Down the Frozen River

Tag: Semyon Varlamov

  • 2017 NHL Expansion Draft: Protected Lists

    30 of the NHL’s 31 teams submitted their protected lists on Saturday by 5 p.m. ET. The protected lists were made public at 10:30 a.m. ET (originally scheduled for 10 a.m.) on Sunday. Additionally, the available lists of players to choose from were released.

    The Vegas Golden Knights will now spend the next few days constructing their roster, with the full reveal set for Wednesday night during the NHL Awards Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

    To recap, here’s all of the protected players:

    Anaheim Ducks

    Forwards: Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell, Jakob Silfverberg, Antoine Vermette

    Defensemen: Kevin Bieksa, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm

    Goaltender: John Gibson

    Arizona Coyotes

    Forwards: Nick Cousins, Anthony Duclair, Jordan Martinook, Tobias Rieder

    Defensemen: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Connor Murphy, Luke Schenn

    Goaltender: Chad Johnson

    Boston Bruins

    Forwards: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Riley Nash, David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner

    Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller

    Goaltender: Tuukka Rask

    Buffalo Sabres

    Forwards: Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Zemgus Girgensons, Evander Kane, Johan Larsson, Ryan O’Reilly, Kyle Okposo

    Defensemen: Nathan Beaulieu, Jake McCabe, Rasmus Ristolainen

    Goaltender: Robin Lehner

    Calgary Flames

    Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferlund, Michael Frolik, Johnny Gaudreau, Curtis Lazar, Sean Monahan

    Defensemen: T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton

    Goaltender: Mike Smith

    Carolina Hurricanes

    Forwards: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Elias Lindholm, Brock McGinn, Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen

    Defensemen: Trevor Carrick, Justin Faulk, Ryan Murphy

    Goaltender: Scott Darling

    Chicago Blackhawks

    Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Ryan Hartman, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Patrick Kane, Richard Panik, Jonathan Toews

    Defensemen: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook

    Goaltender: Corey Crawford

    Colorado Avalanche

    Forwards: Sven Andrighetto, Blake Comeau, Matt Duchene, Rocco Grimaldi, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Nieto

    Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson, Nikita Zadorov

    Goaltender: Semyon Varlamov

    Columbus Blue Jackets

    Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Boone Jenner, Brandon Saad, Alexander Wennberg

    Defensemen: Seth Jones, Ryan Murray, David Savard

    Goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky

    Dallas Stars

    Forwards: Jamie Benn, Radek Faksa, Valeri Nichushkin, Brett Ritchie, Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza

    Defensemen: Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell

    Goaltender: Ben Bishop

    Detroit Red Wings

    Forwards: Justin Abdelkader, Andreas Athanasiou, Anthony Mantha, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Henrik Zetterberg

    Defensemen: Danny DeKeyser, Mike Green, Nick Jensen

    Goaltender: Jimmy Howard

    Edmonton Oilers

    Forwards: Leon Draisaitl, Jordan Eberle, Zack Kassian, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic, Patrick Maroon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

    Defensemen: Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera

    Goaltender: Cam Talbot

    Florida Panthers

    Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck

    Defensemen: Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, Mark Pysyk, Keith Yandle

    Goaltender: James Reimer

    Los Angeles Kings

    Forwards: Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli

    Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Derek Forbort, Alec Martinez, Jake Muzzin

    Goaltender: Jonathan Quick

    Minnesota Wild

    Forwards: Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Jason Zucker

    Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter

    Goaltender: Devan Dubnyk

    Montreal Canadiens

    Forwards: Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw

    Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Jeff Petry, Shea Weber

    Goaltender: Carey Price

    Nashville Predators

    Forwards: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, Calle Jarnkrok, Ryan Johansen

    Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Roman Josi, P.K. Subban

    Goaltender: Pekka Rinne

    New Jersey Devils

    Forwards: Taylor Hall, Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac

    Defensemen: Andy Greene, John Moore, Mirco Mueller, Damon Severson

    Goaltender: Cory Schneider

    New York Islanders

    Forwards: Andrew Ladd, Anders Lee, John Tavares

    Defensemen: Johnny Boychuk, Travis Hamonic, Nick Leddy, Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock

    Goaltender: Thomas Greiss

    New York Rangers

    Forwards: Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello

    Defensemen: Nick Holden, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal

    Goaltender: Henrik Lundqvist

    Ottawa Senators

    Forwards: Derick Brassard, Ryan Dzingel, Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Zack Smith, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris

    Defensemen: Cody Ceci, Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf

    Goaltender: Craig Anderson

    Philadelphia Flyers

    Forwards: Sean Couturier, Valtteri Filppula, Claude Giroux, Scott Laughton, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek

    Defensemen: Shayne Gostisbehere, Radko Gudas, Brandon Manning

    Goaltender: Anthony Stolarz

    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin

    Defensemen: Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Justin Schultz

    Goaltender: Matt Murray

    San Jose Sharks

    Forwards: Ryan Carpenter, Logan Couture, Jannik Hansen, Tomas Hertl, Melker Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Chris Tierney

    Defensemen: Justin Braun, Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

    Goaltender: Martin Jones

    St. Louis Blues

    Forwards: Patrik Berglund, Ryan Reaves, Jaden Schwartz, Vladimir Sobotka, Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko

    Defensemen: Jay Bouwmeester, Joel Edmundson, Alex Pietrangelo

    Goaltender: Jake Allen

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    Forwards: Ryan Callahan, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos

    Defensemen: Braydon Coburn, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman

    Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy

    Toronto Maple Leafs

    Forwards: Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, James van Riemsdyk

    Defensemen: Connor Carrick, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly

    Goaltender: Frederik Andersen

    Vancouver Canucks

    Forwards: Sven Baertschi, Loui Eriksson, Markus Granlund, Bo Horvat, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Brandon Sutter

    Defensemen: Alexander Edler, Erik Gudbranson, Christopher Tanev

    Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

    Washington Capitals

    Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson

    Defensemen: John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Dmitry Orlov

    Goaltender: Braden Holtby

    Winnipeg Jets

    Forwards: Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Bryan Little, Adam Lowry, Mathieu Perreault, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler

    Defensemen: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba

    Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck

  • Avalanche of Trades Coming

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    We’re still about a month and a half away from this year’s NHL trade deadline, but it’s never too early to start talking about who might get traded or what teams will be active.

    There’s a lot of chatter on Twitter in the last couple of days that Arizona Coyotes general manager, John Chayka, will be a busy GM from now through the deadline working the phones and trying to acquire assets. And of course, everyone knows the current dire situation of the Colorado Avalanche and the mountain of work that’s facing their general manager, Joe Sakic.

    But let’s be realistic here for a moment– anything is possible.

