NHL Week in Review: 3/18-3/24

Daily Headlines

Monday 3/18

• Alex Ovechkin reaches 20 goals for the 19th time in his career, scoring twice in a 5-2 win in Calgary. 
• Jeff Skinner records his seventh career hat trick to help the Sabres handle the Kraken 6-2 to keep their outside playoff hopes alive.

Tuesday 3/19

• David Pastrnak scores twice early and completes his hat trick later in the night in a 6-2 win for the Bruins over the Senators.
• Mark Scheifele lights up New York, recording a hat trick to help the Jets win on the road 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.
• Mikko Rantanen's third of the night proves to be the difference as the Avalanche escape St. Louis with a 4-3 win.
• The Predators score seven unanswered goals to defeat the Sharks 8-2 to tie their franchise's longest point streak at 15 games.
• Patrick Kane helps keep the Red Wings in a playoff spot by setting up Lucas Raymond for the tying goal late in regulation before winning it 4-3 in overtime over the Blue Jackets.

Wednesday 3/20

• Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin score twice each, but the Maple Leafs handle business in D.C., beating the Capitals 7-3.
• Anze Kopitar records his 1,200th point in a two-point effort as part of a 6-0 demolition by the Kings over the Wild.

Thursday 3/21

• Kevin Lankinen stops all 33 Florida shots and Filip Forsberg scores three points to help the Predators defeat the Panthers 3-0 to set a franchise record with points in 16 straight games.
• Artemi Panarin reaches 40 goals as part of a hat trick to aid the Rangers in a 5-2 win over the Bruins in Boston. 
• The Oilers score five goals in the third period to help pull away from the Buffalo Sabres in an 8-3 victory.

Friday 3/22

• Sebastian Aho and Sonny Milano trade hat tricks as the Hurricanes and Capitals score six goals apiece in regulation before the Capitals win the game 7-6 in the shootout.

Saturday 3/23

• In a scoreless tie in the third period, Filip Forsberg's 39th goal of the season with 5:14 left helps the Predators extend the point streak to 17 games with a 1-0 win over the Red Wings.
• Tyson Foerster breaks a 2-2 tie with 1:29 left in regulation to help the Flyers earn a critical two points to maintain their spot in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-2 win over the Bruins.
• Jordan Kyrou notches his fourth career hat trick, but it's Brandon Saad who plays the hero in overtime to earn a 5-4 win in overtime over the Wild. 
• The Blackhawks score five unanswered goals after falling behind 4-0 in the second period to the Sharks, including a late tying goal from Philipp Kurashev and the OT winner by Seth Jones.

Sunday 3/24

• Colorado erases a four-goal deficit, scoring five unanswered goals as Nathan MacKinnon extends his home point streak and Jonathan Drouin scores the game-winner in overtime to beat Pittsburgh 5-4.
• Sam Reinhart scores twice to help him reach 50 goals for the first time in his career in a 4-1 win for the Panthers over the Flyers.
• Zach Hyman scores his 50th goal of the season, but the Senators pull off a huge upset 5-3 over the Oilers. 

Team of the Week- Los Angeles Kings

On the surface, they didn't play the toughest schedule, but this was a week that the Kings needed to capitalize on. They were at home, facing a back-to-back and a tough test from the Lightning over the weekend. They swept their back-to-back against the Blackhawks and Wild, beating them by a combined 12-2. Then, they picked up a strong overtime victory over the Bolts. The Kings led the league in goals-per-game (5.33), were tied for second in goals-allowed per-game (1.67), and were in the Top 5 on the power play (37.5%). While they're only two points ahead of Vegas for third in the division, they feel pretty solid as at least a Wild Card team, though they have some work to do.

Disappointing Team of the Week- Winnipeg Jets

This was a tough schedule for the Jets, finishing their five-game road trip in the northeast. They started well by winning last weekend in Columbus and started the week with a win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. After that, things turned pretty sour. They finished the week with three straight losses, being outscored 13-4 in losses to the Devils, Islanders, and Capitals. Their rough end to the week put them behind the Stars and Avalanche in the division, making it seem more likely that they'll be in the third spot in the division and on the road to begin the postseason. It's not the type of week we've grown to expect from them with how well they've played this season.

Surprising Team of the Week- Washington Capitals

I didn't think there was a snowball's chance that the Capitals would be in this position this late in the season. They've been on a roll recently, finding their way into a Wild Card spot. They finished their western road trip with a win over Calgary, and while they were beaten down by Toronto on Wednesday, they followed it up by winning a wild 7-6 game over the Hurricanes and shut out the Jets over the weekend. Alex Ovechkin has found his scoring touch again, closing in on another 30-goal season. Even with the shutout, their defense left a little to be desired, but to call this a shock would be an understatement. 

