NHL season nearing halfway stage

We are edging closer and closer towards the halfway point of what has been a thrilling NHL season so far. Teams continue to surprise and impress but some also continue to struggle. I will pick out some of my favourite teams and players so far, and evaluate their chances for the playoffs later in the season.

The New York Rangers currently occupy top spot in the East with 22 wins and 48 points, with the Bruins hot on their heels just a point behind. Along with New York and Boston, the six other playoff spot holders in the East are Florida, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, New Jersey and Ottawa. The Rangers and Bruins are currently on five and six game winning streaks respectively and it is going to be hard for other teams to stop them being big forces in the playoffs this year.

With Florida being the surprise success this season after gaining several new recruits, there are several very good teams surprisingly struggling in the East. The Washington Capitals racked up 107 points last year but are currently without a playoff berth with 36 points and in 11th place. The Tampa Bay Lightning, conference finalists last year and my 2011-12 Stanley Cup Champions at the start of season, are sitting in 13th in the East with just 31 points and a huge 116 goals against. The New York Islanders currently occupy bottom spot in the East with a mere 11 wins. It is a hugely frustrating time to be an Islanders fan and I can’t see any success within the franchise for a few years at least.

My standout player in the East so far is tricky to choose so I have gone for two; James Neal of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In previous seasons, Kessel has been a 50-60 point a season man with the Leafs and Bruins, but this year the 24 year old American really kick started the Maple Leafs season. Having not made the playoffs for the past six seasons, the Leafs can count themselves in with a real shout this year with Kessel and Lupul both huge scoring threats. Kessel currently has 20 goals and sits behind Marian Gaborik in the scorers list, who has 22 for the Rangers.

The other standout player in the East for me is James Neal, who has 21 goals and 36 points. Without Sidney Crosby, Neal has stepped up to the plate and at the same time provided the Penguins with a massive scoring threat on a consistent basis. Neal played on a line with Brad Richards and Jamie Benn in Dallas last season, which was rated as the best line in the NHL in the early parts of last season. Neal struggled to get points a regular basis in the latter part of the season and was subsequently traded to Pittsburgh for defenseman Alex Goligoski. Neal struggled at the start of his career for the Pens, but now he is a massive part of a great offensive unit in Pittsburgh and will be pivotal in their quest for the cup.

The East really is a fascinating conference and I think it will keep changing right up until the final games are played, definitely one to keep an eye on!

Moving onto the West now and the very impressive Chicago Blackhawks sit deservedly on top with 23 wins and 50 points. The Vancouver Canucks are four points behind Chicago in second after a poor start to the season and the other six playoff spot holders are currently San Jose, St Louis, Detroit, Minnesota, Dallas and Nashville. Both Minnesota and Dallas had very good starts to the year but have stuttered recently yet still have playoff berths. The surprise success in the East has to be the St Louis Blues who have 46 points and are in fourth place in the West. Despite their severe special teams struggle, the defensive and goaltending units have really got it done, conceding just 77 goals which is third best in the NHL. They recently changed their coach by bringing in Ken Hitchcock and have tasted instant success, leading to them being decent playoff contenders.

Along with the East, there are a few surprise strugglers in the West. When looking at the table, it is a huge surprise to see the Anaheim Ducks just one place off of the bottom with just 10 wins and 26 points. They have hugely talented players such as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne to name just a few, but they have been struggling hugely on defense, giving up 115 goals. Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, an all-star last season, has a save percentage of just .902 this year, which is good enough for 31st in the NHL and if he doesn’t improve neither will Anaheim.

Again it is a tough choice for my standout player in the West but I am going to have go with a man from table-topping Chicago with Jonathan Toews. The young Canadian captain currently has 20 goals and 37 points playing alongside Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp who have made up possibly the deadliest line in the NHL at the moment, with 108 points between them. The Hawks are definitely a team to watch this year and I think they will go deep into the playoffs with a good seed gained from the regular season.