Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2018 21:25:20 GMT
First Divisional matchups in the books
The first big measuring stick has been passed, as all teams have now faced their divisional rivals for the first of three times this season. We’ve still got three undefeated teams, and a #1 seed that hung on to #1 despite losing and tying. We’ve also got the Jets all alone without a win. He are 16 thoughts, division-battle round one edition…
Atlantic Division
Montreal Canadiens (6-0-0, 57-25-8, 122 points, 2nd overall)
8-5, 9-4, and 8-5. The Canadiens took care of business with three more victories, but there were no blowouts to speak of. Still, Montreal’s numbers look solid and its team depth admirable, so there’s very little chance of anyone else taking the Atlantic Division banner. The Habs still look to be on a collision course for #1 overall seed.
Ottawa Senators (3-3-0, 48-32-10, 106 points, 6th overall)
Sitting in 6th place overall, the Sens just traded away some very good prospects for the hope that Max Pacioretty can add some secondary scoring. That goes to show the pressure that GM Darren is under to get this team into the playoff picture. Ottawa’s goaltending has been outstanding, and with 12-2 and 12-3 wins over Toronto and Buffalo, the Senators served notice that they are legitimate challengers for the franchise’s long-awaited playoff berth. But the big question remains: can they beat the Canadiens? We’ll have at least two more matchups to find out the answer.
Toronto Maple Leafs (2-4-0, 34-49-7, 75 points, 12th overall)
A big win over the Sabres in week 6 took some of the stink off the previous two weeks. But the Leafs cannot be happy with losing 12-2 in the battle of Ontario. At 75 points, Toronto is not out of the playoff picture yet, but the team will need to put together a solid run over the Flames, Devils and Flyers in the coming weeks to show itself there is still a chance.
Buffalo Sabres (2-4-0, 34-51-5, 73 points, 13th overall)
It was a nightmare first divisional matchups for the Sabres. Losers of all three, and it was not even close. Losing to Toronto 5-10 in week 6 capped it all off, and dropped Buffalo into the bottom of the Atlantic. But it was the 12-3 loss at Ottawa in week 4 that really crushed this team’s chances. It is still early, but the Sabres’ positive start has been all but erased. Plus GM Lou has Pickard and Brassard filling IR spots while his forward corps is decimated with injuries, and questions are being raised if the Sabres’ smart young GM has checked out.
Metro Division
New York Rangers (4-1-1, 50-32-8, 108 points, 3rd overall)
Two wins and a tie sounds pretty good, but the Rangers were lucky to not lose. After a dominant 13-2 win in Philly in week 4, New York looked like a team that might have thoughts of challenging for #1 seed overall. But the Rangers came back down to earth in weeks 5 and 6, tying the resurgent Devils before squeaking out a 7-6 win against its rivals in Long Island. Overall the Rangers hold a comfortable lead atop the Metro, but that has more to do with the weakness of the division than anything New York has shown so far.
New Jersey Devils (1-4-1, 34-45-11, 79 points, 10th overall)
An excellent first trip through the division has New Jersey fans feeling pretty good about their new GM. Despite falling to 0-4 with a loss to the Islanders in week 4, the Devils were buoyed by pretty good numbers and fell just short. A tie to the division-leading Rangers in week 5 got New Jersey on the board, and that was followed up with an 11-4 pounding of the Flyers for the franchise’s first ever victory. This is a team that has a chance to surprise in the second half of the season.
New York Islanders (2-4-0, 35-47-8, 78 points. 11th overall)
Another formerly winless expansion team that has rebounded in a big way over the past three weeks. The Islanders scored victories over the Devils and Flyers in weeks 4 and 5, and fell oh so short against the Rangers in week 6. All in all an impressive streak for NYI, who suddenly look like a team that could make some noise in the Metro and the playoff race this season.
Philadelphia Flyers (1-5-0, 30-57-3, 63 points, 15th overall)
Buffalo of the Metro, Philadelphia finds itself adrift without a paddle as the season starts to spin out of control. Heading into the divisional matchups, the Flyers sat just behind the Rangers for the division lead and there were some who thought they might be able to contend for the division title with a few breaks. Alas, Philly got smoked in week 4, 13-2 by the Rangers, and followed that up with identical 11-4 losses to the Islanders and Devils to drop all the way to 15th place, 45 points out of the divisional lead. While its still early, the Flyer’s run through the Metro likely ended all speculation about contention this year, triggering the full on rebuild that GM Matt had already started.
