Canadian clubs toast of NHL

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This article was published 12/01/2024 (634 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh? Canada!

One of the beautiful things about the NHL is the unpredictably that often occurs once the puck drops. It’s safe to say the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks, currently sitting at No. 1 and No. 2 in the standings, can be filed under the category of surprising developments.

While expected heavyweights like such as Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs are all in the Top 10, they’re currently looking up at a pair of clubs from the Great White North that most pundits had fighting for a wild-card playoff spot, at best.

For that reason, the stunning surge of the Jets and Canucks leads the way as we look at the most compelling storylines to come out of the first half of the season.

Winnipeg is the pacesetter, hitting the 41-game mark with a franchise-best 28-9-4 record. They’ve won eight straight games, have points in 14 straight (12-0-2), and are also the stingiest squad in the league, having gone 31 straight games without surrendering more than three goals which is the second-longest streak in the NHL’s modern era.

Right behind them is Vancouver, who missed the playoffs last year but now has a 28-11-3 record, including a league-leading plus-54 goal differential (Winnipeg is second at plus-44).

You can go ahead and circle Feb. 17, March 9 and April 18 — the final day of the season — on your calendar. Those are the three head-to-head meetings between these puck powerhouses, with the first two happening on the West Coast and the last showdown in downtown Winnipeg. It could be for the Presidents Trophy.

Here’s a look at what else has caught our attention at the midway mark:

Vegas can’t fully avoid hangover

The defending Stanley Cup champs started the season with an incredible 11-0-1 record, avoiding the lull that often accompanies the first championship in franchise history.

However, a recent stretch saw them come down to earth a bit as the Golden Knights dropped five of six games, which allowed the Canucks to pass them in the Pacific Division standings.

Every team goes through a rough patch during the marathon that is the regular season and it’s probably a situation that’s going to make the Golden Knights stronger once the post-season arrives.

This is a structured team that knows what it takes to win.

Top centre Jack Eichel has done an excellent job after his first taste of the playoffs ended with him sipping out of Lord Stanley’s mug, as he leads his team with 19 goals and 44 points in 41 games. Winnipegger Mark Stone is also having an excellent season, sitting second to Eichel in scoring with 40 points in 42 games.

Adin Hill has been outstanding between the pipes for the Golden Knights (1.93 GAA, .933 save percentage), but he’s been limited to just 15 games this season because of injury and hasn’t played since Dec. 17.

That left a pair of former Brandon Wheat Kings netminders, Logan Thompson (25 games) and Jiri Patera (five games), to help pick up the slack.

Original misfit Jonathan Marchessault, fresh off a Conn Smythe Trophy performance, is a pending unrestricted free agent, as is centre Chandler Stephenson and blue-liner Alec Martinez, so there’s plenty of urgency for the Golden Knights to try and defend their title.

After acquiring versatile forward Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues after more than 50 viewings from the scouting staff, it will be interesting to see who Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon might pursue prior to the NHL trade deadline this year.

Panthers roaring

Don’t look now, but former Jets head coach Paul Maurice has Florida battling for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

After putting together a nine-game winning streak, the Panthers went into Friday’s action one point behind Boston for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, which also leaves them second in the East and fifth overall.

The Panthers dealt with some significant injuries (D-men Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour) going into and during the season (Sam Bennett), but they’ve got solid goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky (2.48 GAA, .912 save percentage) and incredible production from forward Sam Reinhart (30 goals, 53 points in 41 games), who just so happens to be in a contract year and is about to cash-in during free agency — whether he sticks around or finds a new landing spot.

Plenty of observers just thought the Panthers caught lightning in a bottle last spring by surviving a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against the Bruins before advancing to the Stanley Cup final but the team has shown their remarkable run was no fluke.

Can they keep it up in the second half?

Thanks to some additional depth on the back end, captain Aleksander Barkov providing solid two-way play and leadership and Matthew Tkachuk back to being a point-per-game player, one would expect to remain right in the thick of things during the final 41 games.

As for Maurice, he’s quietly worked his way into the discussion for the Jack Adams Trophy along with the likes of Jets head coach Rick Bowness, Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery.

Parity pumps up the playoff races

A lot of folks don’t like the so-called “loser” point, in which some games become three-pointers, but there’s no question it keeps more teams in the mix down the stretch.

This year’s race in both conferences could truly be epic. While a bit of separation has occurred at the top of each division, the same can’t be said for the mushy middles.

The surging Edmonton Oilers and the steady Nashville Predators currently hold the two wild-card spots, with five other teams currently within seven points. Several of those clubs are also very much in the hunt to climb into the top three in their division.

In the East, the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning are sitting in wild-card spots, with six other teams within seven points.

One big hot streak or one prolonged slump down the stretch could make all the difference. It will be interesting to see if the picture clears up a bit in the coming weeks, which will help determine what teams are truly buyers and which ones will be sellers by the March 8 trade deadline.

The struggle is real

At the opposite end of the spectrum, it’s basically a five-team race for last place, where the worst team will have the highest odds of securing the services of centre Macklin Celebrini.

This chase includes the San Jose Sharks (who just snapped a 12-game losing skid), the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets.

There’s an unexpected candidate around the periphery of the race in the Minnesota Wild, who have been ravaged by injuries and are in a tailspin after getting swept in a weekend doubleheader at the end of December.

The Wild have 38 points and after going 11-3 under John Hynes after the firing of Dean Evason, they dropped six of the past seven games going into Friday’s game against the Flyers, the lone exception being an OT win over the Blue Jackets.

Celebrini is a special talent and would surely inject some enthusiasm into whatever organization is lucky enough to win the NHL Draft Lottery.

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AROUND THE GLASS

Move over, Connor Hellebuyck. The Vezina Trophy favourite has been forced to take a bit of a backseat this week by a rather unexpected figure — his own father.

Chuck Hellebuyck has become a local celebrity after bringing social media followers along on the recent Jets mentors trip. Folks really seemed to like his food takes, which included a picture of the spread in Anaheim last week along with this gem: “Burgers gone! Barbecue beef gone! Tofu salad untouched. That’s dads for you.”

A couple of nights later, in Anaheim, he followed up with “Nachos, beef and cheese, No salads. Dads and company approve!”

He’s also been engaging with Winnipeg fans on X (formerly known as Twitter), while bringing folks inside the mind of a proud father, especially after watching his talented kid record a shutout on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Winnipeg before returning to his home in Michigan.

It’s been terrific stuff.

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Speaking of fathers, how about this story shared by Jets centre Mark Scheifele. Turns out his dad somehow missed the team bus last weekend in Tempe that was taking everyone to Mullett Arena prior to the game against the Coyotes.

“He was on a cellphone. He wasn’t able to get an Uber, luckily someone at the hotel was able to get him an Uber, got him in the Uber and paid for it and everything. So whoever that lady was, thank you very much for taking care of my dad,” said Scheifele.

Turns out none of this came as a surprise to the family.

“That’s kind of who he is,” said Scheifele. “We’re used to it. He’s usually late for a lot of things.”

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We’ll give the final word this week to former Jets forward Jack Roslovic, who was back in town to face his old team on Tuesday. With his Blue Jackets languishing near the bottom of the standings and Winnipeg at the top, you got the sense he wished he could still be part of the fun around here.

“It’s impressive. Saw Chevy (GM Kevin Cheveldayoff), he was smiling ear-to-ear. Not surprised with those players they still have. And it’s really cool to see,” said Roslovic.

“It’s almost sad to say that you could have, it’s easier said than done, that you could have been a part of. And you see what they’ve done, and it’s just cool to be able to watch from afar.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld