Participants
Montreal Canadiens - Atlantic Division
Record: 69 GP, 42-19-8, 92 points (1st), 218 GF (8th), 174 GA (T-7th) , PP 24.32 % (2nd), PK 82.28 % (5th)
Home: 35 GP, 20-10-5, 45 points
Road: 34 GP, 22-9-3, 47 points
Who's hot/not: Marc Savard continues to lead this team in scoring with 78 points in 69 contests, however, Savard hasn't scored in 8 games and has only 6 assists in that span. His line mates, Ales Hemsky, has a 2 game point streak and 7 points, while Andrei Kostitsyn has a 3 game point streak and 7 points in the aforementioned 8 games. Samu Perhonen has been lights out as Montreal Canadien, posting a 26-9-3 record, with a GAA of 1.98, SPCT of 90.9 and 4 shutouts. The Habs overall have won 5 straight. Not: Veteran forwards Matt Cullen, Mike Fisher, and Brenden Morrow have gone ice cold. Matt Cullen has gone 15 without a goal, and 13 without a point. Mike Fisher has gone 42 without a goal while Morrow has gone 8 without a goal but still boats an impressive 31 points in 35 games in Montreal. Blueliner Luca Sbisa is 22 games without a goal, but does have a 2 game point streak. Impressively youngster Daniel Gunnarsson has yet to score this season over 2 teams, a span of 68 games. Veteran Eric Brewer hasn't scored in 30 games while bruising defensemen Colby Cohen has gone 23 without a goal but does have a 2 game point streak.
Remaining Games: 03/18 vs. COL, 03/20 vs. CBJ, 03/22 @ TOR, 03/24 @ BOS, 03/25 vs. BUF, 03/27 @ DET, 03/29 @ FLA, 04/01 @ TB, 04/04 @ OTT, 04/05 vs. DET, 04/09 @ CHI, 04/10 vs. NYI, 04/12 vs. NYR
Fearless Forecast: Vezina candidate Samu Perhonen and the Habs could be in a little bit of trouble to hold onto their lead atop the East as Perhonen has only 7 games left he can play out of the remaining 13. Goaltenders Jake Allen & Antti Raanta will be called upon frequently down the stretch. The Habs have been the league's hottest team since the Calendar turned into 2014, they recently snapped a 15 game undefeated streak in February. Forecast is calling for 10 wins and 3 losses to end the season, leaving them with 112 points.
Washington Capitals - Metropolitan Division
Record: 69 GP, 40-19-10, 90 Points (2nd), 222 GF (5th), 192 GA (11th), PP 22.30 % (8th), PK 77.13 % (24th)
Home: 36 GP, 23-10-3, 49 Points
Road: 33 GP, 17-9-7, 41 Points
Who's hot/not: Similar to the Montreal Canadiens, the Washington Capitals overall, have been very hot in the month of March, they have kept pace with their Canadian counterparts as well as stuck with the Penguins and Bruins. Zach Parise is leading the Capitals in scoring with 70 points in 69 games, including 8 points in his last 9 affairs. Pavel Datsyuk has matched Parise point-for-point in his last 9, posting 8 as well. Surprise summer pick up David Booth is 3rd in scoring on the team, with an impressive 53 points, and he has 8 points in 9 as well. Second liners JP Dumont and Wojtek Wolski also find themselves in the 8 in 9 plateau. Not: It's no secret the Capitals have struggled to get goals from their defense, as Andrei Markov just snapped a 38 game goal less streak, while fellow blueliners haven't been so lucky. Karl Alzner has seen his streak reach 35, while Brian Lashoff is up to 28, and Pavel Kubina 28. Depth forward Manny Malhotra has gone 42 without a goal, and is pointless in 16. Third liners Olli Jokinen has gone 6 games without a goal, while Philippe Di Giuseppe, and Vladimir Tarasenko both recently snapped scoring streaks as well.
Remaining Games: 03/18 @ ANA, 03/20 @ LA, 03/22 @ SJ, 03/25 vs. LA, 03/29 vs. BOS, 03/30 @ NSH, 04/01 vs. DAL, 04/04 @ NJ, 04/05 @ NYI, 04/08 @ STL, 04/10 @ CAR, 04/11 vs. CHI, 04/13 @ TB
Fearless Forecast: The next 5 games (on the road vs ANA/LA/SJ then home vs LA/BOS) will make or break the Capitals bid to secure the top spot in the East. It's a very difficult stretch of 5 games as they go into California on a road trip against 2 of the very best teams in the league and a red hot Ducks squad looking to secure a playoff spot. Their schedule softens slightly afterwards as they face out of contention teams in 5 of their last 8 games. Forecast is calling for some light rain, mixed with some sunny sky's, 8 wins and 5 losses, 108 points.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Metropolitan Division
Record: 67 GP, 42-20-5, 89 Points, 204 GF (14th), 161 GA (2nd), PP 19.54 % (19th), PK 83.68 % (3rd)
Home: 31 GP, 24-5-2, 50 Points
Road: 36 GP, 18-15-3, 39 Points
Who's hot/not: Jarome Iginla & Cody Hodgson are tied atop the Penguins scoring ladder, but our focus is on the latter, Cody Hodgson. Hodgson has a 4 game point scoring streak with 9 points in his last 8 games. Standout centerman Anze Kopitar has Hodgson slightly beat in the past week with 10 points in his last 8 games, but trails Hodgson by 2 points on the season. Second liners Scott Hartnell and rookie Nicklas Jensen are both also sporting point streaks. Hartnell's streak is up to 5 games while Jensen has points in 2 straight and 7 in his last 8. Sniper James Van-Riemsdyk also has a mini 2 game point scoring streak. Not: Look no further than recent acquisition Alex Edler for the definition of a cold streak. "Respect" your Edlers ice cold streak has reached 61 games, including 49 as a Pittsburgh Penguin. New acquisitions Kimmo Timonen and Joey Hishon are both struggling as well, with Timonen's streak up to 29 games while Hishon's is much more minor at 7 games. Tough guy Shane O'Brien is also sporting a 24 game goal less streak, which should come as a surprise to nobody. Fourth liners Rene Bourque, Tyler Pitlick & Nick Foligno have not found the back of the net in 14 games, 18 games, and 35 games respectively.
