NHL Mid-Season Review
We are going to take a look at the NHL and how things sit as we hit the mid-season mark. No other place to start than with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins lead so many categories; points, most wins, fewest losses, goals for, fewest goals against, differential, home wins and many more. They also were featured in the recent winter classic against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park and true to form on the season they won this game as well. They currently sit atop all teams in the NHL with 62 points with the next closest teams being the Carolina Hurricanes and then out of the Western Conference the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Moving out west as mentioned the Golden Knights lead the conference but do have a few games in hand over the second place Dallas Stars. While there are still many games left to play in the west there is a decent margin between the top four and the rest of pack. Sitting far back at the bottom there are 4 teams that may be best off focusing on the 23-24 season, including the worst team in the NHL the Chicago Blackhawks. The middle grouping of 8 should be a fun battle to watch the second half of the year as only 8 points separates these teams currently.
Looking back at the Eastern Conference Boston and Carolina lead the way with the Toronto Maple Leafs not too far behind. Outside of that the next 5 teams are separated by only 5 points keeping the final playoff spots in a tight race but the next group does fall a bit further when looking at the playoff wildcard picture.
Another interesting stat to look at is goal differential, in particular one teams number. The LA Kings sit at the #7 spot in overall points, they have a goal differential of -6! For reference Boston, our top team, is at +57 and no team in the top 10 in the East has less +10. The Kings rank is 20th overall in the NHL, this differential is something I will be keeping an eye on, looking closer at the goalie in net as well as any big spreads that pop up in the second half of the season to take advantage of.
Shifting gears a touch and looking at individual stats Connor McDavid has a good sized lead in points this season over a handful of guys sitting about 20 points back. The Rocket Richard race is a bit tighter with McDavid leading but followed closely by a group of 6 including Alexander Ovechkin who seems to always be in the mix no matter his age. As far as apples (assists) go McDavid is tied with Kucherov and Karlsson currently, making the best bid to keep McDavid from a sweep. The D-man for the Sharks, Erik Karlsson is leading points, goals and assists. No surprise for net minders goals against and save % is being led by Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins.
Can’t wait to see how the NHL season plays out!
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