| Place/Team | Games Played | WINS | LOSSES | OTL | Points | ROW | GF | GA | DIFF | HOME | AWAY | S/O | L10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ottawa Senators | 72 | 37 | 25 | 10 | 84 | 32 | 220 | 210 | +10 | 19-13-4 | 18-12-6 | 5-4 | 5-3-2 | WON 1 |
| 2. Boston Bruins | 70 | 40 | 27 | 3 | 83 | 33 | 225 | 176 | +49 | 20-13-2 | 20-14-1 | 7-2 | 3-7-0 | LOST 4 |
| 3. Buffalo Sabres | 71 | 33 | 29 | 9 | 75 | 26 | 178 | 201 | -23 | 18-11-8 | 15-18-1 | 7-5 | 6-2-2 | OT 1 |
| 4. Toronto Maple Leafs | 71 | 31 | 32 | 8 | 70 | 28 | 205 | 218 | -13 | 16-13-6 | 15-19-2 | 3-4 | 2-7-1 | WON 1 |
| 5. Montreal Canadiens | 72 | 28 | 32 | 12 | 68 | 23 | 189 | 200 | -11 | 13-15-8 | 15-17-4 | 5-8 | 4-4-2 | OT 1 |
It's been less than a week since my last update, since I was a bit late last week posting on Sunday, but the Northeast has had a change atop it. With the Ottawa Senators win over their division rival Montreal Canadiens they hop over the Boston Bruins for tops. While Montreal still dwells in the cellar of the Northeast, they have finally moved out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference, getting all the way up to 14th, leaping over the New York Islanders. Toronto has continued their slide and have fallen 8 points out of 8th, while Buffalo has still played fairly strong and are in the battle for a playoff spot.
Kaberle's Kid
Anderson Is Close
Brian Murray said during the Montreal-Ottawa game on Friday that Craig Anderson is getting very close to returning, likely coming back late next week. Murray should probably invest in a personal chef for Anderson.
Back On Top
With their 8/8 penalty kill last night, Montreal has moved back into 1st in penalty kill percentage in the NHL. They are tied with New Jersey at 89.7%, and adding a shorthanded goal, they move into a tie for third with Pittsburgh with 9 shorthanded goals. New Jersey leads that with 14.
Kid Karlsson
I haven't talked about Erik Karlsson in a little while, so I'll catch you up. He's still tearing up opponents. The defenseman has 19 goals, that's 4 more than second-place Jason Garrison and 71 points, 24 more than second-place Brian Campbell. Wow.
Boston's Blues
In the crucial part of the season approaches, the final 10 games, Boston has struggled. They are currently on a 4 game losing streak and have lost top spot in the Northeast. They are 3-7-0 in their last 10, and they will need to step up and also get some better goaltending. That seems odd for Boston, but their goaltending has not been great lately.
Home Sweet Home
Jason Pominville has had it good at home this season. Of his 63 points this season he has 42 at home, ranking fourth in the league while he is 21st in the league in total points. He's bringing the entertainment to the home fans, which I'm sure makes new owner Terry Pegula very happy.
No Surprise
Penalties Aplenty
Speaking of the Friday game between the Habs and Sens, it was a penalty filled affair. It started off 3 minutes in with the first of fights in the game, this one between Subban and Greening. Montreal took 10 minor penalties, while Ottawa took 6, two of these being offsetting. So Ottawa had 8 powerplays, converting on none of them and Montreal had 4 powerplays, converting on none of those either. The only special teams goal came courtesy of Tomas Plekanec who notched Montreal's only goal, while shorthanded.
Turco's Turbulence
Marty Turco has not made a good first impression in Boston. He gave up 2 goals against Pittsburgh after relieving Tim Thomas, then in his first start as a Bruin against the Lightning, he gave up 4 goals on 12 shots. After 2 games, his stat line is a .824 SV% and a 4.44 GAA, not a great start.
Florida's Dominance
Fantastic Faceoffs
I've talked about the faceoff prowess of Northeast division players Jason Spezza, Patrice Bergeron and Tomas Plekanec, but as a team, Boston has the most faceoff wins of any team in the NHL. They have 2269 wins this season, 25 more than San Jose with 2244. They also lead in faceoff percentage at 54.4%, ahead of San Jose's 53.6%.
Out Of The Basement
Gaining a point in their OT loss to Ottawa, Montreal has finally exited the cellar and into 14th in the East, passing the Islanders by one point. The two teams play each other tonight in the battle for last.
Busy Schedule
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| No green beer for NHLers |
Festive Jerseys
Toronto will be wearing their Toronto St. Pat's jersey as is a custom to games that they play on St. Patrick's day. The St. Pat's played in Toronto from 1919-1927 before they were renamed the Maple Leafs, and the Leafs pay tribute to their heritage on this day.
UPDATE: I have no idea what I'm talking about and they aren't wearing those jerseys. But imagine they are, they're cool jerseys.
Road Warriors
The Northeast have been goal scoring machines on the road. The top three teams in goals for on the road are from the Northeast. Boston and Ottawa and tied for tops with 110, while Toronto is third with 108. Montreal sits in 12 with 90, and while the top 3 teams are from this division, so is the last placed team. Buffalo is last in road goals for with just 65 which is likely why they are 15-18-1 on the road.
Players To Watch:
- Filip Kuba. He scored the OT winner to vault Ottawa into first in the division against Montreal, and has 4 points in his last 5 games. For a defenseman who isn't known for his offense, he's been playing very well in the offensive zone.
- Erik Cole. He's got 5 points in his last 4 games, scoring the game winning goal against Vancouver, and putting up 2 points in that game and in Buffalo in the following game.
- Matthew Lombardi. Toronto has had their struggles of late, with very few players stepping up. Lombardi stepped up in their latest game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, picking up 2 assists in just 9:28 of time on ice.
- Drew Stafford. Five points in his last 2 games. That's a pretty good run. He picked up a goal and 2 assists in their shootout loss to Colorado, and he grabbed 2 assists in their OT win against Montreal. As they push for the playoffs, look for Stafford to step up even more.
- Tyler Seguin. Usually this section is more players that have been hot of late, but Seguin has been a -7 in his last 4 games with just 2 points. Look for the team leader in points to step up his play and try to take back to plus-minus lead from Patrice Bergeron.
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