The NHL takes a breather as its players don their country’s colors as part of the Sochi Winter Olympics this month. With a two-week break, NHL teams have time to rest and refocus on the upcoming sprint to the playoffs.
Once the league resumes on February 25, here are some of the teams you should keep an eye on.
[sc:NHL240 ]The Flyers are in seventh place in the eastern conference with 66 points, just two points ahead of Detroit and three up on Columbus, Ottawa, and Washington.
With 23 games left on their schedule, the Flyers have a lot of opportunities to wiggle themselves out of the jumbled mess in the lower part of the conference’s playoff picture. They set themselves before the Olympic break, winning four straight and going 5-1 in their last six overall.
Over their last five games, the Flyers held their opponents to just 1.8 goals per game and scored 3.0 goals per contest.
The Bruins plunged into the Olympic break by whipping Ottawa 7-2, giving Boston a total of 78 points, five behind the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins. With the win against the Senators, Boston has built a sizeable seven-point lead over the Lighting, who trail the Bruins in third place.
A couple weeks away from NHL ice may be what the Ducks need to collect themselves after faltering into the Olympic break with three losses in their last four games. Nevertheless, Anaheim still owns the most points in the league with 87.
Their first game after the two-week lull is a match against St. Louis, a team that is only three points back of Anaheim. They have also defeated the Ducks twice in two meetings this season. The third meeting on February 28th will be a good gauge to see if the Ducks have recovered from their recent setbacks.
Just like Anaheim, the Canucks are hoping that a brief respite could be the perfect cure for their ailing performance. Before heading into the Olympic break, Vancouver was stuck in a losing rut.
The team is 0-7 in its last seven games and 4-16 in its last 20. Injuries to Henrik Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, and a few more others certainly have contributed a lot to the Canucks’ skid and two weeks off should mean the return of some healthy bodies.
Despite their struggles, the Canucks’s 63 points put them just one behind Dallas, owners of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.
Steven Stamkos was supposed to be out for the season after fracturing his right tibia in November. With him gone, the Lightning were expected to wilt and fall of the rails after a surprisingly hot start. Instead, Tampa Bay remained competitive thanks primarily to the team’s excellent goaltending.
Ben Bishop has been terrific between the pipes for the Lightning, posting a 1.98 goals against average – good for third in the NHL.
If Stamkos successfully returns this season, it could spell for an even scarier Tampa Bay squad that has already displayed its mettle despite his absence.
The Lightning are currently third in the Eastern Conference with 71 points and 24 games left to play on the regular season. They’ve lost four of their last six games but pulled out a 4-2 against Detroit just before the break.
