The season is inching closer to its half-way point, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape.
At this point in the year, the risers and fallers have made themselves pretty clear. Top teams and players seem fairly stable three months into the season, while constant fallers are getting to the point where it would take a miracle to turn the season around.
But this is hockey. And the season isn’t over until it’s over.
So for now, let’s move on to this week’s risers and fallers. Because who knows where they might be next week.
Rising: The Pittsburgh Penguins Offense
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ offense has had one heck of a week.
The reigning Stanley Cup Champions played four games last week. They won every game. But they didn’t just win. They dominated. Like, really dominated. The Penguins scored a combined 24 goals throughout the past four games, scoring four or more goals in each game.
This outpouring of offense goes back farther than just four games, though. The Penguins’ offensive domination started at the beginning of December and is still going strong almost three weeks later. The team is currently riding a six-game win streak after defeating the Arizona Coyotes 6-0 Monday night. In every win, the Pens have scored four or more goals, with a high of eight goals coming against the Ottawa Senators last week. The Champions are not messing around this season.
Falling: The Boston Bruins Offense
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ offense is off the charts. The Boston Bruins’ offense, on the other hand, is at the bottom of the charts.
More specifically, it’s at the bottom of the league’s goals per game chart (it’s not really a chart but you get the point). Boston is 25th in the league with only 2.30 goals per game. On top of that, the Bruins have scored two or fewer goals in 20 of their 29 games. The only offense Boston has been getting is from one guy: David Pastrnak. Pastrnak has scored five of the last 12 Bruins goals, while the rest of the roster has sputtered. That’s great and all that No. 88 is having a career year, but having only one guy scoring goals just isn’t going to get this team very far.
Coach Claude Julien recently shuffled lines in an attempt to generate more offense, but it’s unclear if new lines are going to solve the Bruins’ offensive woes. For now, the Bruins’ offense is falling, and so is Boston’s record.
Rising: Antti Raanta
If Henrik Lundqvist is king in New York, Antti Raanta is definitely heir to the Rangers throne.
New York’s hot-handed goaltender has been unyielding in net for the past four games. The backup goalie had an active shutout streak of 151:04, a 1.12 goals against average and a .952 save percentage before the Chicago Blackhawks ended his streak Tuesday night. Raanta shutout streak ended at 176:22.
Lundqvist might be a superstar, but it’s hard to sit a guy that’s playing as solidly as Raanta.
Falling: Henrik Lundqvist
Raanta’s success story is great, but you’ve got to feel a little pity for Lundqvist. The guy’s been New York’s No. 1 for over a decade, and he’s continually been one of the best netminders in the league. But this year, things are changing for King Henrik.
The 34-year-old might finally be approaching the downside of his career. That’s not to say he’s going to retire after this season, but Lundqvist has struggled this season. The Rangers’ most valuable player allowed 4 goals on 32 shots in his last outing over a week ago and has had trouble giving up easy goals. That doesn’t mean he’s terrible, but he’s no Vezina candidate this year, either. Lundqvist is 12-10-0 with a 2.55 goals against average and .912 save percentage in 21 games. Those stats are nothing to be ashamed of, but the real question is if they’re good enough to justify pulling Raanta from the net.
For now, Lundqvist is taking a backseat to his teammate.
Rising: The Metropolitan Division
The Metropolitan Division is leaving the rest of the league in the dust. Five of the top seven teams in the league come from the Met, while most other divisions are lucky to have one team near the top.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals are lighting the league on fire this season. It’s a shame so much great hockey is contained to only one division, especially since more than half of those top Met teams will end their season no later than the second round of the playoffs. However, I’m not one to complain about great hockey. It might be a shame that not all these hot Met teams will make it to the playoffs, but for now, we can just watch them put on a show for the rest of the season.
Falling: The New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a decent hockey team this season. This week, they’re not in the “falling” category because they suck. They’re here because the rest of their division is really, really good.
You can’t help but feel bad for the Devils. They’re finally having a pretty good year, and they still can’t catch a break. New Jersey, currently with 30 points, sits in seventh place in the league. In almost every other division, the Devils would sit firmly in the middle of the playoff picture. In the Metropolitan Division, however, the Devils’ chances of making the postseason seem to grow slimmer every day. New Jersey just can’t keep up with streaking teams like the Penguins and Rangers, who both already have over 40 points.
It’s not New Jersey’s fault for falling. This team is playing decently. It just might be impossible to keep up with the rest of the teams in this league-leading division.
Rising: The Montreal Canadiens
The Metropolitan Division might be hot, but there’s still plenty of great teams around the rest of the league. The Montreal Canadiens are proof of that.
The Canadiens have pretty much been rising all season long. At this point, I’m not sure anything is going to stop them. Last week, I predicted Alex Galchenyuk’s absence would slow down Montreal’s offense. Boy, was I wrong. Even without one of the team’s top point-getters, the Canadiens had no problem producing goals this week. The team’s 10-1 routing of the Colorado Avalanche was proof of that.
The Met has a lot of great teams, but the Atlantic Division’s Montreal Canadiens aren’t going to give up the top spot without a fight.
Falling: The Colorado Avalanche
Oh, the Colorado Avalanche. I don’t even know what to say about this poor team any more.
The Avalanche have had a rough time this season. And that’s an understatement. The team’s 10-1 loss to Montreal this week was just the icing on the bottom-of-the-league cake. Yes, there’s still over half a season of hockey left to be played, but let’s be realistic. Colorado is likely not turning this season around. Just as the Canadiens have nearly cemented their place at the top of the league, the Avalanche have made a permanent home in the basement of the league.
Rising: This REALLY Dedicated Canucks Fan
The Vancouver Canucks aren’t much better than the Avalanche this year. But at least they have some really dedicated fans. This guy, in particular, took his hockey dedication to a new level.
Maybe all the Canucks needed was some lucky chest hair to turn this season around? I don’t even know.
Falling: Maple Leafs Rookies
Toronto isn’t quite as bad as its fellow Canadian team, but it’s getting pretty close.
The Maple Leafs started the season off on a high note, thanks to rookies like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Unfortunately, those rookies have stopped consistently producing offense and Toronto has slipped to the bottom of the league.
Marner’s gone 10 games without a goal. William Nylander had four points in the last 10 games (that’s not bad; it’s just not good considering he started the season by tallying nine points in his first six games). Matthews has continued to put pucks in the net, but he can’t be the only rookie playing up to his full potential. I understand this team is young and maybe inexperienced, but these rookies need to get going if Toronto is going to make a push back to the top of the league.