    Although, there’s probably one thing we can rule out at this point, and that’s the Montreal Canadiens trading P.K. Subban (because they already did that, in June, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shea Weber— what have you been under a rock for the last several months?).

    While the Coyotes are likely to be unpredictable past the potentially looming Martin Hanzal and Shane Doan deals, Colorado is sure to be playing host to this year’s trade deadline fire sale and mostly predictable in regards to who may be dealt.

    Defenseman Tyson Barrie has had his name tossed around more than a few times in the last couple of seasons, but recently the Av’s have taken a long hard look at trading forwards Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog.

    With everybody but Nathan MacKinnon at their disposal, Sakic remains firm on driving a steep price for either Duchene or Landeskog.

    Moving Duchene would likely yield a forward or a defenseman, but not much more, as those teams that have expressed interest do not seem to be all to bent on a package deal for the center who has two-years left on his contract at $6 million AAV. The 30 goal scorer last season has had two 65+ point seasons aside from last year’s 30-29-59 totals in 76 games played.

    Duchene remains a tremendous attraction, but one that has been quietly shopped, most recently inquired about by the Carolina Hurricanes as per Bleacher Report’s Adrian Dater.

    Of course, the Pittsburgh Penguins remain very much in on trying to add a piece or two to their roster, as well as the Boston Bruins and just about anyone else, but that’s where Landeskog comes in.

    It’s no doubt that Landeskog will be traded at some point or another. When is the golden question, considering how Sakic will continue to play hardball and could hold out until the Entry Draft in June when more teams are open to moving pieces that may or may not have previously been important to their successful/failed playoff run prior to June.

    Boston has several pieces that they could be willing to move with Ryan Spooner, Joseph Morrow, Jimmy Hayes and others as “expendable”, however even the combination of Bruins GM Don Sweeney‘s dreams would not add up to the value of Landeskog alone or with other components.

    Sakic is insistent on bringing home Colorado Springs native, Brandon Carlo, from the Bruins, but trading Carlo should be the last thing on Boston’s mind (along with disrupting any of their core players in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug and Tuukka Rask, just to name a few).

    The B’s are buyers this season– and they have to be, in order to remain in the hunt, with Toronto a point behind after Tuesday night and five games in hand over the Bruins. But Boston cannot add and subtract, like they’ve seem to have done the last couple of seasons in lateral moves that have kept them complacent with their standing in the Atlantic Division.

    Pittsburgh might be keen on moving a defenseman, such as Kris Letang, but Sakic remains stern on wanting to do more than just a one-for-one deal, considering the state of the rebuild in Colorado.

    Of the teams with perhaps the best situation for trading (without looking into the salary cap, of course), the Los Angeles Kings could play the role of the dark horse that sweeps Landeskog away with a plethora of prospects in the AHL and a few options to trade from their NHL roster.

    Any team that is willing or has room for Landeskog’s $5.571 million cap hit over the next five years is easily in the running behind closed doors and on phones we haven’t heard ring yet.

    Among the other players likely to leave the Avalanche in an ever looming avalanche of trades, Jarome Iginla, Carl Soderberg, Patrick Wiercioch and Semyon Varlamov remain attractive options.

    Iginla’s name has been tied to the Chicago Blackhawks in their annual search for an older veteran who’s looking to finally win the Cup, but there could be more teams at play, for the right price. Meanwhile, Soderberg’s name has gone under the radar, however he remains an attractive option for any team looking into solidifying themselves down the middle with a little veteran experience and NHL caliber seasoning.

    Wiercioch appears to be the most expendable defenseman other than Barrie or Erik Johnson, but won’t pull enough weight in a deal on his own. A Wiercioch-Soderberg-something package certainly might be more appealing to a team looking to dump rental contracts in return.

    Finally, Varlamov may be left exposed in the expansion draft if he isn’t moved prior to then. Certainly there are some teams that could utilize Varlamov’s starting goaltender status, including the Kings, Winnipeg Jets or others depending on their plans down the road (the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and/or Penguins to name a few).

    Though if there’s going to be a goalie moved at or before the deadline, it’ll likely be Ondrej Pavelec, Jaroslav Halak, Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop before other teams get on board with their plans to change things in goal before Vegas swoops in.

    Look, it’s the end of an era one way or another for Colorado.

    It’s just crazy that it might have to come down to trading Duchene and Landeskog (both top-5 draft picks in their respective draft years) to do so. Then again, things already got pretty crazy when Cody McLeod was sent to Nashville after spending his entire career until then in an Av’s uniform.

  • Down the Frozen River Podcast #40- Goalies Galore

    Down the Frozen River Podcast #40- Goalies Galore

    We didn’t really start talking about goalies like we wanted to until almost 20 minutes into the recording, so if that’s what you came here for, sit tight a minute (or 20).

  • Numbers Game: Top-5 Pending RFA Goalies

    By: Nick Lanciani

    12:01 PM ET on July 1st (precisely) marks the start of the NHL’s free agency period, so of course, you’ve found yourself scavenging the Internet for the freshest hot takes and the best indications of where players will end up. Likewise, you probably just want to know who’s available out there (and I’m not talking about Tinder).

    Well fear not, because I’m here to set things straight with a short series of posts about the Top-5 free agents in every category you can think of (UFA forwards, UFA defensemen, UFA goalies, RFA forwards, RFA defensemen and RFA goalies) in this latest edition of Numbers Game posts. RFAs are fun, RFAs are cool, but here’s the thing, other general managers will hate you forever apparently if you offer sheet one of their guys. Also, shouts to you if you’re still reading these. That shows commitment. And heart. And grit. I’ll be done with these— for now.

    Down the Frozen River- Smaller Circular Logo

    1. G Petr Mrazek (27-16-0-6, 2.33 GAA, .921 SV% with the Detroit Red Wings)- $737,500 cap hit, 23 years old

    Petr Mrazek is the only starting goaltender of this bunch and he’s due for a payday with the Detroit Red Wings. The only problem is, they still have Jimmy Howard and are paying him a bunch. So while Mrazek’s in the waitroom, you might as well give him a call if you’re a GM that needs a starting goalie that hasn’t even reached his full potential or tapped into his best play.

    2. G Darcy Kuemper (6-7-0-5, 2.43 GAA, .915 SV% with the Minnesota Wild)- $1.250 million cap hit, 25 years old

    The Minnesota Wild would be smart to keep Darcy Kuemper around long enough to turn him into a valuable asset that they could cash in, which sounds exactly like what they’re planning on doing. Let’s just say that Kuemper’s not a starter if Devan Dubnyk goes down with an injury, but until you find a rental replacement, he’ll be able to hold you over.

    3. G Calvin Pickard (7-6-0-1, 2.56 GAA, .922 SV% with the Colorado Avalanche)- $850,500 cap hit, 23 years old

    Calvin Pickard has the chance to be a decent backup, but is nowhere near the projections of taking over the number one spot in Colorado just yet. In a related story, the Avalanche should really keep him and get him a defense, just in case Semyon Varlamov gets hurt again and/or Pickard plays better than Varlamov for whatever reason.

    4. G Anders Nilsson (10-13-0-2, 3.12 GAA, .901 SV% with the Edmonton Oilers/St. Louis Blues)- $1.000 million, 25 years old

    Anders Nilsson has played in 52 career NHL games over three seasons and has never ended a season with a GAA less than 2.75, so yeah, offer sheet him all you want. Whoever owns him would be glad to get a 7th rounder (at best).

    5. G Kristers Gudlevskis (0-0-0-1, 1.00 GAA, .969 SV% with the Tampa Bay Lightning)- $608,333 cap hit, 23 years old

    Kristers Gudlevskis has had two solid starts to his NHL career as the presumptive backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy once the Tampa Bay Lightning eventually (probably) move Ben Bishop or lose him at the 2017 expansion draft to Las Vegas.

    Honorable Mention

    Me if I were still playing DekHockey (I forget my stats, good GAA, decent SV%)- $0 cap hit

    I mean, seriously, there’s only 14 RFA goalies available (if that by 12:01) and there’s hardly enough to make a top-5 from them.

     

  • March 24 – Day 161 – All the wildcards

    The New York Rangers made easy work of Boston in yesterday’s Game of the Day, beating them 5-2.

    Two unanswered power play goals in the first period set the tone for the Rangers.  The first found the back of the net at the 8:37 mark, scored on a Mats Zuccarello wrister, assisted by Third Star of the Game Keith Yandle and First Star Derek Stepan.  3:02 later, Stepan scored his own goal after assists from Yandle (his 37th helper of the season) and Second Star Henrik Lundqvist.  The Blueshirts‘ two goal shutout lead held into the intermission.

    5:26 after resuming play, Derick Brassard scored the eventual game-winner (his 26th tally of the season), assisted by Kevin Klein and Jesper Fast.  Boston finally scored 26 seconds before the midway point of both the period and the game courtesy of a Lee Stempniak wrister, assisted by Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron (his 34th helper of the season).  The 3-1 Rangers lead held into the second intermission.

    New York took control of the scoring again 6:32 after returning to the ice, as J.T. Miller’s wrister crossed the goal line after assists from Stepan and Zuccarello (his 32nd helper of the season).  Frank Vatrano scored 5:34 later for the Bruins on a snap shot, assisted by Loui Eriksson (his 28th helper of the season) and Zdeno Chara.  The final goal of the game was scored with 2:53 remaining, scored by Rick Nash on an empty net.

    Lundqvist earns the win after saving 39 of 41 shots faced (95.1%), while Jonas Gustavsson takes the loss, saving 13 of 15 (86.7%).  He replaced Tuukka Rask after the first intermission, as Rask saved only six of eight shots faced (75%).

    The third straight home win sets the DtFR Game of the Day series at 73-41-17, favoring the home squads by 35 points over the roadies.

    Yesterday’s reprieve sets us up for an exciting Thursday schedule.  Three games drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Florida at Boston [TVAS], New Jersey at Pittsburgh and Carolina at Columbus), followed half an hour later by two more (Anaheim at Toronto and Montréal at Detroit [NHLN/RDS]).  Another trio gets started at 8 p.m. eastern (Vancouver at Nashville [SN360], Calgary at Minnesota and Los Angeles at Winnipeg), with Philadelphia at Colorado trailing an hour later.  Dallas at Arizona gets its start at 10 p.m. eastern, and Edmonton at San Jose, this evening’s nightcap, follows 30 minutes later.

    Five of the 11 games taking place tonight are division rivalries (Florida at Boston, New Jersey at Pittsburgh, Carolina at Columbus, Montréal at Detroit and Edmonton at San Jose), but only Florida at Boston is between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

    You might think I’d choose the Panthers–Bruins game, but since that one doesn’t have immediate impact on the standings, I’m more interested in Philadelphia at Colorado.

    Philadelphia Flyers LogoUnknown-1

     

    In addition to both appearing in the Game of the Day series six times before tonight’s game, both Philadelphia and Colorado own 4-2-0 records in those games.  Philadelphia was last featured Saturday in their 4-1 home loss to the rival Penguins, and Colorado last played in the series March 1, a 6-3 loss in Minnesota.

    The 35-24-13 Philadelphia Flyers currently occupy fifth in the Metropolitan Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference, good enough for the second wildcard spot.  To get into that position, they’ve played the 15th best defense, but it’s been backed by the 10th worst offense.  A more in-depth breakdown of Philly‘s game can be found within Saturday’s article.

    The Flyers last played to a 3-2 shootout loss in Columbus on Tuesday.  A win tonight for the Flyers is very important, as the Red Wings are also in action this evening, and playing Montréal to boot – a much weaker opponent than the Avalanche.  An added bonus to winning is pulling within two points of the idle Islanders for the first wildcard spot.

    The  38-31-4 Colorado Avalanche are currently sixth in the Central Division and ninth in the Western Conference, making them the first team left out of the playoff picture.  Offense has led the way, as they rank 14th best in scoring, but 11th worst in defense.

    The injured Nathan MacKinnon’s 245 shots have led the Avalanche to firing the puck only 2108 times, but 9.2% have found the back of the net for 198 goals (led by Matt Duchene’s 29 tallies), the 14th most in the league.  They step up the pressure on the power play, as Colorado‘s 19.41% success rate, good for 46 power play goals (led by Jarome Iginla’s dozen extra man tallies), ranks 11th best in the NHL.

    Even with Francois Beauchemin’s 236 blocks, the Avs have allowed a whopping 2317 shots to reach 26-18-3 Semyon Varlamov and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.8% for 204 goals against, the 11th most in the league.  Although the defense as a whole hasn’t been that strong, Colorado definitely clamps down on the penalty kill, neutralizing 82.1% of their penalties for 41 power play goals against, the ninth best rate in the league.  Further improving on that solid rate, the Avalanche have also scored seven shorthanded goals, two more than the league average.

    The Avalanche are currently riding a three game winning streak, with their most recent being Sunday’s 3-2 win in Edmonton.  Just like Philadelphia, Colorado‘s main playoff competition, the Minnesota Wild, is playing this evening against a weaker opponent, the Calgary Flames.  As the Wild have only a one point lead over the Avs, a Colorado win paired with anything less than a Wild win would propel Colorado into the second wildcard.

    Colorado has already made their yearly visit to Philadelphia, and they certainly enjoyed their time in the City of Brotherly Love, winning on a four-goal shutout on November 10.

    Some players to keep an eye on include Colorado‘s Duchene (56 points, 29 of which are goals, with 21 at even strength [all lead the team]) and Philadelphia‘s Michal Neuvirth (.925 save percentage [fifth best in the league] and 2.28 GAA [10th best in the league]).

    Colorado seems to be the better team, both statistically and given their three game winning streak.  Add that in with the fact that they are hosting this evening’s contest, it should be an Avalanche winner.

  • March 1 – Day 138 – A Wild wildcard push

    It took overtime, but Detroit was able to beat one of the best offenses in the league 3-2 in Dallas in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    It took 31:50 of play before Detroit struck the first goal, courtesy of an Second Star of the Game Andreas Athanasiou wrister, assisted by Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist, but their lead lasted only 5:42 before Colton Sceviour leveled the scored, assisted by Third Star Vernon Fiddler and Alex Goligoski (his 22nd helper of the season).  The one-all score held into the second intermission.

    6:38 after resuming play, Athanasiou scored his second of the night, assisted by Mike Green (his 18th helper of the season) and Luke Glendening.  The score was again leveled, but not until only 1:31 remained in regulation.  Fiddler takes the credit, assisted by Ales Hemsky and Jason Demers, and his goal sent the game to overtime.

    Thanks to a Mattias Janmark hooking penalty, Detroit earned a four-on-three power play, which they used to their advantage to win the game on First Star Pavel Datsyuk’s 13th score of the season.

    Jimmy Howard earns the win after saving 39 of 41 (95.1%), while Antti Niemi takes the loss, saving 30 of 33 (90.9%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 61-34-13, favoring the home squads by 30 points over the roadies.

    It’s a busy Tuesday in the NHL, with a solid nine games on tap.   Two games drop the puck at 7 p.m. eastern (Calgary at Boston and Carolina at New Jersey), followed half an hour later by three more (Pittsburgh at Washington [NBCSN], Edmonton at Buffalo and St. Louis at Ottawa).  Another trio drops the puck at 8 p.m. eastern (Dallas at Nashville, Colorado at Minnesota and Florida at Winnipeg), with this evening’s nightcap, the New York Islanders at Vancouver, beginning at 10 p.m. eastern.

    Four of tonight’s games are divisional rivalries (Carolina at New Jersey, Pittsburgh at Washington, Dallas at Nashville and Colorado at Minnesota), and only two are between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs (Pittsburgh at Washington and Dallas at Nashville).

    Usually, I would choose either the Pittsburgh–Washington or the Dallas–Nashville game, but there’s an even bigger game, a battle for the second wildcard spot, going on this evening in the Xcel Energy Center.

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    Tonight’s game will be Colorado‘s sixth in the Game of the Day series, where they currently own a 4-1-0 record.  Their most recent showing in our series was January 27, a 4-3 victory in Los Angeles.  Minnesota has been featured seven times before this evening, and own a 4-3-0 record in such games.  They were last featured January 3 when they lost 2-1 in Florida.

    The 32-28-4 Colorado Avalanche currently occupy fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference, good enough for the second wildcard position.  It has been their top-10 offense that has led them to that position, and it has been necessary – the defense is eighth-worst.

    Even with Nathan MacKinnon’s 220 shots, the Avs have fired the puck only 1826 times, but 9.3% have found the back of the net for 172 goals (led by Matt Duchene’s 26 tallies), ninth-most in the league.  The most exciting thing about this offense is that they do not rely on the power play, as Colorado connects on only 19.07% of opportunities for 41 goals (led by Jarome Iginla’s 11 extra-man tallies), only the 13th-best in the league.

    It has been a good thing Colorado has found such success on the offensive end, because the defense has been… lacking.  Even with Francois Beauchemin’s 195 blocks, Colorado has allowed 2016 shots to reach 22-17-3 Semyon Varlamov and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.6% for 181 goals against, eighth-most in the league.  The defensive special teams have clamped down a little bit more, as they kill off 80.2% of penalties for 40 power play goals against, 12th-worst in the league.  To make up for that, the Avalanche have scored seven short-handed goals, two more than the league average.

    The Avalanche last played Saturday at Coors Field, where they fell 5-3 at the hands of the Red Wings.  With a regulation win over the Wild this evening, they not only improve their lead over ninth place to four points, they also have the potential to pull within three points of first wildcard Nashville should they lose to the Stars.

    The 28-25-10 Minnesota Wild currently occupy sixth place in the Central Division and ninth in the Western Conference.  While that may be good enough to get them ‘first team out’ status, close counts only in horseshoes and hand grenades, so management has done all they can to get the state of hockey another playoff birth.

    So far this season, they’ve been led by their defense.  Jared Spurgeon has 125 blocks to his credit, which has helped lead the Wild to allowing only 1801 shots to reach 22-21-5 Devan Dubnyk and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.8% for 159 goals against, 12th-fewest in the league.  The overall defense hasn’t gotten much help from the special teams, as the Wild kill only 76.88% of their penalties for 37 power play goals against, the third-worst rate in the NHL.  To slightly lessen the effects of those stats, Minnesota has scored six short-handed goals, led by Erik Haula’s two.

    Even with Zach Parise’s 182 shots, the Wild have only managed to fire the puck 1844 times, with 8.9% finding the back of the net for 164 goals (led by Charlie Coyle’s 19 tallies), 13th-fewest in the league.  The power play has been slightly better, capitalizing on 18.59% of opposing penalties for 37 power play goals (led by Mikko Koivu’s seven extra-man tallies), the 14th-best rate in the league.

    With a win this evening, the Minnesota Wild will propel themselves into the second wildcard position by virtue of one fewer game played than Colorado.  If they lose, Minnesota‘s lead over 10th place could slip to four points if Vancouver beats the Islanders.

    Minnesota has yet to lose in regulation in the season series, and as such, lead it 2-0-1.  That being said, it was the last meeting between these squads that Colorado was able to earn two points, as they won the back half of a home-and-home series on December 7 2-1 in overtime.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Colorado‘s Duchene (26 goals [tied for ninth-most in the league]) and Minnesota‘s Koivu (43 points, 22 of which are even-strength assists and seven are power play goals [all lead the team]).

    Seeing as Minnesota is the more balanced of these teams and they have the home ice advantage, I think the Wild beat the Avalanche and re-enter the playoff picture for the first time in months.

  • January 20 – Day 102 – We ain’t talking about no auto shop

    Thanks to a two-goal third period to seal the deal, the Boston Bruins have won their third in a row after beating the Canadiens 4-1 in Montréal in yesterday’s Game of the Day.

