Happy Presidents' Day!
Happy President’s Day from The Puck Bulletin! As always, I hope you all enjoy this week’s newsletter with a warm cup of coffee to start off the week. There’s so much great hockey being played, and we can’t get enough of it here at The Puck Bulletin!
Eastern Conference Wild Card Race
The Eastern Conference wild card race is heating up. Let’s take a look below:
WC1: Pittsburgh Penguins - 63 pts
WC2: New York Islanders - 63 pts
In the Hunt:
Washington Capitals - 62 pts
Florida Panthers - 62 pts
Buffalo Sabres - 60 pts
Detroit Red Wings - 60 pts
Ottawa Senators - 58 pts
One thing for certain is that the Eastern conference will have an entertaining finish to the regular season!
The Weekly Roundup
Atlantic:
Boston Bruins (89 pts | 42-8-5)
LW: W 3-2 DAL, W 5-0 NSH, W 6-2 NYI
2/20 vs. OTT, 2/23 @ SEA, 2/25 @ VAN
Jake Debrusk is back in the lineup for Boston
Toronto Maple Leafs (76 pts | 34-15-8)
LW: W 5-2 CHI, W 5-1 MTL, L 3-5 CHI
2/21 @ BUF, 2/24 vs. MIN, 2/26 @ SEA
The Leafs traded for Ryan O’Reilly this past week.
Tampa Bay Lightning (73 pts | 35-17-3)
LW: W 4-3 COL, L/SO 0-1 ARI, L 4-5 VGK
2/21 vs. ANA, 2/23 vs. BUF, 2/25 @ DET, 2/26 @ PIT
The Lightning had a bit of a meh week.
Florida Panthers (62 pts | 28-25-6)
LW: W 2-1 MIN, L 2-6 STL, W 6-3 WSH, L 3-7 NSH
2/20 vs. ANA, 2/24 vs. BUF
Florida continues to be a bit inconsistent.
Buffalo Sabres (60 pts | 28-22-4)
LW: L 2-5 LAK, W 7-3 ANA, W 4-2 SJS
2/21 vs. TOR, 2/23 @ TBL, 2/24 @ FLA, 2/26 vs. WSH
Buffalo has their eyes set on a Wild Card spot.
Detroit Red Wings (60 pts | 26-21-8)
LW: W 6-1 VAN, W 5-4 EDM, W 5-2 CGY, L 2-4 SEA
2/21 @ WSH, 2/23 vs. NYR, 2/25 vs. TBL
Detroit’s road trip is going rather well.
Ottawa Senators (58 pts | 27-24-4)
LW: W 4-3 CGY, W 3-2 NYI, OTL 3-4 CHI, W 7-2 STL
2/20 @ BOS, 2/24 @ CAR, 2/25 @ MTL
The Sens rolled this past week.
Montreal Canadiens (50 pts | 23-29-4)
LW: W 4-0 CHI, L 2-6 CAR, L 1-5 TOR
2/21 @ NJD, 2/24 @ PHI, 2/25 vs. OTT
The Canadiens are all but cemented at the bottom of the Atlantic.
Metropolitan:
Carolina Hurricanes (82 pts | 37-10-8)
LW: W 3-2 WSH, W 6-2 MTL, W 4-1 WSH
2/21 vs. STL, 2/24 vs. OTT, 2/25 vs. ANA
Carolina continues to roll and put on a dominating Stadium Series win.
New Jersey Devils (79 pts | 37-14-5)
LW: W 3-2 CBJ, L 2-4 STL, W 5-2 PIT, W 4-2 WPG
2/21 vs. MTL, 2/23 vs. LAK, 2/25 vs. PHI
New Jersey is buzzing but is not making up ground on the Canes.
New York Rangers (75 pts | 33-14-9)
LW: W 6-4 VAN, W 5-4 EDM, OTL 2-3 CGY
2/20 vs. WPG, 2/23 @ DET, 2/25 @ WSH, 2/26 vs. LAK
The Rangers’ win streak came to an end in Calgary.
Pittsburgh Penguins (63 pts | 27-19-9)
LW: W 3-1 SJS, L 4-5 NYI, L 2-5 NJD
2/20 vs. NYI, 2/23 vs. EDM, 2/25 @ STL, 2/26 vs. TBL
Pittsburgh is back in a playoff spot at the moment.
New York Islanders (63 pts | 28-24-7)
LW: L/SO 2-3 OTT, W 5-4 PIT, L 2-6 BOS
2/20 @ PIT, 2/22 vs. WPG, 2/24 vs. LAK, 2/26 @ WPG
Will the Isles make a push for the playoffs?
Washington Capitals (62 pts | 28-24-6)
LW: L 2-3 CAR, L 3-6 FLA, L 1-4 CAR
2/21 vs. DET, 2/23 vs. ANA, 2/25 vs. NYR, 2/26 @ BUF
The Caps struggled through this past week.
