NHL Week In Review 12/16/19
The NHL season has almost reached the midway point and the league has been competitive from top to bottom.
Although there’s still 40 games left to play, there's a reason to believe we’ll see a Stanley Cup rematch between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.
However, there’s still a lot of hockey left to be played and plenty of teams in the hunt.
We take a look at some teams who are on the rise and others who have stumbled as of late:
Who’s Hot:
New York Islanders
Record: (22-7-2)
Standings: 46 Points, 2nd Place, Metropolitan Division
Odds to Win Metropolitan: +525
New York has been one of the hottest team on ice winning three in a row and six of the last eight games.
The Islanders edged out their cross-town rivals the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in sudden-death overtime courtesy of Anthony Beauvillier’s 10th goal of the season.
New York is chasing first place behind the NHL’s best record in the Washington Capitals (24-5-5, 53 PTS). Although it’ll be an uphill battle, the Islanders are a nice long shot play to win the Metropolitan Division with strong odds at +525.
Looking Ahead - The Islanders will have a tough mid-season test with a meeting against the Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday night.
St. Louis Blues
Record: (20-8-6)
Standings: 46 Points, 1st Place, Central Division
The reigning Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues have picked up where they left off last season.
St. Louis has won two in a row, and six of the last 10, while holding a narrow one-point lead over the Colorado Avalanche in the Central.
On Saturday night, St. Louis came from behind and scored four unanswered goals in the third period to take down the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3.
Goalie Jordan Binnington is having a stellar season in net, totaling the fourth-most wins (15) and allowing just 2.46 goals per game.
Looking Ahead - The Blues host the Avalanche on Monday night to decide first place in the Central Division.
With St. Louis sitting at good value (+250) to win the division, now might be as good of a time as any to place a futures’ bet on them claim the regular-season title.
Who’s Not:
Edmonton Oilers
Record: (18-13-4)
Standings: 40 Points, 3rd Place, Pacific Division
The Oilers have been struggling, losing four games in a row and seven of their last 10.
Edmonton finds themselves on the outside looking into the division lead, sitting two points behind the Arizona Coyotes.
Last time out, the Oilers dropped a fourth consecutive game losing at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1.
Although they’ve had their fair share of troubles, Edmonton has the two top point scorers in the NHL with Connor McDavid (57) and Leon Draisaitl (56).
Looking Ahead - The Oilers hit the road for a two-game trip, including a matchup with the Western Conference’s top dog on Wednesday in the Blues.
Boston Bruins
Record: (21-7-6)
Standings: 48 Points, 1st Place, Atlantic Division
The Bruins have the second-best record in the NHL which makes it hard to justify them being on this list.
Yet, Boston has been on a downward trend over the last two weeks, losing five of the last six.
Boston snapped a five-game losing streak in the final match of their four-game road trip, defeating the Florida Panthers 4-2.
Despite the string of losses, the Bruins hold control of the Atlantic Division and remain the outstanding favorite to claim the regular-season title.
Looking Ahead - Led by two of the top five point scorers in the NHL, Brad Marchand (50) and David Pastrnak (48), the Bruins host a four-game homestand which includes matchups with the Islanders and the Capitals.
Pastrnak is also the NHL’s leading goalscorer with 28.