Post by League Commish (Hurricanes GM) on Apr 4, 2013 12:43:34 GMT -5
Living Large on Long Island
The New York Islanders currently find themselves sitting atop the eastern conference with a nifty 16-6-3 record. After missing the playoffs last year, this season so far has been a tremendous improvement for the boys from Long Island. Rick DiPietro has regained form in goal after a troublesome couple of years, while Duncan Keith leads the blue line in points and +/-. What's even more impressive is that the Isles are atop a division containing eastern juggernauts Pittsburgh and the Rangers, as well as two other solid teams in Philly and New Jersey, so it definitely hasn't been the work of weak divisional competition. Bravo Isles!
The Wild West
Similarly to the Islanders story, the Minnesota Wild sit atop the Western Conference after missing last year. Dany Heatley has been huge and big offseason acquisition Pavel Datsyuk has fit in well, but perhaps the biggest surprise has been the amazing play of Darroll Powe. A relatively unknown third liner before this season, Powe is second in team scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists in 29 games. To give you an idea of how impressive this run is, four of the top five teams in points as of right now are from the Western Conference, including the Vancouver Canucks who are in the Wild's division. That's pretty impressive to me!
Ovechkin Does What He Does Best
With 23 goals in 27 games, Alexander Ovechkin is on an absolutely torrid pace, tearing apart the league thanks to his all star linemates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. At almost a goal per game, Ovechkin and the Penguins have overcomed a slow start to a nice 17-10-0 record through the first two months of the season. If they stay on fire like this, they could be a very scary team for any low seed that ends up having to face them in the playoffs
Superstar Brooks Laich
Another nice story is that of Brooks Laich of the Boston Bruins. Laich has led the league in scoring for a large portion of the season and currently sits at number two, scoring at over a point-per-game pace. The two way winger has 12 goals and 22 assists in 25 games, and is a huge reason why the Bruins are sitting at the top of the Northeastern division this season.
The Panthers Strike Back!
The Florida Panthers had a bad year last year, finishing near the bottom of the league with what many could've called a very depleted roster. This year, some solid acquisitions like the resurging Marc Savard have led the Panthers to sit just outside of a playoff spot, something that most people would never have predicted at the start of the season!
The Kids Are Alright
This season has seen a number of very talented rookie skaters hit the ice. The cream of the crop right now is Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk, who leads all rookie skaters with 20 points. Behind him are some other top prospects such as Tomas Hertl (SJS), Charlie Coyle (EDM), Brandon Pirri/Jared Staal (CAR) and Morgan Rielly of the Leafs who leads all rookie defenders in scoring. In a rookie class that also includes some huge names like last year's Seth Jones, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jonathan Huberdeau and Hudson Fasching, the influx of young talent into the league this season has been a great one, with each of these young stars impacting their teams positively.
The New York Islanders currently find themselves sitting atop the eastern conference with a nifty 16-6-3 record. After missing the playoffs last year, this season so far has been a tremendous improvement for the boys from Long Island. Rick DiPietro has regained form in goal after a troublesome couple of years, while Duncan Keith leads the blue line in points and +/-. What's even more impressive is that the Isles are atop a division containing eastern juggernauts Pittsburgh and the Rangers, as well as two other solid teams in Philly and New Jersey, so it definitely hasn't been the work of weak divisional competition. Bravo Isles!
The Wild West
Similarly to the Islanders story, the Minnesota Wild sit atop the Western Conference after missing last year. Dany Heatley has been huge and big offseason acquisition Pavel Datsyuk has fit in well, but perhaps the biggest surprise has been the amazing play of Darroll Powe. A relatively unknown third liner before this season, Powe is second in team scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists in 29 games. To give you an idea of how impressive this run is, four of the top five teams in points as of right now are from the Western Conference, including the Vancouver Canucks who are in the Wild's division. That's pretty impressive to me!
Ovechkin Does What He Does Best
With 23 goals in 27 games, Alexander Ovechkin is on an absolutely torrid pace, tearing apart the league thanks to his all star linemates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. At almost a goal per game, Ovechkin and the Penguins have overcomed a slow start to a nice 17-10-0 record through the first two months of the season. If they stay on fire like this, they could be a very scary team for any low seed that ends up having to face them in the playoffs
Superstar Brooks Laich
Another nice story is that of Brooks Laich of the Boston Bruins. Laich has led the league in scoring for a large portion of the season and currently sits at number two, scoring at over a point-per-game pace. The two way winger has 12 goals and 22 assists in 25 games, and is a huge reason why the Bruins are sitting at the top of the Northeastern division this season.
The Panthers Strike Back!
The Florida Panthers had a bad year last year, finishing near the bottom of the league with what many could've called a very depleted roster. This year, some solid acquisitions like the resurging Marc Savard have led the Panthers to sit just outside of a playoff spot, something that most people would never have predicted at the start of the season!
The Kids Are Alright
This season has seen a number of very talented rookie skaters hit the ice. The cream of the crop right now is Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk, who leads all rookie skaters with 20 points. Behind him are some other top prospects such as Tomas Hertl (SJS), Charlie Coyle (EDM), Brandon Pirri/Jared Staal (CAR) and Morgan Rielly of the Leafs who leads all rookie defenders in scoring. In a rookie class that also includes some huge names like last year's Seth Jones, Vladimir Tarasenko, Jonathan Huberdeau and Hudson Fasching, the influx of young talent into the league this season has been a great one, with each of these young stars impacting their teams positively.