    The only goal of the first period occurred at the 13:08 mark, courtesy of Max Talbot, his second of the season.

    The Habs leveled the score at one-all 8:48 after resuming play with Third Star of the Game Mark Barberio’s first goal of the season, assisted by P.K. Subban (his 30th helper of the season) and David Desharnais, but the Bruins were able to take the lead again 3:11 before the second intermission with First Star Patrice Bergeron’s game-winner (his 18th goal of the season), assisted by David Pastrnak and Dennis Seidenberg.

    Boston scored their first insurance goal of the evening at the 12:14 mark of the final period, scored by Pastrnak (his fourth tally of the season) and assisted by Zac Rinaldo and Joe Morrow.  The final goal was an empty netter from Brad Marchand, assisted by Loui Eriksson (his 23rd helper of the season), setting the score at the 4-1 final.

    Second Star Tuukka Rask improves his record to 16-13-4 after saving 38 of 39 (97.4%), while Mike Condon’s falls to 12-12-4 after saving only 20 of 23 (87%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 43-20-9, favoring the home squad by 31 points over the roadies.

    A busy Tuesday schedule makes way for a light Wednesday, as their are only three games taking place today.  The action gets started at 8 p.m. eastern when St. Louis visits their old friends in Detroit (NBCSN/TVAS/SN), followed two hours later by Buffalo at Colorado (BELL TV).  This evening’s nightcap drops the puck at 10:30 p.m. eastern, when Minnesota visits Anaheim (NBCSN/SN).

    There are no division rivalries being played tonight, and St. Louis at Detroit represents the only matchup between teams currently qualifying for the playoffs.

    While the Blues–Red Wings game would be fun for a variety of reasons (Speaking of, I have not featured the Red Wings enough this season… We’ll consider that a note for another day), I’m attracted to another game tonight, as Buffalo visits the Mile High City with a couple of old friends.

    Buffalo Sabres LogoColorado Avalanche Logo

     

     

     

     

     

    Tonight’s game will only be Buffalo‘s second appearance in the Game of the Day series, with their only other showing being a 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh on October 29.  Colorado has been featured twice before tonight, and own a 1-1-0 record in the series.  Their most recent game with our attention was 6-3 loss in Chicago on January 10.

    With the Sabres visiting Colorado this evening, Jamie McGinn and Ryan O’Reilly will be making their first appearances in the Pepsi Center since being traded during the 2015 Entry Draft.

    McGinn spent a total of 162 games over four seasons with the Avs, with his best season by far being his 2013-’14 campaign in which he scored 38 points (evenly split between assists and goals) and helped Colorado to their first division title in 11 years, although they could not advance beyond the first round after a 4-3 overtime loss to Minnesota on home ice.

    O’Reilly had a longer career in Colorado, playing 427 games over six seasons.  Similar to McGinn, O’Reilly’s best season was the division championship campaign, where he scored 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points with a 13.9% season shooting percentage, his best to date, although he has the potential to best that stat with a current 15.6% this season.  That strong shooting percentage is what he’s used to lead his team in scoring, with 17 goals to his credit.

    The 19-23-4 Buffalo Sabres currently sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.  Their success has been found on the defensive end, although they are still below-average in that end.

    Even with Josh Gorges’ team-leading 98 blocks, Buffalo has allowed 1372 shots to reach 12-12-2 Chad Johnson and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.8% for 120 goals against, 13th-most in the league.  The first step in improving this defense should be to beef up the penalty kill, as the special teams have only killed 79.28% of opposing power plays for 23 goals against (four below the league average).

    The offense has been the main thing holding the Sabres back this season.  Led by Jack Eichel’s 143 shots, Buffalo has fired the puck 1368 times, of which only 7.7% have found the back of the net for 106 goals (led by O’Reilly’s 17 tallies), fourth-fewest in the league.  Although the offense as a whole has not found much success, the Sabres‘ power play has still been strong, scoring on 20.41% of opportunities for 30 goals (led by O’Reilly’s seven tallies).

    The Sabres are currently riding two-game win streak, with their most recent being a 2-1 victory in Arizona on Monday.  A win tonight might do more harm than good at this point in the season, as it will take a miracle for Buffalo to qualify for the playoffs.

    The 23-21-3 Colorado Avalanche currently occupy fifth place in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference, good enough to qualify them for the second wild card position.  The Avs play one of the top-five offenses in the league, but have not been able put their opponents away due also having a bottom-ten defense.

    Even with Nathan MacKinnon’s 157 shots, Colorado has fired the puck only 1337 times, of which 9.8% have found the back of the net for 131 goals (led by Matt Duchene’s 22 tallies), fifth-most in the NHL.  Colorado‘s power play is slightly better than Buffalo‘s, as they’ve scored on 20.89% of opportunities for 33 goals (led by Jarome Iginla’s seven extra-man tallies).  That stat does come with a qualifier though, as the Avs have given up five shorthanded goals this season, two more than the league average.

    As good as the offense has been, it’s a shame Colorado hasn’t done much to improve the blue line.  Although Francois Beauchemin has 143 blocks to his credit, 1454 shots have made their way to 16-12-3 Semyon Varlamov and co., of which they’ve collectively saved 91.5% for 130 goals against, seventh-most in the league.  The shining spot for this defense has been their penalty kill, as not only have they killed 80.54% for 29 power play goals against, but they’ve also scored four shorthanded goals, led by Blake Comeau’s two.

    The Avalanche won their most recent game 2-1 in Winnipeg on Monday.  A Colorado win has the potential to pull them within a game of Minnesota for the first wild card spot, but a regulation loss allows Vancouver to take their spot in the second wild card position.

    Some players to watch include Buffalo‘s O’Reilly (39 points, including 17 goals, 10 of which were at even-strength, with the remaining seven being power play tallies [all lead the team]) and Colorado‘s Duchene (22 goals [tied for sixth-most in the league]).

    Based on standings alone, you’d like to think the Avs would win this game regardless of location, but that defense does not leave me with a good taste in my mouth.  I think I’ll pick Colorado, but I believe it will be a nail-biter.

  • January 10 – Day 92 – A streak must end tonight

    It may have taken overtime, but the Washington Capitals were able to complete their weekend-sweep of New York City-based teams, as they knocked off the Rangers with a 4-3 victory.

    The first two periods had only a goal each, both scored by the Caps.  The first period tally is compliments of none other than First Star of the Game Alex Ovechkin, a power play goal with only 15 seconds remaining before intermission.

    Washington‘s second goal of the night came a little bit quicker, only 3:56 after resuming play.  Nate Schmidt assisted Justin Williams to his 12th goal of the year to set the score the score at 2-0.

    Although the Caps entered the period with the lead, it took a late goal to get the game into overtime.  Oscar Lindberg and the Blueshirts got on the board 5:54 after resuming play after assists from Dominic Moore and Ryan McDonagh, his 13th helper of the season.  Twelve seconds before the midway point of the period, Third Star McDonagh and Derick Brassard (his 16th assist of the year) assisted Kevin Hayes to level the score at two-all.  New York‘s go-ahead goal crossed the goal line at the 13:11 mark, scored by Viktor Stalberg after assists from Keith Yandle (his 20th of the season) and Kevin Hayes.  The Rangers got within six seconds of the victory, but Washington had different plans, as Second Star Nicklas Backstrom scored a game-tying goal after assists from Williams and Matt Niskanen (his 16th helper of the season).

    The overtime period lasted only until 1:25 before Nate Schmidt assisted Ovechkin to the 24th goal of his season, and the 499th of his career to earn the Capitals the bonus point.

    Braden Holtby improves his record to 27-4-2 after saving 23 of 26 (88.5%), while Henrik Lundqvist’s record falls to 18-11-4 after saving 27 of 31 (87.1%).

    The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 35-19-8, favoring the home squad by 20 points over the roadies.

    The second weekend of the new year is completed with six games being played this Sunday.  Only one matinee game is being played, with Buffalo visiting Winnipeg (BELL TV) at 3 p.m. eastern.  Two games get started at the usual 7 p.m. eastern (Ottawa at Washington [TVAS/SN] and Colorado at Chicago), followed an hour later by a couple more (New Jersey at Minnesota [NBCSN] and Detroit at Anaheim).  The final game of the night gets started at 9:30 p.m. eastern when Florida visits Edmonton (SN1).

    Colorado at Chicago represents not only the only divisional matchup of the evening, but also the only game between teams both qualifying for the playoffs.  Especially since I’ve been wanting to write about the Avs for a while, lets take a look at that game.

    Colorado Avalanche LogoUnknown-2

     

     

     

     

     

    Tonight’s game is only Colorado‘s second appearance in the DtFR Game of the Day series, with their first being a three-goal shutout victory in Anaheim on October 16.  On the other hand, Chicago has been featured a series-leading 12 times, and host a 6-4-1 record in such games.  Their most recent showing was a 3-2 overtime victory in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

    The 21-18-3 Colorado Avalanche currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference, good enough to qualify them for the second wild card position over the Nashville Predators (Colorado wins on regulation+overtime wins).  To get to this position, they’ve utilized one of the best offenses in the league to compensate for a less-exemplary defense.

    So far this season, the Avs have put only fired the puck 1189 times (led by Nathan MacKinnon’s 137), of which a whopping 10.3% have found the back of the net for 122 goals (led by Matt Duchene’s 19 tallies), third-most in the NHL.  That sharp-shooting success has followed them to the power play, where Colorado has converted 21.77% of their 147 opportunities for 32 goals.  This success is good, but it comes with a catch – the Avalanche has already given up five short-handed goals this season, two more than the league average.

    The offense has been necessary to cover up some less-than-ideal play on the defensive end.  Although Francois Beauchemin has 125 blocks to his credit, 1296 shots have still made their way to 15-10-3 Semyon Varlamov and co., who’ve collectively saved an average 91.5% for 117 goals against, seventh-most in the league.  The average, if not less-than, defensive play has continued to the penalty kill, where Colorado has killed only 79.26% of opposing attempts (1.61% below the league average) for 28 power play goals against.

    Colorado is currently riding a three-game winning streak, with their most recent being a 5-3 victory over the Predators on Friday.

    The 26-13-4 Chicago Blackhawks currently sit in second place in both the Central Division and the Western Conference, trailing the Dallas Stars by six points with a game in hand.  As indicated by their place in the standings, they are one of the strongest teams in the Conference, playing a balanced, strongly competitive game.  You can read more about their style of play here.

    Chicago is currently riding a six-game win streak, with their most recent being a 3-1 win over the Sabres on Friday.

    Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Corey Crawford (six shutouts [leads the league], 22 wins [third-best in the league] and .927 save percentage [ninth-best in the league]) and Patrick Kane (60 points [leads the league], 37 assists [leads the league], +20 [third-best in the league] and 23 goals [fifth-best in the league]) & Colorado‘s Duchene (19 goals [tied for seventh-best in the league]).

    Tonight’s meeting will be the third in the four-game season series, and the second in the Windy City.  Colorado currently leads the series 1-0-1, thanks to a three-goal shutout victory in the United Center on December 15, followed by a 4-3 overtime Blackhawks winner on New Year’s Eve in Denver.

    It will be a tall task for the Avalanche to pull off the upset in the United Center tonight.  Not only are they playing on the road, but the Hawks‘ offense should be able to shred the Avs‘ defense and goaltending.  While I always like to pull underdog, I gotta go with Chicago taking the win.

  • Colby’s Corner: Bold Predictions Part 1

    Bold Predictions will be a two-part series where I, Colby, will discuss who I think will and won’t make the playoffs this season and why. The first part will be the teams who will make the playoffs and the order I think we will see them in. Now remember, these are my opinions. If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment; we always appreciate feedback.

    Eastern Conference

    Atlantic                                   Metropolitan                                        Wild Cards

    1. Tampa Bay Lightning           1. Washington Capitals                 1. Columbus Blue Jackets (M)
    2. Montreal Canadiens             2. Pittsburgh Penguins                 2. New York Islanders (M)
    3. Ottawa Senators                    3. New York Rangers
    The real surprises in my predictions for the Eastern Conference playoff teams are first, choosing five teams from the Metropolitan, and secondly, Ottawa having the number three division spot.
    Five teams from Metropolitan- I chose these five teams because I believe these teams have improved dramatically. With the Capitals and Penguins’ additions this off-season, they will be top two in this division without a doubt. The Islanders’ sliding down to the last wildcard spot was a tough choice of mine; I looked at the teams left from both divisions and felt like the Islanders were the best team left of both divisions.
    Ottawa at number three- The Senators deserved to make the playoffs last season and no one can debate the fact that they were good enough even with their 3rd string (at the time) goalie. This season, with Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond healthy, they should be able to add more points than last season and take that division spot away from the other teams in the NHL.
                                           

    Western Conference

    Pacific                                   Central                                    Wild Cards

    1. Anaheim Ducks                1. Dallas Stars                   1. Chicago Blackhawks (C)
    2. Calgary Flames                 2. St Louis Blues               2. Colorado Avalanche (C)
    3. Los Angeles Kings            3. Minnesota Wild

    The major surprises I feel in my Western predictions are Dallas at the top of the Central and Colorado getting a wild card spot.