Three Stars of the Week

3rd Star- Frederik Andersen (CAR)- 2-0-0, .954 SV%, 1.49 GAA in 2 starts

I'll be the first to admit that this is cheating as a Hurricanes fan, but I don't think the league has been made aware of just how great Frederik Andersen has been since returning from his blood-clotting issue. He's been in a consistent rotation with Pyotr Kochetkov for a few weeks, but Andersen was hands down the better goalie this week. He absolutely stood on his head against the Flyers and Maple Leafs, making 30+ stops in each win. He's 6-0-0 since his return, allowing no more than two goals in each start. 

2nd Star- Alex Ovechkin (WSH)- 7 goals, 1 assist in 4 games

Do you remember when Alex Ovechkin wasn't scoring, and we were all worried that he was done? Well, he clearly took that personally. Ovechkin has scored in five straight games, including a league-high seven goals this week. He had multi-goal efforts in three of the four games, and in the one that he didn't, he still finished with two points. He has helped get Washington into a playoff spot as we enter the final weeks of the regular season.

1st Star- Auston Matthews (TOR)- 3 goals, 7 assists in 4 games

The presumed favorite to win the Rocket this season, Auston Matthews was second in the league in scoring this week, finishing one point behind Connor McDavid for the lead. He's trying to make a case for the Hart Trophy in his pursuit of 70 goals, and while I don't think he's likely to hit 70, there is little doubt that he'll reach 60 goals soon. Matthews' best performance of the week was a two-goal, five-point effort against Washington on Wednesday.

My Top 16 (* denotes a new entry)

1. New York Rangers (-)

2. Vancouver Canucks (+3)

3. Florida Panthers (-)

4. Boston Bruins (-2)

5. Carolina Hurricanes (+1)

6. Colorado Avalanche (+1)

7. Edmonton Oilers (+1)

8. Dallas Stars (+1)

9. Winnipeg Jets (-5)

10. Nashville Predators (-)

11. Los Angeles Kings (+2)

12. Tampa Bay Lightning (-)

13. Toronto Maple Leafs (-2)

14. Vegas Golden Knights (-)

15. Washington Capitals (+2)*

16. Philadelphia Flyers (+2)*

Rising & Falling- There weren't many extreme shifts in momentum in either direction this week. The largest jump in the Top 16 was Vancouver, jumping three spots from #5 to #2. They share the President's Trophy lead with the Rangers are the moment, who maintained their spot at #1. They were one of five teams to go 3-0-0 this week. The largest fall was the Winnipeg Jets, who last three of four this week. They've fallen a little behind the rest of the pack in the Central Division, thus necessitating the five-spot drop.

New Faces- Two teams from the Metropolitan Division snuck their way into the Top 16 this week. Washington has proven they are for real, winning three of their four games to jump into the second Wild Card spot in the East. Not only that, but they're just two points back of Philadelphia for third in the division with games in hand. The Flyers had a solid week, picking up five of eight possible points. They haven't been too consistent lately but have managed to hold their spot, though it is being threatened by the Capitals.

The Logjam for the President's Trophy- Going into Monday, there are seven teams within one point of the lead across the entire league. The Rangers and Canucks both have 98 points, while five others sit with 97. This has to be one of the tightest races for the President's Trophy in league history. All seven teams have legitimate chances to win it. I'm sure there will be plenty of movement in the standings this week to weed out the pretenders from the contenders. 

Games of the Upcoming Week

Kings at Canucks (Monday)

The Vancouver Canucks will have the first crack at 100 points when they host the Kings on Monday. The Canucks' lead atop the Pacific Division is comfortable for now, but this would be a cool feather in their cap after a few rough seasons. Los Angeles also seems pretty set to make the playoffs, but their positioning is in question. Vegas is right behind them for third in the division, which would end up being a big deal, considering the division leaders.

Bruins at Panthers (Tuesday)

Over the last few weeks, the top spot in the Atlantic Division has flip-flopped between the Panthers and Bruins. Right now, they're tied with 97 points, and Florida owns the slight edge based on games played. On Tuesday night, one team will move ahead of the other. The Bruins have lost two straight, so the momentum is in Florida's favor at the moment. 

Stars at Canucks (Thursday)

Thursday's slate features several big games out west. I'll begin with the battle of the conference's top teams battling in Vancouver. As I mentioned, the Canucks are snug at the top of the Pacific, but Dallas is in the middle of a dogfight with the Avalanche. They sit in second in the division based on points percentage and are one of the best teams in the league on the road. Vancouver is very good at home, setting up a major clash.

Golden Knights at Jets (Thursday)

Elsewhere in Western Canada, the Winnipeg Jets will look to try and turn their recent struggles around. They've fallen behind the Stars and Avalanche at the moment, trailing by four points for first in the division. Vegas is trying to crack the Top 3 to avoid having to play either Vancouver or the top team in the Central Division. They've been very average of late, not quite playing to the level we saw them at when the season began. 

Rangers at Avalanche (Thursday)

While the battles within the Western Conference are pretty big, there's a cross-conference meeting in Denver that could produce some fireworks and could even give us a Stanley Cup preview. No team in the league is better at home than the Avalanche, but the Rangers have the second-most road wins of any Eastern Conference team. They're also very good against the Western Conference. With two stacked lineups, this will be a must-watch contest.