Central Division
Dallas Stars (4-1-1, 61-25-4, 126 points, 1st overall)
The Stars hung onto their #1 seed despite losing to Minnesota and drawing with St. Louis. It certainly helps when you can shellack Winnipeg 12-3. This team looks like a legitimate contender, especially after adding James Van Reimsdyke over the weekend. Of concern, however, is the loss to the Wild. It was only 8-7, but a closer look at the numbers show that Minnesota’s goalies were absolutely terrible and the Dallas goalies were only marginally better, yet Dallas took all 5 goalie categories. The Stars are going to have to be much better up front if they hope to contend with the Wild for first in the Central.
Minnesota Wild (6-0-0, 56-26-8, 120 points, 5th overall)
Still unbeaten, Minnesota sits 6 points behind Dallas and only 2 behind Montreal for the overall lead. With close wins over Dallas and St. Louis, Minnesota showed it can do enough to win the close fights. And a 13-1 beatdown of the Jets once again displayed the full fire power of the Wild. With Holtby out (and struggling even when he’s in), Minnesota’s achilles heel remains its goaltending. But the Wild have enough up front to compensate, even when losing 5 goalie categories like they did against the Stars.
St. Louis Blues (3-2-1, 45-34-11, 101 points, 7th overall)
An excellent stretch for the Blues against some very tough competition has this team looking like a serious playoff contender. After tying Dallas and losing a tight one to Minnesota, the Blues have put the rest of the league on notice that the rebuild is moving along quicker than some had predicted. Plus, St. Louis showed everyone the strategy for beating Minnesota – win PIMs, SHP and Hits, and hope you get enough goaltending to take four categories. It didn’t quite work in week 6, but the Blues will try it again during the next two meetings of the Central foes.
Winnipeg Jets (0-6-0, 16-68-6, 38 points, 16th overall)
Three more blowout losses. The Jets have yet to take more than 4 categories in a week, and the team looks lost on all fronts. Not much to say. The worst part about this sad affair is that the Montreal Canadiens have the Winnipeg first round pick in 2019. If you thought the real-life Ottawa Senators situation was depressing, this would be like Tampa Bay or Nashville owning Ottawa’s 2019 1st round pick.
Pacific Division
Las Vegas Golden Knights (6-0-0, 49-32-9, 107 points, 4th overall)
Vegas remains undefeated, and yet the team still has less points than the 3rd place Rangers (who have a loss and a tie). It is one of the quirks of the league scoring setup, and also reflects the difficulty of the Pacific compared to the Metro, but there is also something to be said about Vegas’ inability to put teams away. Mostly the culprit is Vegas’ goaltending, which was below .900 save percentage in all three matchups. Up front the team has been dominant, winning nine out of ten categories against the Flames in week 6. But if you can’t win a goaltending category, its tough slogging through the playoffs in the DHL. Look for GM Josh to make a splash in the goalie market before too much time passes. If he can address that weakness, this is a true contender.
Calgary Flames (3-3-0, 45-40-5, 95 points, 8th overall)
We said after week 3 that the first divisional matchups could make or break the Flames’ season. They did not, one way or the other. Losing two of three wasn’t great, especially when one of the losses was to the LA Kings for the Kings’ only win of the season. But beating Colorado 9-4 helps a lot, as does taking 6 categories against Las Vegas in a losing effort. This is a team holding down a playoff spot, but with a group of teams hovering within 20 points, Calgary is still a team that could go up or down.
Colorado Avalanche (2-4-0, 35-46-9, 79 points, 9th overall)
A 10-1 win over the Kings really papers over the previous two losses to Las Vegas and Calgary. The Avalanche have not looked too good until the week 6 match against LA, so the verdict is still out on whether this team is as good as they looked last year, or whether the rebuild will continue for another lost season. In part it’s a question of goaltending, and when you’re running Mike Smith out game after game you can’t expect much more than what has happened so far in Colorado. The question is, does GM Nate go after a reinforcement in net and sacrifice some of his young talent, or does he let the Smith-anchor drag the team down for another lottery pick?
Los Angeles Kings (1-5-0, 29-49-12, 70 points, 14th overall)
A win in week 5 against the Flames gave Kings fans some reason for optimism. Then Colorado beat LA 10-1 in week 6, crushing that optimism like a boot on a smoldering cigarette butt. Crosby is out, the goaltending is pitiful, and so far GM Dan has only made cosmetic changes to this roster. One can’t help but wonder when the scalpel will come out to carve a new identity from the mess of this team.