Nick Jehamy | October 28th, 2019
Welcome to the first edition of The NHL Weekly Roundup! Every week I’ll be bringing you a new article highlighting star players from the past week, a team on the rise, a team on the decline, and a look forward at the upcoming week’s players, teams, and games to watch. At the end of the article, you can find my NHL power rankings that will be updated weekly as well. Now that we have that all said and done let’s get into this past week of hockey!
Three Stars of the Week
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Center for the Florida Panthers, Aleksander Barkov, has been a small gleam of light in what can call a mediocre start to the season for the Panthers. With a league-leading four overtime losses, the Panthers just haven’t been able to capitalize on many close games they are having. Barkov this week though showed some hope by creating goal opportunities for his teammates and producing six assists in his last two appearances. The latter of the two appearances being a four-assist production in a shootout loss to the Calgary Flames. On top of his six-assist week, Barkov put up a +4, +/- for the week. Barkov’s six assists this week puts him at a total of 12 for the season, placing him in a tie for third place in the league in assists, as well as placing him in a tie for the Panthers team lead in total points.
Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Defender for the surging Nashville Predators, Roman Josi has had a solid start to the season currently tied for the team lead in total points with 13. Josi has a four-game point streak going right now where he has produced a total of three goals and four assists with a +/- of +6 over this span. Nashville is riding a three-game winning streak currently behind Josi’s exemplary play as of late.
Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks
Center for the Vancouver Canucks, Bo Horvat has had a solid week producing four goals and two assists over his past three appearances for the Canucks. Horvat’s production for the week is great but the real reason he is on this list is for his single-game performance against the Detroit Red Wings, where Horvat’s put up not one… not two… but three goals! Putting up a hat trick in the Canucks 5-2 victory.
Team on the Rise
Philadelphia Flyers (Record for the Week: 3-1)
After winning the first two games of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers went on to lose their next four matches. The Flyers have been revitalized though and are on a three-game winning streak in which they beat two teams with above .500 records. In the past week, the Flyers have nine players with a +/- greater than or equal to +3, as well as five players with four or more points on the week. This rise has been a full team effort with not really one standalone skater that has been carrying them. If we were to name a player though that deserves much of the credit it is their goalie, Brian Elliott. Elliott has set up in goal for all three of the Flyers past three victories where he has a total of 78 saves and a goals against average of 2.33.
Team on the Decline
Detroit Red Wings (Record for the Week: 0-3)
This one shouldn’t be much of a shock to anyone, they may not be the worst team in the overall standings at the moment, but by the end of the week that can easily be the case. The Detroit Red Wings came into this past week on a four-game losing streak, and followed that up by losing another three matches in a row this week bringing their losing streak up to a current total of seven games. With a league-worst team point differential at -17, the Red Wings haven’t scored more than two goals during this losing streak, and in five of the seven games they have given up five goals each game. With matchups coming up against the Blues and Oilers, getting their next win might have to wait a few days with the way they are playing.
What to Watch for the Week Ahead!
How long will David Pastrnak‘s goal streak continue?
Right Wing for the reigning Eastern Conference champions the Boston Bruins, David Pastrnak has been Mr. Consistency. Leading the league in goals with a total of 11, Pastrnak currently holds a five-game streak with at least one goal scored. In the Bruins last eight games, the league-leading scorer has a total of 11 goals scored! Even more impressively he is doing this in the most efficient way, Pastrnak is second in shooting percentage for players with at least 12 shots taken on the season (Pastrnak has 35 shots on goal). Watch Pastrnak try to continue his streak this upcoming week.
The Ducks fly back home
After a surprising start to the season where the Ducks started 6-2, they looked like a different team this week dropping three of their last four games putting them at 7-5 on the season. The Ducks at home this season are 4-1, and thankfully for them, they are coming back home to Anaheim on Tuesday where they will start a seven-game homestand. Expect them to pick up from where they left off and start soaring again, “Quack, Quack, Quack.”
Predators excelling between the posts
I mentioned earlier the Nashville Predators surging start to the season behind Roman Josi’s exemplary play. Josi though has had some fantastic help from the man standing between the pipes behind him, Pekka Rinne. Rinne is fourth in goals against average and fifth in save percentage currently on the season, as well as tied for second in wins by a goalie with a current record of 6-0-1. Rinne has only given up more than two goals one time this season, in a game in which the Predators still took home the victory. The Predators are a team playing at the top of their game and Rinne between the posts is one to watch going forward.
Islanders on a hot streak
The New York Islanders’ 1-3 start to the season was not expected, but they followed it up nicely winning six straight games! Some of the teams beaten may have been on the lower end of the standings but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Islanders have come to compete and everyone should be put on notice. Keep an eye on the Islanders and see how far this streak will go.
Games to Watch
Arizona Coyotes @ Buffalo Sabres (Monday, October 28th) After losing their first two games, the Coyotes have been dominating ever since. Watch them take on the league-leading Buffalo Sabres in what should be an exciting match between two great teams
Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights (Saturday, November 2nd) At 6-6 and 7-5 these two teams are right there with each other. Watch this matchup to see two of the league’s top goalkeepers go at it in what should be a close one.
NHL Power Rankings
- Colorado Avalanche (8-2-1)
- Washington Capitals (8-2-3)
- Boston Bruins (7-1-2)
- Buffalo Sabres (9-2-1)
- Nashville Predators (7-3-1)
- Carolina Hurricanes (7-3-1)
- Edmonton Oilers (8-2-1)
- Vegas Golden Knights (7-5-0)
- Toronto Maple Leafs (6-5-2)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (7-5-0)
- Anaheim Ducks (7-5-0)
- New York Islanders (7-3-0)
- Arizona Coyotes (6-3-1)
- St. Louis Blues (5-3-3)
- Calgary Flames (6-5-2)
- Vancouver Canucks (6-3-1)
- Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3-2)
- Montreal Canadiens (5-4-2)
- Philadelphia Flyers (5-3-1)
- Florida Panthers (4-2-4)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (5-4-2)
- Winnipeg Jets (6-6-0)
- San Jose Sharks (4-6-1)
- New York Rangers (3-4-1)
- Dallas Stars (4-8-1)
- Minnesota Wild (4-7-0)
- Los Angeles Kings (4-7-0)
- New Jersey Devils (2-5-2)
- Chicago Blackhawks (2-5-2)
- Ottawa Senators (2-7-1)
- Detroit Red Wings (3-8-0)
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