Hockey fans know that the middle of January means a couple of things: the Chicago BlackHawks just lost at the Winter Classic, the trade rumour mill is heating up, Canada is doing some soul-searching after another disappointing performance at the World Juniors, and the Buffalo Sabres have been all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Casual fans (read: Americans) might just be tuning in, so here’s what you’ve missed in the first half of the season:
Ovechkin chases history: It would be hard to start with anything else. Alexander Ovechkin has returned from a broken leg with a vengeance, and is only 23 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 and becoming the most prolific goal scorer in NHL history. The Capitals have 42 games left this season, meaning that Ovie needs to score at a pace of 0.55 goals per game to set the record this season. Compared to his career pace of 0.60 goals/game, that’s downright sluggish. Hot take: I say he does it.
Wild go wild: The Minnesota Wild aren’t so mid anymore. The team has defined the phrase since joining the league in 2001, making it out of the second round of the playoffs precisely once (and having only one top-5 draft pick during that time as well). However, they’ve taken a leap this year and have cemented themselves in the upper echelon of their the NHL, on the back of MVP-calibre play by Kirill Kaprizov and elite goaltending by Filip Gustavsson (imagine trading that guy!), along with their trademark stout defensive play.
Four Nations Cup: We all agree that this is a fake tournament that means nothing, right? Unless Canada wins it, then it means everything and proves that we are the superior hockey nation. Now to take a big sip of coffee and check out our goaltending situation…
Ah, well. Nevertheless.
NY Rangers/Nashville Predators midseason update: There’s trouble on Broadway, as the team with a lot of high-priced talent just can’t seem to put it together on the ice, making some wonder whether their rookie GM has what it takes to build a competitive roster in this day and age. Hard to believe, but strong goaltending has actually made things look better. Could their Norris-winning defenseman want out?
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: If the regular season ended today, the first round of the NHL playoffs would feature the following matchups: Toronto/Tampa, Florida/Boston, New Jersey/Carolina, Winnipeg/Colorado and Edmonton/LA. Parity!
Sleepy in Seattle: The Kraken have filled the void left by the Wild’s ascension, and are now the NHL’s most mid team. They don’t have a 30-point scorer through 41 games, Matty Beniers and Shane Wright haven’t impressed, and they have a load-bearing Joey D’Accord. All in all, this is probably best for Seattle sports fans, since they can now safely ignore the Squids and turn their focus toward being disappointed by the Mariners.
The Power of the Amulet: John Tavares has turned back the clock, scoring at a point-per-game pace when many around the league had written him off as washed, and is getting higher defensive zone usage than previously in his career.(Don’t believe me? Look it up on one of the nerd number websites). While some might explain this away as being the product of a contract season, or Tavares being unburdened by the weight of the “C” on his sweater, but those who Know Puck know that there was something divinely inspired at play. As it turns out, there was.Tavares has been acting as a spokesperson for a company that makes amulets and other accessories which it alleges have EMF-shielding properties. Now, I don’t know if that works (I’m not a scientist), but I know that Johnny T sure is shooting the puck in the net like a man unencumbered by electromagnetic frequencies.
The Passion that Unites Us All: Should the Stanley Cup parade follow the 1967 Leafs’ route and go from the old Maple Leaf Gardens to City Hall, or should it follow the 2019 Raptors’ route from Exhibition Place to City Hall? I’m leaning toward the latter, personally. Never too early to start thinking about these things.
That’s it. Nothing else happened.