2017 -2018 NHL
Season to date
It has been a fun first half of the National Hockey League. The surprise feel-good story has been the Las Vegas Golden Knights. A Cinderella story, no doubt, of a team that by League history, should be near the bottom of the pack but is sitting in the number TWO spot. Amazing! Everyone has been asking how this team compares to other expansion teams. One writer did his research and here is an excerpt (a link to the full article is at the bottom of this posting and I encourage you to read it).
#10: the former
Oakland Seals, who joined in 1967-1968 with a 15-42-17 record. The Seals moved
to Minnesota (North Stars) then on to Dallas. #9: sadly, my favorite team is
next: the San Jose Sharks, who entered in 1991-1992. Los Tiburones started
their first year playing in the Cow palace (maybe that was to blame?) and ended
up with a 17-58-5 record but we didn’t care: it was The Sharks and we cheered every game. #8: Tampa Bay is next, entering in the
1992-1993 season with a 23-54-7 record.
#7: Minnesota Wild took to the ice in the 2000-2001
season and ended with a 25-39-13-5 record. #6: the old Hartford Whalers laced
up their skates in the 1979-1980 season and finished with a 27-34-19 record and
eventually became the Carolina Hurricanes. #5: the Nashville Predators who
entered in 1998-1999, with a 28-47-7 record.
#4: the Columbus Blue Jackets who entered in 2000-2001 and ended up with
a 28-39-6 record. #3: the Mighty Ducks
of Anaheim (thank goodness they changed the name) in 1993-1994. The Ducks had a
33-46-5 record. #2: the Florida Panthers joining the League in 1993-1994 and
finishing with a 33-34-17 record. Finally the best of the bunch is the
Philadelphia Flyers who started in 1967-1968 and finished with a 31-32-11
record.
This brings us to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Partway
through the season they’ve done better than thirteen of the teams listed above
did in their entire first year. Just how good is this team? Overall in the
League standings, as of 12-31-17, the Knights have 54 points which puts them in
second place under the first place Tampa Bay (58 points). Not bad for a team
that has had to make use of FIVE different goaltenders this season due to
various injuries!
How have my Sharks done? One analyst placed San Jose “in
the murky middle” of the teams when putting out his weekly rankings. They sit in seventh place in the Western
Conference with 44 points. Compared to Las Vegas’ +26 differential, the Sharks
are a +6. For those who don’t know what a differential is, it’s the difference
between goals for (scored) and goals allowed. Obviously, the higher the number,
the more goals a team gets past an opposing goalie. Joe Thornton heads the team
list in points at 27 (8 G, 19 A), with Logan Couture next at 26 (15-11), and
Brent Burns in third with 26 (6-20), Joe Pavelski sits in fourth with 24 (8-16),
and the fifth is held by Tomas Hertl with 22 (10-12). Burns is the shots on goal leader with 150.
As for the team stats, San Jose needs to do some
improving. They are at number 28 in goals for (scored). At least the defense is
doing better at preventing goals against, keeping the team at the number 3
spot. San Jose’s special teams are good on paper but it could be better. The
power play percentage is at 22%, which doesn’t seem fantastic considering their
history until you realize that it places them in fifth place (guess everyone is
struggling to make power play goals this season). The penalty kill is better at 85.2% (second
place). What has hurt them team is their five-on-five play. You have to score
goals to win games and that is where they are falling flat.. I think the Sharks
are missing Patrick Marleau.
Speaking of Patty, he has jelled with his new team quite
well. To date, Marleau has scored 15
goals and 24 points (6th in the team standings) His goal total is
two under the leading team scorer, Austin Matthews). Not bad for an ‘old man’.
We’ll have to see how the Sharks do in the second half of
the season. I never give up hope until that final horn goes off. If nothing
else, it will be fun watching the Golden Knights play.
AS for other news, the League has decided not to shut down for two weeks so that the players might represent their counties in the 2018 Winter Olympics. I imagine part of the reason for the decision had to do with the loss of revenue. Last time a couple of key players were injured which impacted their teams after the Olympics were done. This isn't to say individuals won't try to take leave of absences to take part in the Games.
My final thought has to do with the outdoor (stadium games). Again, I implore the NHL to schedule different teams to be part of the Winter Classic. This January 1rst we saw the Rangers against the Sabres. It was New York's forth appearance in an outdoor game. There are thirty teams (well, 31 now with Las Vegas entering this season). Before any team is allowed to have a second, third, etc. chance to play, shouldn't a team who hasn't been in the game get the opportunity? In fact, shouldn't be a West verses East match-up? Bring in the Stanley Cup winning team and a team from the opposing Conference.
Think about it Mr. Bettman.
Go Sharks!
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