NHL
NHL Regular
Season
The Winnipeg Jets are in the midst of a 6-18-4 stretch. Cameron Bartlett / Getty Images
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Good morning to everyone except Sam Bennett, who is very sad he didnât make Team Canada. We hate to see it, donât we folks? Must have been a real sucker-punch to the head.
A little news to note before we get too far: Congratulations to Team Sweden for winning gold in the World Juniors. Itâs the countryâs first gold medal since 2012 and just its third in the tournamentâs history. Hereâs Scott Wheeler with his tournament scouting report on more than 100 prospects.
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The other big news is that Igor Shesterkin got hurt, leaving last nightâs game after a collision with JJ Peterka. We donât know the prognosis, but it didnât look good. Check in on our Rangers coverage to get the latest.
OK, letâs get to it:
Thatâs my request to NHL teams as we hit the halfway point of the season. You can be a Stanley Cup contender, or an also-ran, or something in between. But please, pick one of those options and try to stick with it for at least a few weeks at a time. Because these days, a whole bunch of teams canât seem to decide what they are.
Iâm not talking about the teams that want to be contenders but donât look like them, like the Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers or even the Florida Panthers. Thatâs a common NHL trope, one we see from a few teams every year, and at least those examples have been relatively consistent in disappointing us all year long. And I donât mean the surprise teams, like the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Islanders, because weâre used to that too.
I mean the teams that seem to have multiple identities. They play one way for a few weeks, you think âOK, we see what youâre doing,â and then the pendulum swings hard in the other direction. And youâre left wondering ⌠um, what?
Weâve got a few teams that canât seem to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. And as a fan, Iâll admit the unpredictability is fun on some level. But as someone who gets paid to have and to publish hockey opinions, this is making my life more difficult than it needs to be. So Iâm calling a few of these teams out.
Here are a half-dozen teams that Iâm going to need to pick a lane in the second half.
âď¸ Winnipeg Jets
They were: Coming off a Presidentsâ Trophy season and sitting at 9-3-0 when I ranked them first in my Monday power rankings after the seasonâs first month.
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But theyâve also been: The worst team in the league pretty much ever since, posting a horrifying 6-18-4 record thatâs dropped them all the way to last place.
âď¸ Buffalo Sabres
They were: The Sabres. Which is to say, the team that made 31 other fan bases say, âWell, it could be a lot worse.â By early December, they fired GM Kevyn Adams, sat at 11-14-3 and their season was already over.
But theyâve also been: The greatest team in the history of the world. Or at least pretty close, as they ran off 10 straight wins to charge past the rest of the Eastern turtle derby and into the running for a wild-card spot.
đŚ Anaheim Ducks
They were: The single best story of the seasonâs first five weeks. After running their win streak to seven games in mid-November, they were sitting at 11-3-1 and looked like legitimate contenders to win the Pacific. In other words, looking nothing like the rebuilding team they were supposed to be.
But theyâve also been: The rebuilding team they were supposed to be, except worse. Theyâve been 10-14-2 since that streak ended, falling all the way out of a playoff spot.
đ New Jersey Devils
They were: The young team whose time at the top of the Metro had come, after an 8-1-0 start. The goaltending was great, Jack Hughes was finally healthy, and we all knew Quinn Hughes was on his way.
But theyâve also been: A very pedestrian 14-17-2, dropping them all the way out of a playoff spot. In related news, the goaltending is bad, Jack Hughes got hurt and Quinn Hughes is lighting it up in Minnesota because Fitzy couldnât get his cap figured out in time.
đŠď¸ Tampa Bay Lightning
They were: The classic old team that had squeezed all the juice from the stone and whose contention window had finally slammed shut after losing six of their first seven.
But theyâve also been: The team that only dummies had counted out, winning 15 of their next 18.
But theyâve also been: Whoops, nevermind, theyâre washed up again, losing seven of nine.
But theyâve also also been: Perfect in their last seven games, and at this point I give up.
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đď¸ Colorado Avalanche
They were: The team that had two regulation losses in its first 40 games, authors of not one but two separate 10-game winning streaks, and on pace to record the single greatest regular season in the history of the league.
But theyâve also been: A pathetic 0-1-0 in their last one game. Embarrassing, really.
Speaking of picking a lane, the Habs did just that in the second round of the 2022 draft when they took Lane Hutson with thâ (immediately gets pelted by rotten tomatoes). You know what, thatâs a great pun. Iâm right and youâre wrong on this one.
Where were we? Right, the Canadiens picked Lane Hutson with their second-round pick in 2022 and have been rewarded with a Calder Trophy to go with 110 points and counting.
Can you name the next two highest scorers from the second round of that yearâs draft?
Probably not, so Iâll give you three hints:
Answer below.
