Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra remains out with an injury. There is no current update on his progression which means he won’t suit up for the Avs for quite some time.
The Colorado Avalanche sit in the second wild card spot in the Western Conference with 58 points in 55 games, tied with the Nashville Predators on the first wild card spot and three points ahead of Minnesota.
Minnesota Wild
Nino Niederreiter had a brilliant return after the All-Star break and put up a goal and an assist (career points 99 and 100!) on a career high eight shots on goal against his former club, the New York Islanders (18:06 TOI). Nonetheless, Minnesota lost the game 3-5. The Wild travelled on to face the New York Rangers at MSG two days later. Niederreiter saw 17:59 minutes worth of ice time, but couldn’t find a way to get on the score sheet in a 2-4 loss (minus-1 rating, 2 penalty minutes). Saturday night in St. Louis, the Wild looked to end their slump. Nino Niederreiter pitched in with four shots on goal, but remained pointless. He finished the game with a minus-1 rating in 15:51 minutes TOI.
The Wild have 55 points in 52 games and lead the chase of the two wild card spots with games in hand on both Colorado and Nashville.
Nashville Predators
Roman Josi’s first NHL All-Star game only lasted 20 minutes as a strong Central Division team lost to a surprising Pacific Division squad and therefore failed to qualify for the final of the 3-on-3 tournament. Josi scored his first goal as an NHL All-Star with 1:07 left in the game.
Two days later, the Preds hosted the St. Louis Blues, but couldn’t put a puck past Blues goalie Brian Elliot - Roman Josi played 25:03 and failed to register a shot on goal. He had a better showing against the Philadelphia Flyers two days later, as he got both an even strength and a powerplay assist, two shots on goal and a minus-1 rating in 24:28 in a 3-6 loss. The Predators finally got their first post-ASG points with a 6-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Roman Josi was a plus-2 with two shots on net in 22:17.
The Predators hold a playoff spot with their 58 points in 53 games, but will have to fight for it.. The gap to the guaranteed playoff spots in the Central Division has widened to 10 points, while the wild card race has five teams within 6 points.
Winnipeg Jets
While Nik Ehlers couldn’t follow up his first NHL hat-trick with more goals, he continued his scoring streak. In the Jets’ first game back from the ASG, Ehlers had an assist and one shot on goal in 17:28 TOI in a 3-5 loss to the Dallas Stars. Three days later, he scored in his sixth consecutive game, as he added another assist in a 3-5 loss to Carolina. He finished the game with a plus-1 rating and three shots on target in 16:53 minutes TOI. While the Jets picked up two points and reversed their fortune on Saturday night in Colorado, Ehlers saw his point streak come to an end. He had a career high nine penalty minutes, including his first career fight (against Tyson Barrie). He had two shots on goal in 15:58 minutes of ice time.
With 49 points in 52 games, the Jets trail a playoff spot by nine points, while only leading the last placed Edmonton Oilers by two points.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
Jonas Hiller was voted the games first star following a 34-save performance in a 4-1 win in Vancouver last night.
Calgary’s 49 points in 51 games have them tied with Winnipeg, only two points in front of the last placed Oilers.
Vancouver Canucks
With Yannick Weber hitting the waiver wire on Friday, the Vancouver Canucks now have two swiss players left on their NHL roster. Luca Sbisa had one shot on goal in 18:16 TOI in a 1-2 shootout loss to Columbus on Thursday, while Sven Baertschi saw 15:40 minutes of ice time and assisted on the Canucks’ lone goal, while also picking up two penalty minutes and two shots on goal. His ice time dropped to just 11:39 on Saturday as he had a minus-2 rating and three shots in a 1-4 loss to Calgary. Sbisa had one shot on goal and dropped the gloves Michael Ferland in 16:19 minutes TOI.
Vancouver has a point-per-game pace 52 games into the season, leaving them in between both the playoff race (six points back) and the Auston-Matthews-race (five points ahead).
ATLANTIC Division
Montréal Canadiens
Sven Andrighetto saw 12:27 minutes of ice time in a 2-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night and had one shot on goal and an even rating. His ice time dropped to 11:17 on Saturday in a 5-1 win over Edmonton. Andrighetto had a plus-1 rating and three shots on goal.
The Canadiens have 54 points after 53 games and have picked up the fewest points of all NHL teams since December 1 (they were leading the league at that point).
Metropolitan Division
Philadelphia Flyers
Mark Streit’s Philadelphia Flyers returned from the All-Star break with a 4-2 win over Montreal on Tuesday. Streit had one shot on goal and an even rating in 22:11 TOI. He delivered a good performance the following game with a plus-3 rating in 22:30 minutes of ice time in a 6-3 win over Roman Josi’s Nashville. The Flyers closed their week with a 2-3 loss against New York in a Saturday matinee game. Streit had 23:21 TOI and finished the game with an even rating.
Philadelphia stands at 55 points through 50 games, trailing a playoff spot by just four points (with three games in hand).
AHL – Quick Look:
Raphael Diaz (Hartford Wolf Pack – NYR) had a combined plus-2 rating and two shots on goal through two games. Christoph Bertschy (Iowa Wild - MIN) played in two games this week. He had one goal, a plus-3 rating, a combined nine shots on goal and four penalty minutes. Dean Kukan (Lake Erie Monsters – CBJ) is still recovering from a lower-body injury. Christian Marti (Lehigh Valley Phantoms) had a minus-2 rating and one shot on goal in his lone game of the week. Kevin Fiala (Milwaukee Admirals - NSH) failed to register a point and had a minus-2 rating in two games this week. Mirco Mueller (San Jose Barracuda - SJ) had one shot on goal in two games. Tanner Richard (Syracruse Crunch – TBL) scored a goal and added two assists in two games this week. He had a combined plus-1 rating and four shots on goal, along with fourteen penalty minutes. Ronalds Kenins (Utica Comets - VAN) had two shots on goal in his only game this week. Yannick Weber (Utica Comets - VAN) has just been reassigned and therefore wasn’t involved in a game this week.
