2021-22 Sticks and Stones Report: What’s Going On Around the NHL | Week 12
Here we are approaching the midway point of the 21-21 NHL season and what a season it has been so far. McDavid and Draisatil still sit atop the points category but, with inconsistent goalie and defensive play, they are already looking shaky to make the playoffs. Trade deadline is going to be a fun watch and I’m curious to see how this team tries to improve. Speaking of improving, Buffalo has done the opposite. The myth of the team, at the beginning of this year, has been busted and I can’t even tell if this team is trying to rebuild or just throwing the towel in for this season. Devils, Senators, Blue Jackets, and Chicago are all doing well now as they begin showing signs of life and growth. Arizona is just a clown car rolling through city to city doing what they can. Seattle is showing fight and spunk for a ragtag team but averaging 3.45 goals against a night is not good. You can blame their goalie duo mainly for that but being an expansion squad with some great parts to build on is good to see.
Top Hogs in the NHL Right Now
Winnipeg is crushed with COVID protocol right now, but their season has been Ben and Jerrys Rocky Road Special with the coach retiring halfway through after a back-and-forth season so far. Dallas, at home, is one of the best teams in the league but they won’t be considered a tough team until they can string together some wins on the road. Robertson, Hintz, and Heiskanen are going to be stars in this league in 2-3 years. Get to know them and check out their YouTube clips right now. Speaking of old clips, Malkin came back for his first game last week and scores 2 goals. Wild! Penguins have been solid and look even more so now after having many doubters in the pre-season. Carolina, New York Rangers, and Washington are slowly staying ahead of the Penguins as these top dogs keep striding towards the post season. Each team is deadly and respectable, but the Russian Superman, Alex Ovechkin, looks dominant as ever with this Capitals squad that just got Backstrom back for the season. Ovie will easily crush Gretzky’s goal record before he’s done with the NHL.
Look Out For Them Brooons
Moving out of the Metropolitan and into the Atlantic Division for a bit, it’s the Florida squads leading the way alongside a Toronto Maple Leafs squad that has battled and climbed to the top in the league behind some strong goalie play by Jack Campbell. Great for a Leafs team that hopes to finally break through the first round of playoffs in 40+ years. Keep those fingers crossed. Speaking of strong goalie play, Tuukka is back and healthy with his first start and win coming against the Flyers on Thursday. Marchand continues to agitate the league with his chirping and superb play on the ice. For more insight into the Bruins, though, see my ‘Brooons‘ article for a more in-depth analysis of this squad, but simply put: The Big, Bad Bears are hot.