Remaining Games: 03/18 vs. DAL, 03/20 @ DET, 03/22 vs. TB, 03/23 @ STL, 03/25 vs. PHO, 03/27 vs. LA, 03/28 @ CBJ, 03/30 vs. CHI, 04/01 vs. CAR, 04/03 @ WPG, 04/05 @ MIN, 04/06 @ COL, 04/09 vs. DET, 04/12 vs. PHI, 04/13 vs. OTT
Fearless Forecast: The reigning Stanley Cup Champs are in a good position to repeat. They are 3 points back of the Habs and 1 point back of the Capitals but they have 2 games in hand on both teams as well as the Penguins have 10 of their remaining 15 games at home. The Penguins are the Eastern Conference's best team at home, sporting a 24-5 record. It's looking like a clear sailing for the Penguins to close out the year, but if there are any stumbles, with a close to .500 road record, anything but the No.1 seed could spell an earlier than normal exit for the champs, 11 wins, 4 losses, 111 points.
Boston Bruins - Atlantic Division
Record: 67 GP, 42-20-5, 89 Points, 220 GF (6th), 175 GA (8th), PP 21.97 % (10th), PK 79.78 % (16th)
Home: 36 GP, 24-9-3, 51 Points
Road: 31 GP, 18-11-2, 38 Points
Who's hot/not: For the first-half of the 2013-2014 season the Boston Bruins established themselves as the team to beat in the East. A second half slide of somewhat, with a 6-4 record in their past 10, has flip flopped them into 4th, but the top spot is within reach. Milan Lucic is leading the Bruins with 61 points in 67 games, thanks to a 10 point effort over his last 9 contests. Veteran Alex Tanguay has matched Lucic stride for stride with 10 points as well. Young center's Jordan Caron & Joe Colborne are having strong seasons for the bears, with Caron outperforming Colborne on the season, but Colborne has him beat in the short term with 8 points in his last 9. Veteran Ryan Smyth has been a perfect fit for this team, and although he hasn't scored in 4 games has been solid over his past 9 with 7 points. Not: Similar to their foes, the Bruins have some blueliners struggling to score goals. Superstar Victor Hedman has gone 15 without lighting the lamp while his counterpart, Mark Stuart has gone 51 games without raising his hands for a goal. Second pairing guys Ben Wright & John Negrin have had their own offensive struggles to deal with, as Ben Wright hasn't scored in 26, while newly acquired John Negrin hasn't scored in 33, 13 of those games with Boston. Youngsters Caron & Colborne are having solid seasons, but one youngster heavily struggling is Greg Nemisz. Swapped for Erik Cole, Nemisz had almost 30 points a season ago, but is currently sitting at 16, and hasn't scored in 19 games or registered a point in 7. Deadline acquisition Samuel Pahlsson has dressed in 4 games, hasn't scored, and on the season is 15 straight. It seems his recent scoring streak may have been a role in his benching, Sheahan hasn't played in his last 5 games after his goal less streak reached 27 games. Depth forwards David Legwand & Tomas Hertl also both have minor scoring streaks, Legwand with 6 and Hertl with 8.
Remaining Games: 03/17 vs. MIN, 03/18 @ NJ, 03/21 @ COL, 03/22 @ PHO, 03/24 vs. MTL, 03/27 vs. CHI, 03/29 @ WSH, 03/30 @ PHI, 04/02 @ DET, 04/03 @ TOR, 04/05 vs. PHI, 04/08 @ MIN, 04/10 @ WPG, 04/12 vs. BUF, 04/12 @ NJ
Fearless Forecast: At first glance, fortunate for the Boston Bruins would be their 2 games in-hand on the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals. However, to close out March the Bruins will have 3 back-to-back scenarios, as well as 2 back-to-back's in April. Schedule certainly wasn't easy on them to make up their lost games. Also unfortunate for the Bruins, 10 of their last 15 remaining games are on the road. Bruins haven't struggled by any stretch on the road this year (18-11), but certainly enjoy the confines of the TD Bank Garden arena (24-9). Some big matchups down the stretch, they host the Habs, while travelling to Washington & Winnipeg. The schedule has potential to be a rocky mud slide of an ending for the Bruins as they look for revenge after an early exit last year, 10 wins, 5 losses, 109 points.
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Race Winner: Montreal Canadiens, 112 points, Eastern Conference champions by a 1 point margin over their nemesis Pittsburgh Penguins. Should come as no surprise
