A Look Around the NHL

 

A Look Around the NHL

Nearing the National Hockey League's All-Star Break, let's check in with the stat leaders for both teams and individuals. This season has consisted of thrilling games, milestones, and crazy highlights just about halfway in. 

Points                                             

Nikita Kucherov - 85 ----->                  

Nathan Mackinnon - 84              

David Pastrnak - 72               

J.T. Miller - 67

Connor McDavid - 67 

Goals

Auston Matthews - 40 ---->

Sam Reinhart - 37

David Pastrnak - 33

Nikita Kucherov - 32

Nathan Mackinnon - 31

Assists

Nathan Mackinnon - 53 ---->

Nikita Kucherov - 53

Quinn Hughes - 50 

Connor McDavid - 47

Cale Makar - 46

Highlighted Players

Nikita Kucherov - Kucherov is having himself another MVP caliber season, leading the league in points with 85. He is on pace for 141 points, which would surpass his career high of 128 in 2018-19.

Auston Matthews - Matthews is on pace to hit the 70-goal mark for the first time in his career and would be the first to do so since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny scored 76 all the way back in 1992-93.

Nathan Mackinnon - Mackinnon is set to put up the best numbers of his career this season, also on pace for 141 points, as well as the first 50 goal season of his career. After putting up a career high 111 points last season, he is set to blow that number out of the water. 

Division Leaders

The Boston Bruins lead the Atlantic Division with a record of 31-9-9, totaling 71 points. Boston is led by superstar David Pastrnak and captain Brad Marchand, as well as the goalie tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. Pastrnak leads the Bruins in every offensive category (goals, assists, points), while Swayman and Ullmark have equal numbers when it comes to stats. The Bruins also get scoring help from multiple players, such as Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, and James Van Riemsdyk. Head coach Jim Montgomery is in his 2nd season behind the bench, replicating the same success as last season.

The New York Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division with a record of 30-16-3, totaling 63 points. New York is primarily led by superstar Artemi Panarin, as he has collected 66 points on the year. He gets help from Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, and Chris Kreider. The Rangers have a very deep squad that could easily propel them to a deep playoff run. Igor Shesterkin leads the goaltending charge, playing most games and totaling 19 wins. Veteran goalie Jonathan Quick has provided very good numbers this late into his career, and plays well when he needs to. Peter Laviolette is in his first year as head coach, bringing success to a skilled and tough New York squad.

The Colorado Avalanche lead the Central Division with a record of 32-14-3, totaling 67 points. Colorado is led by Nathan Mackinnon, who is an easy candidate for the Most Valuable Player of the year. He is assisted by Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Val Nichushkin, who have all have a point-per-game average so far. For a team like this, goaltending doesn't need to be superior because of the offensive talent they display. Alexandar Georgiev leads the way with 27 wins, playing most of the games for the club. Jared Bednar is in his 8th year as head coach, leading them to a Stanley Cup in 2022.

The Vancouver Canucks lead the Pacific Division with a record of 33-11-5, totaling 71 points. They have three 60-point scorers so far this season, with those being J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes. Brock Boeser leads the team in goals, with 30 on the year. Vancouver hasn't seen this sort of success since the departure of the Sedin twins, and it seems like things are coming back together nicely. Thatcher Demko is making his case for one of the top goalies in the league, with a .920 Save Percentage. Rick Tocchet is in his first full season as head coach, joining Vancouver in January of last season. 

 

 

Chasing Greatness

Sidney Crosby is climbing up the all-time point leaderboard at a rapid pace, surpassing NHL legends such as Paul Coffey, Mark Recchi, and Joe Thornton this season. He sits at 12th all time in the history of the league. Through 46 games, Crosby has put up 27 goals and 23 assists for a total of 50 points on the season, on pace for 89 points on the entire year. If he kept his pace, he would end the season at 10th on the all-time point leaderboard.

 

 

Alex Ovechkin is one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of the game. He sits 2nd all time in the NHL in goals, with 831. The only one in front of him? Only the greatest player to ever play the game, that being Wayne Gretzky, putting up 894 career goals. Ovechkin has not had much puck luck this season, only scoring 9 goals this season which is very unusual. Ovechkin has led the league in goals 9 times over his career, so his lack of scoring brings up the question: Will he catch Gretzky?

Marc Andre Fleury has crept up the all-time win leaderboard for goaltenders in the NHL, passing Patrick Roy with a 5-0 shutout win over the New York Islanders on Jan. 15. He hit 552 career wins, doing so with Pittsburgh, Vegas, Chicago, and Minnesota. The former Vezina Trophy winner only sits behind Martin Brodeur for most wins in NHL history with 691.