By: Mike Rifkin
As we approach the NHL All Star break it means we are at about the halfway point of the regular season. Which means the trade deadline and playoffs are fast approaching. This article will look at four teams who are currently outside of the playoffs who I think can make a run in the second half.
New York Islanders: I actually picked the Islanders preseason to win the Metropolitan division and why not because they did go to the Conference Finals the last two seasons. Currently they sit 17 points out of that second wild card spot but have five games in hand on the Bruins. In order to make this run the Islanders need to start scoring. They average 2.38 goals per game and the only two teams with fewer are the Canadiens and Coyotes. Three players who need to pick up the goal scoring for them are Anthony Beauvillier who has six goals in 34 games played, JG Pageau who has five goals in 35 games played and Kyle Palmieri who has one goal after signing a four year 20 million dollar contract this offseason. If the Islanders pick up their goal scoring you have to believe in Barry Trotz’s system which has led them to back to back Conference Finals.
Detroit Red Wings: To be honest I only put the Red Wings here because I really don’t trust anyone else in the East. ( side note still weird to call the Wings an Eastern Conference team). Detroit sits nine points back of the Bruins for the second wild card and the Bruins have three games in hand. But if you were to ask Red Wings fans how excited they are with their progress they would be ecstatic. The Wings have two potential Calder Finalists in Defenseman Mortiz Seider and Winger Lucas Raymond ( I hear everybody loves him) who currently sit third and fourth on the team in scoring. But the brightest spot for the Wings is that captain Dylan Larkin who has stayed healthy leads the team in goals and eventually they will get Jakub Vrana back from a shoulder injury. He had eight goals in 11 games for Detroit after coming from the Capitals. Now I don’t expect Detroit to get in. I expect General Manager Steve Yzerman to better his team if not for now for the future. The most dangerous team is a team without expectations. Now if Detroit wants to make a run they have to play better on the road they have a 6-12-3 record on the road.
Dallas Stars: Currently Dallas is tied for the second wild card but I still don’t believe they have played their best hockey. Two years ago the Stars were playing in the Stanley Cup Finals and it is relatively the same core of players. Goalie Jake Oettinger has been tremendous for them with a 11-4-0 record, a 2.43 Goals Against Average and a .913 save percentage. Braden Holtby also has a .913 save percentage along with a 2.76 Goals Against Average and a record of 9-9-1. The Stars top line of Joe Pavelski, Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz are the top three scorers and are having tremendous seasons. They need a little bit more offense out of captain Jamie Benn who has 19 points in 42 games. They also need to figure out what they are going to do with John Klingberg who is a free agent after the season but has requested a trade. Dallas is a very dangerous team in the second half if their Stars shine bright.
Vancouver Canucks: Vancouver sits four points out of the second wild card and nine points out of third place in the Pacific Division. Since Bruce Boudreau took over for Travis Green the Vancouver Canucks have played very good hockey. Offensively JT Miller has given them a spark with 15 goals and 44 points in 42 games played. Forward Elias Pettersson has four points over his last five games and is playing with more confidence. Goaltender Thatcher Demko has been the one constant all season. He is 17-14-2 with a 2.57 Goals Against Average and a .918 save percentage. If the Canucks want to make a run they need to do two things. One is to improve on their league worst 69.5 percent penalty kill which has been bad all season long. The other is they need some more contributions offensively from players like Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podolkolzin who combined have 15 goals on the season. Vancouver averages 2.43 goals a game with the talent they have that number should be a little higher.
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