    Dallas to the top- Dallas is at the top because of one word: OFFSEASON. The additions of two multiple Stanley Cup champions—Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya—not to mention another Stanley Cup champion in Antti Niemi between the posts, leaves Dallas with an advantage. So with two number one goalies with experience paired with the young talent of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, there is no way Dallas doesn’t make the playoffs. If Dallas tops their division, I know that GM will be getting a raise, and he’s got an A in my book.

    Colorado as a wild card- I like Colorado and I like how they have built up their organization. This offseason they knew an upgrade was needed at the blue line and they got this with young kids Nikita Zadorov and Brandon Gormely along with veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin. I think with these additions they will be able to protect Semyon Varlamov better and get the puck to bounce in the right direction, giving them a chance at the playoffs again.

                                                                                  

  • Viable Trade Options- Part Two- Central Division

    By: Nick Lanciani

    The Trade Deadline is fast approaching, is your team ready for this year’s fire sale? I take a look at some reasonable ideas for deals, as well as the overall consideration of buying or selling for each team in the league in this month long series. Buyer beware, all sales are final on March 2nd, 2015.

    Current Central Division Standings

    1. NSH 78 pts. (36-12-6) 54 GP
    2. STL 74 pts. (35-15-4) 54 GP
    3. CHI 69 pts. (33-18-3) 54 GP
    4. WPG 66 pts. (28-18-10) 56 GP
    5. MIN 59 pts. (26-20-7) 53 GP
    6. DAL 58 pts. (25-21-8) 54 GP
    7. COL 55 pts. (22-21-11) 54 GP

    Unknown Nashville Predators (1st in the Central Division, 54 GP 36-12-6 record, 78 points)

    The Nashville Predators are having themselves a remarkable season with a healthy goaltender, Pekka Rinne, in their lineup and everyone else playing their position fluidly. Filip Forsberg has been a tremendous surprise as a rookie with 18-30-48 totals in 54 games played. What might be more impressive is that their young defense has been able to step up to the task on most nights.

    The Predators are holding up on the injury front, with only Ryan Ellis currently on the injured reserve, and lead the Central Division standings. While last season proved to be a bit shaky, their consistency this year should come as no surprise given their elite goaltending in Rinne and their head coach, Peter Laviolette’s, brilliance.

    Nashville, surprisingly, has yet to see a long playoff run, though. This year is no exception to their hunger for more and they could be active in trying to acquire that one last key piece or two in order to perfect their roster and bolster up for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then again, the age-old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” could work well for the Predators when it comes to deadline day.

    However, going into the stretch run of the season, it might be smart for the Nashville to pick up a depth defenseman or two, as well as a possible depth forward. Especially with the moves their division rival, Winnipeg Jets, have made acquiring Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford- both of which will likely be regular components to their lineup, but in both cases, the Jets added to their plethora of options. That is just about the only thing advisable to the Nashville Predators organization heading into the trade deadline and I’m sure they are already well aware.

    Unknown-1 St. Louis Blues (2nd in the Central Division, 54 GP 35-15-4 record, 74 points)

    Despite some recent struggles, the St. Louis Blues are rolling along this season. Brian Elliott and Jake Allen have held up strong in goal, Vladimir Tarasenko emerged as one of the league’s most prolific scorers, and their defense has been solidifying their presence on the ice on a nightly basis.

    Much like the Nashville Predators, though, the St. Louis Blues could use some depth. We are reaching the point in the season where any injury could make or break your chances of a deep run in the playoffs. With only Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Porter on the injured reserve, the Blues have found a way to remain healthy at this point in the season.

    There really are no holes in their roster that contains an excellent mixture of youth and experience, so there’s nothing that immediately needs filling or getting rid of. Sure, Saint Louis could go with this roster moving forward, but I think their best bet would be to try to add without subtracting in order to avoid yet another early playoff exit.

    As it is right now, the Blues would be playing the Chicago Blackhawks and I’m pretty certain history would show that Saint Louis wouldn’t fare too well against Chicago. That is why the Blues must focus on depth skaters to combat injury and give them options heading into the playoffs.

    Unknown-2 Chicago Blackhawks (3rd in the Central Division, 54 GP 33-18-3 record, 69 points)

    The Chicago Blackhawks, in recent years, are annual contenders for the Cup. Their legitimacy is what keeps the rest of the Western Conference teams trembling and stockpiling as much bang for their buck on their rosters.

    Currently the Blackhawks are just trucking along in 3rd place in Central Division standings. With a roster that includes superstars, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and (when it really counts) Corey Crawford, how could Chicago A) have any more room for talent and B) be able to keep them all with the uncertainty of next year’s salary cap figure?

    Regardless, nothing is plaguing the Blackhawks in the current state of the league. So it comes as no surprise that I don’t expect Chicago to be wheeling and dealing at the deadline. Could they bring in a depth skater or two? Certainly. I think most successful teams looking to make a deep playoff run operate on a basis of trying to get a depth rental player if they can- in order to have a dependable player to fall back on if an injury were to occur.

    To summarize, it’s a keep on keeping on mentality in Chicago at this point of the year. As long as they have home ice in the playoffs, it doesn’t really matter where they end up in the standings, although I’m sure they’d prefer to be at the top anyway.

    Unknown-3 Winnipeg Jets (4th in the Central Division, 56 GP 28-18-10 record, 66 points 1st Wild Card in the Western Conference)

    The Winnipeg Jets have made the biggest splash in both the terms of being a delightful surprise this season, as well as on the trade market so far with the acquisition of Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, and Branden Lemieux from the Buffalo Sabres.

    The Jets are currently the first wild card representative from the Western Conference and are situated in a tight battle for the Central Division. With the Buffalo deal, Winnipeg stockpiled on talent and could even still make further moves come March 2nd.

    There are no guarantees, but then again, there also doesn’t seem to be that much needed within Winnipeg’s roster (at least on paper). Michael Hutchinson has played some stellar goaltending and the league’s smallest market has certainly been heard all season as one of the loudest voices talking serious about playoff hockey hopes, chances, and a potential run for the Cup.

    But cool your jets before you get too far ahead of yourself. While the entire Central Division may be the NHL’s strongest division in the league, only a couple of teams from the division may even advance far enough into the playoffs.

    Based on recent playoff experience and success alone, the Jets have a mountain to climb to overcome the playoff dominant Chicago Blackhawks and the annual playoff contending St. Louis Blues, in their division alone. If either team stays quiet on the trade front, then I’d expect Winnipeg to make at least one more move to get them over the hump- and trust me, they’re already getting plenty of calls.

     Unknown-4Minnesota Wild (5th in the Central Division, 53 GP 26-20-7 record, 59 points)

    The Minnesota Wild are one of those teams you just got to feel bad for this season. Despite their recent growth in depth and playoff experience, the injury bug continues to plague the Wild organization.

