of their rivals the New York Islanders. In spite of being hit hard by Ryan McDonagh's long term injury, they have seen great contributions from younger players like rookie Anthony Duclair (16-18-34), offseason acquisition Jeff Skinner (18-22-40) and twenty two year old J.T. Miller (20-40-60).
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Anaheim (3.35), Boston (3.13), Tampa Bay (3.02), St. Louis (2.94), Nashville (2.90)
GA/gm - NY Islanders (2.05), Boston (2.11), Montreal (2.14), Philadelphia (2.16), Detroit (2.19)
PP - Nashville (24.6%), Anaheim (23.4%), Boston (23.1%), Chicago (22.8%), Dallas (22.8%)
PK - Philadelphia (88.6%), Montreal (88.4%), Nashville (88.2%), Detroit (87.4%), Tampa Bay (87.3%)
Goalie Leaders (min 20gp):
GAA - Halak (NYI) 1.90, Price (MTL) 1.93, Niemi (PHI) 2.03, Howard (DET) 2.09, Bobrovsky (CBJ), Markstrom (VAN) 2.11
Sv Pct - Allen (ARI) .937, Markstrom (VAN) .934, Bobrovsky (CBJ) .933, Halak (NYI), Anderson (CHI) .930
GSAA - Allen (ARI) 40.25, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 27.25, Markstrom (VAN) 22.32, Halak (NYI) 18.26, Scrivens (EDM) 16.69
SO - Halak (NYI) 11, Bobrovsky (CBJ), Price (MTL), Schneider (NJD) 9, Varlamov (COL) 9
Rookie Leaders:
Points - McDavid (BUF) 13-26-39, Duclair (NYR) 16-18-34, Schmaltz (CHI) 13-21-34, Theodore (ANA) 9-21-30, Hartman (PIT) 11-11-22
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - Weber (NSH) 53, Girardi (NYR), H. Lindholm (ANA), Stone (OTT) 50, Nielsen (NYI) 48
Hits - Bjugstad (FLA) 321, L. Schenn (CGY) 305, Tinordi (MTL) 295, Melindy (ARI) 291, Manning (PHI) 288
Blocked Shots - Vlasic (SJS) 204, Martinez (LAK) 202, Daley (CHI) 199, Alzner (WSH) 197, Brodie (CGY), Tanev (VAN) 192
PIM - L. Schenn (CGY) 222, Tinordi (MTL) 194, Manning (PHI) 155, Borowiecki (SJS) 123, Bjustad (FLA), Melindy (ARI) 120
FO% - Vermette (PHI) 59.1, Engqvist (NJD) 58.3, Glendening (DET), Toews (CHI) 57.6, Gordon (PHI) 57.1
+/- - Pastrnak (BOS) 47, Marchand (BOS) 43, Bergeron (BOS) 41, Krug (BOS) 32, Backstrom (WSH) 31
Injuries:
D Josh Manson (ARI) OUT 1-2 months (finger)
D Chris Summers (ARI) OUT 3-4 months (concussion)
F Mikhail Grigorenko (BUF) OUT 1-2 months (leg)
D Tyler Myers (BUF) OUT indefinitely (skull)
D Andrej Meszaros (BUF) OUT 3-4 months (arm)
F Stephen Gionta (CAR) OUT 2-3 weeks (knee)
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) OUT 1-2 weeks (eye)
D Mark Giordano (CGY) OUT 2-3 weeks (hand)
D Marek Zidlicky (CGY) OUT 1-2 months (pelvis)
F Shawn Matthias (CGY) OUT 2-3 weeks (shoulder)
D Ladislav Smid (CGY) DTD (shin)
F Blake Wheeler (DAL) OUT indefinitely (elbow)
F Mikko Rantanen (DAL) OUT indefinitely (concussion)
F Riley Sheahan (DET) OUT 1-2 weeks (groin)
D Darnell Nurse (EDM) OUT 1-2 months (abdomen)
D Philip Larsen (EDM) OUT 3-4 months (throat)
F Marcus Kruger (LAK) OUT 1-2 months (elbow)
D Ryan Suter (MIN) OUT 1-2 months (wrist)
D Travis Hamonic (NYI) OUT 1-2 weeks (knee)
D Ryan McDonagh (NYR) OUT indefinitely (concussion)
F Dominic Moore (NYR) OUT 1-2 weeks (upper body)
D Marc Staal (NYR) OUT 1-2 weeks (abdomen)
F Zach Sill (NYR) OUT 1-2 weeks (shoulder)
F Evgeni Malkin (PIT) OUT 2-3 weeks (leg)
F Beau Bennett (PIT) OUT 1-2 months (jaw)
D Roman Polak (PIT) OUT 2-3 months (abdomen)
F Jeff Carter (SJS) OUT 1-2 weeks (shoulder)
F Leo Komarov (TOR) OUT 1-2 weeks (hip)
F Richard Panik (TOR) OUT 1-2 months (neck)