Philadelphia Flyers (54 pts | 22-25-10)
LW: L 2-6 SEA, L 2-6 VAN
2/20 @ CGY, 2/21 @ EDM, 2/24 vs. MTL, 2/25 @ NJD
Philly’s road trip is not going so well.
Columbus Blue Jackets (40 pts | 18-34-4)
LW: L 2-3 NJD, W 3-1 WPG, W 4-1 DAL, ? ARI
2/23 vs. MIN, 2/25 vs. EDM, 2/26 @ MIN
The Blue Jackets had one of their stronger weeks of the season.
Central:
Dallas Stars (72 pts | 30-15-12)
LW: OTL 2-3 BOS, L/SO MIN, L 1-4 CBJ
2/22 vs. CHI, 2/25 @ VGK
The Stars had a bit of a tough week.
Winnipeg Jets (69 pts | 34-21-1)
LW: W 3-2 SEA, L 1-3 CBJ, L 2-4 NJD
2/20 @ NYR, 2/22 @ NYI, 2/24 vs. COL, 2/26 vs. NYI
Winnipeg also had a not-so-great week.
Colorado Avalanche (67 pts | 31-19-5)
LW: L/SO 3-4 TBL, W 3-2 MIN, W 4-1 STL, W 6-5 EDM
2/24 @ WPG, 2/25 vs. CGY
Cale Makar is again out of the lineup due to injury.
Minnesota Wild (65 pts | 30-21-5)
LW: L/SO 1-2 FLA, L 2-3 COL, W 2-1 DAL, W 4-3 NSH
2/21 vs. LAK, 2/23 @ CBJ, 2/24 @ TOR, 2/26 vs. CBJ
Can the Wild get over their scoring struggles?
Nashville Predators (58 pts | 26-22-6)
LW: L 2-4 ARI, L 0-5 BOS, W 7-3 FLA, L 3-4 MIN
2/21 vs. VAN, 2/23 @ SJS, 2/26 @ ARI
The Preds seem to be slipping away from playoff contention.
St. Louis Blues (55 pts | 26-27-3)
LW: W 6-2 FLA, W 4-2 NJD, L 1-4 COL, L 2-7 OTT
2/21 @ CAR, 2/23 vs. VAN, 2/25 vs. PIT
St. Louis is accepting their season after traded away their captain.
Arizona Coyotes (47 pts | 19-28-9)
LW: W 4-2 NSH, W 1-0 TBL, L/SO 5-6 LAK, ? CBJ
2/22 vs. CGY, 2/26 vs. NSH
Jakob Chychrun has yet to be traded.
Chicago Blackhawks (41 pts | 18-32-5)
LW: L 0-4 MTL, L 2-5 TOR, W 4-3 OTT, W 5-3 TOR
2/21 vs. VGK, 2/22 @ DAL, 2/25 @ SJS
Jonathan Toews will not be traded this season.
Pacific:
Vegas Golden Knights (72 pts | 34-18-4)
LW: W 2-1 SJS, W 5-4 TBL
2/21 @ CHI, 2/23 vs. CGY, 2/25 vs. DAL
Vegas continues to hold a narrow lead in the Pacific.
Los Angeles Kings (71 pts | 32-18-7)
LW: W 5-2 BUF, W 6-3 ANA, W 6-5 ARI
2/21 @ MIN, 2/23 @ NJD, 2/24 @ NYI, 2/26 @ NYR
3 games and 3 wins for the Kings this past week.
Seattle Kraken (70 pts | 32-18-6)
LW: L/SO 2-3 WPG, W 6-2 PHI, W 4-2 DET
2/20 @ SJS, 2/23 vs. BOS, 2/26 vs. TOR
The Kraken seem to have shaken off their post-break rust.
Edmonton Oilers (68 pts | 30-19-8)
LW: L/SO 4-5 DET, L/SO 4-5 NYR, L 5-6 COL
2/21 vs. PHI, 2/23 @ PIT, 2/25 @ CBJ
The Oil had a bit of a frustrating week.
Calgary Flames (63 pts | 26-19-11)
LW: OTL 3-4 OTT, L 2-5 DET, W 3-2 NYR
2/20 vs. PHI, 2/22 @ ARI, 2/23 @ VGK, 2/25 @ COL
Calgary continues to remain on the outside of the playoff bubble.
Vancouver Canucks (48 pts | 22-30-4)
LW: L 1-6 DET, L 4-6 NYR, W 6-2 PHI
2/21 @ NSH, 2/23 @ STL, 2/25 vs. BOS
The Canucks seemed to have had a “dramaless” week.
San Jose Sharks (45 pts | 17-29-11)
LW: L 1-3 PIT, L 1-2 VGK, L 2-4 BUF
2/20 vs. SEA, 2/23 vs. NSH, 2/25 vs. CHI
All eyes continue to be on Timo Meier.
Anaheim Ducks (40 pts | 17-33-6)
LW: L 3-7 BUF, L 3-6 LAK
2/20 @ FLA, 2/21 @ TBL, 2/23 @ WSH, 2/25 @ CAR
Another tough week for the Ducks.