NHL Week In Review 01/09/20
With another week of the NHL season in the books, quite a few teams have taken a stance in the NHL standings.
There’s still a lot of hockey left to be played, but as of right now the Washington Capitals (30-10-5) stand at the top of the Eastern Conference with 65 points, and the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues (27-10-7) are in first place in the Western Conference with 61 points.
However, there’s still a lot 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:
Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: (25-13-4)
Standings: 54 points, 2nd place, Atlantic Division
Odds to Win Atlantic Division: +400
The Tampa Bay Lightning, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, are the hottest team in all of hockey right now.
The Lightning are currently on an impressive eight-game winning streak, which includes victories over the Florida Panthers, twice against the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes and Vancouver Canucks.
In their latest win over the Canucks, Carter Verhaeghe collected his first career NHL hat-trick and the Lightning managed to score three times in less than a minute in a six-goal second period in a dominating 9-2 victory.
Looking Ahead – The Lightning have matchups against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and the New Jersey Devils on Sunday before returning to Tampa Bay on Tuesday to take on the Los Angeles Kings.
Arizona Coyotes
Record: (25-16-4)
Standings: 54 points, 1st place, Pacific Division
Odds to Win Pacific Division: +300
The Coyotes are in control of the Pacific Division and they’ve risen to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Thanks to a four-game winning streak, the Coyotes are now a clear favorite to take home the division crown and make a run at the top seed in the West.
The Coyotes have victories over the Blues, Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers and most recently a 5-2 win over the Panthers, which featured former Devil Taylor Hall tallying one goal and one assist, including the game-winner late in the second period.
Looking Ahead – The Coyotes have upcoming away games against the Lightning on Thursday and the Hurricanes on Friday before heading back to Arizona to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Who’s Not:
Montreal Canadiens
Record: (18-19-7)
Standings: 43 points, 6th place, Atlantic Division
Odds to Win Atlantic Division: +4500
The Canadiens currently have the longest losing streak in the NHL.
The last time the Canadiens won a game was back on Dec. 23 against the Winnipeg Jets. Since then, they’ve lost seven straight games, including a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, which are one of the worst teams in all of hockey.
Looking Ahead – The Canadiens have upcoming games against the Edmonton Oilers and the Senators before hosting the Calgary Flames on Monday.
Ottawa Senators
Record: (16-22-5)
Standings: 37 points, 7th place, Atlantic Division
Odds to Win Atlantic Division: +150000
Over their last 10 games, the Senators have a 2-5-3 record, including a five-game losing streak.
On Saturday night against the Lightning, the Senators mustered up three goals in a 5-3 defeat and on Tuesday they surrendered two goals each to T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin in a 6-1 beatdown against the Capitals.
Looking Ahead – The Senators have upcoming games against the Red Wings and Canadiens on Friday and Saturday before hosting the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
By Dan Canova