With the first weekend in February officially upon us, the NHL All-Star break is here. No games are scheduled until Monday as players take the trip down to Las Vegas to participate in the festivities.
There is a new format in the popular skills competition this year. Returning is the popular Fastest Skater, Save Streak, Hardest Shot, Breakaway Challenge, and Accuracy Shooting events. In addition, there will be a new competition called the Fountain Face-off Challenge. Set to take place on the historic Fountains of Bellagio, eight players will make the trip over by boat to a rink set up in the fountain. They will shoot five pucks as quickly as possible at five targets.
Back with our final weekly stock up, stock down article for the unofficial first half of the 2021 NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche have continued to surge. Now eight points clear of the second-place Nashville Predators in the Central Division, they have won ten of their last 11 games. Furthermore, the Carolina Hurricanes remain atop the Metropolitan Division after rattling off four straight victories.
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Stock Up: Florida Panthers
The Panthers are fresh off one of the most historic months in their franchise’s history. They went 12-2-1 throughout January to push their season point total to a league-high 69. Continuing to score at a rapid pace, the team also set an NHL record, with 74 goals throughout those 15 games. With four wins in their last five, Mason Marchment led the way for the group in their victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
Paving the way on offense, the 26-year-old tied a franchise record with six points. Rookie Anton Lundell also overtook the rookie record for most points in a single game with five. Continuing to get star goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky in a bounce-back year from their star netminder, Florida is clicking on all cylinders.
Stock Down: San Jose Sharks
San Jose has quickly taken a deep dive down the standings after a solid start to the year. The team has lost five of their last six games, falling to sixth place in the Pacific Division. Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl have led the way for the group all year long. Enjoying one of the finest campaigns of their young careers, the duo has combined to rack up 85 points.
However, the Sharks have struggled to get consistent contributions from other players up and down their lineup. Alexander Barabanov has recorded just two points in his last five games, while Nick Bonino has gone scoreless over his last ten. Pair that with the inconsistent play of James Reimer and Aidan Hill in goal, and what started as a promising campaign is slowly slipping away.
Stock Up: Boston Bruins
Boston is holding a firm grasp on the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are currently nine points clear of the Detroit Red Wings. Hot on the tails of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division, they are coming off a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday Night. The unquestioned best player for the Bruins heading into the second half of the season, Brad Marchand, is leading the team with 49 points.
He also sits one goal back of sniper David Pastrnak for the team lead with 21 tallies in 38 games. As balanced a group as you will find in the NHL, both Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk have been outstanding on the backend. They are averaging 4.03 expected goals per game to just 2.03 against while playing over 20 minutes per night.
Stock Down: Columbus Blue Jackets
Picked by many as the team to finish in last place in the Metropolitan Division, the Blue Jackets have been fighting and scrapping all year long. They have hovered around the .500 mark all season. Faltering during their final six games before the All-Star Break, the team dropped three games in a row to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, and the Calgary Flames. Unable to hold up defensively, the group has surrendered over 35 shots on net per contest.
This has led them to give up 3.6 goals on average. Faced with interesting decisions as the trade deadline inches closer, the group has multiple key free agents in Patrick Laine, Max Domi, and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. Already holding two first-round selections due to the Seth Jones trade to the Chicago Blackhawks, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will have his work cut out for him as he tries to improve his young group.
Stock Up: Calgary Flames
Winners over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night, the Flames played four of their last five games on the road. They also defeated their division rival in the Vancouver Canucks, before narrowly beating the Dallas Stars. The team is beginning to play better hockey after a four-game losing skid to open up 2022. Their top line continues to lead the way.
Johnny Gaudreau has racked up six points over his last five games to lead the group with 54. Along with this, Matthew Tkachuk has recorded six goals over his last ten games to tie Andrew Mangiapane for the lead with 20. Surpassing expectations after a disappointing season a year ago, Darryl Sutter‘s group looks primed to return to the postseason for the third time in four years.
Stock Down: New Jersey Devils
Things have quickly gone from bad to worse for the Devils. They dropped back-to-back games to the Maple Leafs early in the week. The team has lost their last six games while being outscored 26-11. After racking up a 10-10-5 record through the first 25 games of the year, the team has struggled to overcome injuries and inconsistent play from their top-end players.
Dougie Hamilton has played in just 30 games after undergoing surgery to repair a broken jaw. Along with this, number one netminder Mackenzie Blackwood was also placed on the injured reserve list with a heel injury. Now 20 points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, playoffs remain a distant hope for New Jersey.
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