    No one is certain what the future in goal holds for Minnesota. How much older can Niklas Backstrom get and still be considered their starting goaltender? Has Devan Dubnyk finally found a stable place to play? And then there’s always Darcy Kuemper and whatever the future brings for his goalie career.

    While the Wild might not be able to pull off a deal at the deadline, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them shopping around Backstrom, given his age and the uncertainty of how he’ll hold up, injury wise (one can’t forget his recent injury struggles).

    But the problem for Minnesota may not reside in their goaltending. Perhaps their roster could get younger, at least among the forwards. A player like Stephane Veilleux might be expendable enough to bring in something fresh. The Wild have a young, largely unexperienced defensive core and it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to take away from it. I tend not to think that Minnesota is in dire need of anything really (much like the rest of the Central Division), however if they could acquire some healthy players, that would be a good thing.

    The strength of the Central Division is so strong currently, that if your roster even has one or two players on the injured reserve, you could be in for a dismal season. Minnesota has four players on the injured reserve, meaning that hope is likely gone for this season (by no means, technically, is their season a complete lost cause), but their future may be brighter. I’d expect the Wild to continue doing what they’ve been doing recently- building from free agency.

    Unknown-5 Dallas Stars (6th in the Central Division, 54 GP 25-21-8 record, 58 points)

    Fans of the Dallas Stars are riding a rollercoaster of emotion for the last couple of seasons. After finally getting back to the playoffs last season for the first time since the Detroit Red Wings knocked the Stars out of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Dallas finds themselves on the outside looking in.

    While none of the Central Division teams are mathematically out of contention for a playoff run, the jury remains on recess in the spiritual and realistic manners. Dallas only has two players on the injured reserve currently (Patrik Nemeth and Valeri Nichushkin) and they just acquired some much needed backup goaltending in their trade with Buffalo this week for Jhonas Enroth- finally ridding themselves of the overhyped Anders Lindback.

    Yet with stars on the Stars, such as Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, Alex Goligoski, and Kari Lehtonen, how is it possible for Dallas to be situated 6th in the division? The answer may reside in their forwards, who surprisingly can provide enough of a spark some nights, but other nights lack consistency.

    A player like Vernon Fiddler may be very attractive to a team looking to make a playoff run and would probably fit well with a team like the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins with the way he currently is playing, especially as a valuable second or third liner (something that at least the Penguins could use). Come to think of it, perhaps the Boston Bruins could find a way to fit in a guy like Vernon Fiddler into their roster. Either way, if Dallas is forced to sell at all on the deadline, the phone lines should remain open on Fiddler.

    Another forward worth dangling on the fishing line for a potential trade is Erik Cole. The veteran has found a way to find the net again with the Stars and at the very least would bring in a veteran presence to any playoff inexperienced team looking for some locker room stability in the long run.

    Last but not least- well, maybe least- Shawn Horcoff is 36 and definitely has got to be on the move from the Stars. The center has proven to be inconsistent and an injury waiting to happen in recent years. If the Stars seek to improve, they’d at least move Horcoff and either Fiddler or Cole for a younger player to compliment the likes of Spezza, Patrick Eaves, and Ales Hemsky in their currently over thirty-years-old lineup.

    If the magic works out and the Stars start to go on a tear with their veterans leading the charge up in the Central Division standings, then go ahead and prove me wrong and don’t trade anyone. But if inconsistencies continue to plague the organization, then it might make sense to move on in the right way.

    Colorado Avalanche Logo Colorado Avalanche (7th in the Central Division, 54 GP 22-21-11 record, 55 points)

    The Colorado Avalanche have taken a page from the book of the Boston Red Sox apparently, as they have gone from one of the worst teams in their division to first in the Central Division last year- back to their current status of last in the division so far this season. Their rise and fall in divisional standings has been one of the most perplexing situations this season.

    While injury has troubled last season’s Vezina Trophy finalist, Semyon Varlamov, in goal, surely an offense with the likes of Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Jarome Iginla (a thirty goal scorer last season with the Boston Bruins) would’ve be able to compensate for the carousel of goalies earlier in the year and the young defensemen.

    Yet, here they are with six players on the injured reserve (Patrick Bordeleau, Jamie McGinn, Borna Rendulic, Jesse Winchester, Erik Johnson, and Ryan Wilson) at the bottom of the Central Division. Johnson’s absence certainly would send shockwaves through the Avalanche’s defensive unit, as it would to any team that loses their number one defenseman for any extended period of time.

    Given that Daniel Briere clearly isn’t working out in Colorado, wouldn’t it make sense to try to move him by the deadline in (if not a desperate attempt to save the season) an attempt to bring in some talent youth that could build on whatever success is left in this season for next season? With the Colorado’s plethora of prospects coming up in the rankings, would it be crazy to think that they could work out a deal with Toronto for Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, Daniel Winnik (a former Av), or Cody Franson?

    Any one of those players would be an attractive option for the Avalanche organization, as well as an attractive destination for Toronto to send some or all of those players. Colorado meets several aspects of the Maple Leaf’s trading partner’s checklist. The Avalanche are a non factor this year, they’re in the Western Conference, and if the Avalanche turn things around at all, while the Maple Leafs continue to fall- the odds are that Toronto would end up with a higher draft pick than the Avalanche.

    Among Cody McLeod, John Mitchell, Maxime Talbot, Alex Tanguay, and Jesse Winchester, the Avalanche should only commit to two or three of them. Given that Winchester is currently on the IR, a trade involving an injured player won’t happen. With Talbot having mild success in Colorado, he’s one to keep. Tanguay, on the right line, fits the Avalanche style of play (especially since they are the team that drafted him, after all).

    But what kind of offers could the Avalanche get in return for the 30 year old Mitchell, who plays center, but could also probably play wing for a playoff contending team? This has to be something that Colorado is at least willing to listen to. And as great as McLeod has been for the Avalanche as an enforcer, perhaps it’s time for someone younger to step into his role and carry the team’s energetic side.

    Jan Hejda, Brad Stuart, or Nate Guenin could be valuable older defensemen for any contending team in search of a depth defenseman or someone to get them to the Cup Finals. But the consequences of trading any of their veteran defenseman could be dire, unless Colorado is able to acquire a veteran defenseman or guarantee a veteran defenseman in free agency.

    While the Avalanche aren’t quite in the same position as say the Minnesota Wild when it comes to young inexperienced defensemen, Colorado should continue to tread the waters carefully as Johnson and Wilson get back from injury and the rest of the defensemen develop.

    Ultimately, Colorado is faced with the choice to buy or sell. Right now, it looks like they’ll be doing some clearance rack shopping, and used merchandise sales.