A Change In The West
Overall, the
NHL’s Eastern Conference is the same as last year. Teams that have been
dominant for the past few years have done so and vice versa for the weaker
clubs. Of course, there are the exceptions of the Boston Bruins’ meritocracy,
and the New York Islanders’ surprising 40 points in the standings. However, the
real changes are in the Western Conference. An abundance of teams are both
under performing severely, and greatly exceeded expectations. These teams
currently have a comfortable lead in the playoffs, or are the laughing stocks
of the league.
Vancouver
Canucks: After about a third of the way through the season, the Canucks
sit in second place in the Pacific division. Going 7-3 in October, they got off
to an unexpected well start. Vancouver has had a few off years after almost
winning the Cup in 2011. Last year’s season resulted in a trade that sent their
star but fading goalie Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers. In addition to
this, the organization also fired their one-year head coach John Tortorella due
to dislike among the organization and fan base. However, this year they acquired
free agent goalie Ryan Miller. So far, Miller has a 16-7-0 record with a 2.69
goals against average. Daniel and Henrik Sedin both lead the team in points at
26. Their offense, while not consistent can be explosive at times. Even though
the Canucks are the losers of four straight, they are still doing better than
most expected.
Calgary
Flames: Arguably the biggest surprise for a quality team this year is
the Calgary Flames. They have not qualified for the playoffs since the
2008-2009 season, and have not gotten past the Quarterfinal Round since losing
to the Lightning in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. In the off season, they lost one
of their best players in Mike Cammalleri to free agency, signing with the New
Jersey Devils. Despite this, defenseman Mark Giordano has stepped up as the
leading scorer of the Flames with 8 goals and 22 assists. The goaltender job
was been virtually split between Karri Ramo 8-4-1, and Jonas Hiller 9-8-1. The
Flames currently rank 15th in the NHL in goals against at 2.6.
Calgary is tied for the Wild Card spot along with the Kings and Jets at this
point. Compared to their last decade of play, the Flames are heading in the
right direction.
Colorado Avalanche: Last year, the Avalanche went from having the first pick in
the NHL, to the second best record in the Western Conference. This was due in
part by break-out star Matt Duchene, and star goaltending by Vezna Finalist
Semyon Varlamov. Avalanche legend Patrick Roy joined as the head coach, and
even started a trend of pulling your goalie as early as five minutes left in
the 3rd period when down. The Avalanche would eventually surprisingly
lose to the Minnesota in the first round. However, this year they have been
dismal. Colorado is tied for last place in the Central with the Dallas Stars,
another team that had hoped to take the next step. The Avalanche rank 21st
in goals for with 2.5, and 26th in goals against at 3.2. Last year’s
Vezna Trophy Finalist is now losing the starting job to Calvin Pickard. This
all coming from a team that had expectations of nothing less than a Stanley
Cup.