2018 NHL Gamenotes

2017 is wrapped up and in the history books. As of now, the Pittsburgh Penguins are still the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions so, hopefully somebody other than the Pens will take the crown in 2018. We have seen youngsters like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Charlie McAvoy prove that the game is changing to a faster and more skilled league, making the upcoming Olympics that much more enjoyable to watch because it will be filled with future NHL players rather than NHL players today. NHL fans have also learned to respect the Vegas Golden Knights, the NUMBER TWO team in the NHL. Number two. Who knew that would happen? A brand new team with guys that haven’t played together are the second best team in the NHL and the best in the West and it is great for the sport of hockey. Lets take a look at what the first half of the season has brought us in 2017 and what we can look forward to in the New Year.

I wrote a review over the summer reviewing the Vegas Golden Knights expansion picks and evaluated their roster stating that you know what this team has damn good players and turns out they do. I never predicted they would be the number two team in the NHL when 2018 arrived, nor do I think anybody else did either. But hey, I think it is awesome not only for the city of Las Vegas, but for the NHL as well to have so much success in the first year of having hockey in the city of sin. The team has averaged 100% stadium capacity so far this season as well according to ESPN, despite the fact that they lie right in the middle of the pack in stadium capacity (17,854), which goes to show the city cares about their first professional team. Even though they do not have a league leading scorer within the top 10 of goals/assists/points, the Knights have proven they don’t need one, due to the depth of scoring the team has on their roster. In fact, VGK signed Jonathan Marchessault to a 6year/$30mil contract extension after he was making only $900k despite scoring 30 goals last season and already recording 15 this season. Even more surprising about the fact that Vegas is where they are is that they have used four different goalies this year that have earned victories with the injury bug biting their leader Marc-Andre Fleury early on in the year. Since they acquired Malcolm Subban from the Boston Bruins he ranks sixth in goals against average with a 2.25 mark, proving they have depth all over. Oh, and they are currently on an eight-game winning streak. I’m happy for Vegas, just as the NHL should be, so don’t sleep on this team they are as tough to beat and as skilled as any other team in the NHL, I look forward to seeing them in the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been the best team in the NHL all year and have been the top offensive and goaltending team as well. They currently have a +53 goal differential. The next best team, which is Vegas, has a +29, and the LA Kings do as well, but this proves how proficient the Bolts are at putting the puck in the net. Of course, having a healthy Steven Stamkos makes a world of difference for Tampa, but so does the emergence of Nikita Kucherov, who is currently first in points with 56 and second in goals with 25 (one behind Alex Ovechkin), has shown flashes over the past couple of seasons, but this year he is a total stud. Tampa’s goaltending has been stellar as well. After moving on from Ben Bishop, Andrei Vasilevskiy has shown he is a number one goaltender with his league leading 26 wins and 6 shutouts, along with his second best in the league 1.95 GAA and .937 save percentage. Borrowing an epic collapse, the Lightning will runaway with the top seed in the Eastern Conference and could possibly win the Presidents Trophy too, given their talent along their entire roster they can’t be anything less than a Stanley Cup favorite so let’s see if they can live up to the hype.

To kick-off the new year Citi Field played host to the 10^th Winter Classic with a bout between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. The weather was sunny, but it was cold. At puck drop the temperature reading was a crisp 20 degrees and the wind was whipping creating some numb noses and cheeks for players and coaches down on the ice. The Rangers broke out to an early 2-0 lead, while the lowly Buffalo Sabres seemed like they weren’t ready to play but they turned it around and battled back to tie the game in the final minute. J.T. Miller ended it though very early in overtime off Kevin Shattenkirk’s rebound shot and the sea of Rangers blue got to celebrate yet another Winter Classic victory. Despite Buffalo being at the bottom of the league with one of the top talents in the NHL in Jack Eichel, and the Rangers being in the middle of a battle for a playoff spot in the heavy Metropolitan division, the game itself was one worth watching. The scene at Citi Field was great, with mementos of the New York City vibe decorating the field, and with the game going to overtime, it makes it all that much more enjoyable. Not too look too far ahead, but I’m going to anyways, next year’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks at the home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish should be one for the ages.

One last rant, my team, the Boston Bruins, have been on fire. The team has jumped from a non-playoff team to second in the Atlantic Division with 50 points in 38 games played and a 7-1-2 mark in their last ten games. Tuukka Rask won the NHL first star of the month award for December posting a 9-0-1 record along with a 1.22 GAA and .955 save percentage. Despite a lot of talk around the city earlier in the year saying he should be traded and isn’t the elite goalie that he gets paid like, he has helped carry this team along with Anton Khudobin. The NHL’s top forward line of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak continue to stay hot and most recently JUST gave up their first five on five goal against. Yes that’s right, their FIRST goal against at even strength, I couldn’t even tell you when the last time a forward line in Boston did that, maybe not ever unless we go back to the 70’s or 80’s. Despite all that, the team is getting offensive help from all four lines, they are giving Zdeno Chara some rest while Charlie McAvoy continues to lead the league in time on ice, and are clicking at the right time as they get ready to take on Montreal three times in eight games starting next week. I hope this team keeps their foot on the pedal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit a bit of a wall once March rolls around. However, I would love to be proven wrong. This team is fun to watch, so if you are a hockey fan and haven’t watched them, take a look.

Written by Nick Gendreau