đş Are you watching âHeated Rivalry?â Itâs become a TV phenomenon, but can it change hockey culture?
𪽠Is Moritz Seider closing in on Cale Makar in the Norris race? Dom Luszczyszyn thinks he could be.
đ Pierre LeBrun has a look at the thought process behind Team Sweden, including the omission of Mattias Ekholm.
đ Canadaâs youngest Olympian, Macklin Celebrini, is just ridiculously good.
đď¸ On Mondayâs episode of âThe Athletic Hockey Show,â the guys deep dive into the officially announced Olympic rosters and discuss the biggest snubs, make NHL predictions for 2026 and try to fix what ails the Winter Classic.
đď¸ The Prospect Series crew had its instant reaction to the World Juniors gold medal game as it was happening. Listen or watch here.
The three best teams in the NHL are in the Western Conference, and theyâre all in the Central Division.
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OK, sure, maybe youâd argue that the Avalanche, Stars and Wild are actually three of the leagueâs best four teams, maybe even best five. It depends on how much you like the Hurricanes and Lightning, basically. But however many elite teams you think there are, we can all agree that a) there arenât many, and b) those three Central teams are on the list.
Cool. What about the rest of the conference?
Itâs not pretty. I spent a good chunk of yesterdayâs rankings dumping on the Pacific Division, and rightly so because it stinks. But itâs not like the Central is much better once you get past the Big Three.
How bad is it? Here are three quick stats:
⢠There are six teams in the entire NHL that are .500 or worse. All of them are in the West.
⢠All seven of the worst goal differentials in the league are from teams in the West.
⢠Hereâs the most depressing one of all: Once you get past the Big Three, the other 13 teams in the conference all trail the Sabres in the standings. That would be the same Sabres who are currently outside the Eastern playoff picture.
Thatâs right: Other than the Avs, Stars and Wild, not a single Western team would be in a playoff position if you dropped them in the East right now. Not the Knights. Not the Oilers. Not anyone.
Itâs weird, right?
Now obviously, some of this is just a fluke, and some of it is self-fulfilling because teams play more games within their own conference than outside it, so the presence of three powerhouses should put downward pressure on the rest of the Western teams. Still, Iâm not sure weâve ever seen the two conferences this unbalanced before. And if it keeps up, we can predict that three things could happen:
1. The annual complaints about the playoff format are going to be louder than ever, and for once they might have a point. Most years, the format stuff is just sour grapes, because some team lost to the three-seed when their fans think they should have played the four-seed instead. But if the West really does have only three good teams, and two of them play each other while (for example) the 92-point Kraken are playing the 90-point Ducks, look out.
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2. We could have multiple Eastern teams miss the postseason despite having better records than playoff teams in the West. This happens occasionally, like to last yearâs Flames. But if we see it play out with three or even four Eastern teams, does that start a movement towards a 1-vs.-16 format?
3. Finally, one that I hesitate to even bring up, but ⌠are we completely sure the Avs, Stars and Wild really are that exceptional, given what kind of cupcakes theyâre playing most nights? Those âBig Threeâ teams are a combined 51-11-14 against the West, good for a staggering .763 points percentage. But theyâre just 30-12-9 against the East, which is .676. Still good, but hardly dominant.
Food for thought, at least until somebody else in the West can put together a few wins.
Weâve got 10 games on the schedule tonight, including a pair of potential Stanley Cup final previews and a certified revenge game.
đş Avalanche @ Lightning
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ / Sportsnet / TVA
Itâs a rematch from the 2022 final, one that will feature roughly a quarter of the Canadian Olympic team. The Avalanche are coming off a loss to the Panthers, meaning Tampa could hand them just their second losing streak of the entire season.
đş Stars @ Hurricanes
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ / Sportsnet
Itâs one of three flavors of the Mikko Rantanen bowl, this one featuring his two most recent teams. More importantly, it features a Dallas team thatâs suddenly struggling, with a season-worst five straight losses. This is the start of a six-game road trip for the Stars that takes them out east, then to California, and then back to the Central over the course of 10 days. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have cooled off and have the Islanders in their rear-view mirror.
đş Ducks @ Flyers
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
This one marks the first time the two teams will meet since the Trevor Zegras trade. The former face of the Ducks franchise gets to handle this one on home ice, with a trip to Anaheim still to come in March. (And yes, based on our criteria from a few weeks ago, it absolutely counts as a revenge game.)
Full NHL schedule here. Try streaming games like these for free on Fubo.
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We believe that in hockey, as in life, there are no dumb questions. So if you have something youâve always wondered about the sport, ask away by emailing us at redlight@theathletic.com.
Iâm not a big fan of reruns. Iâm old enough to remember the disappointment of settling in for your favorite show, only to realize youâd already seen this episode. And in the online content world, itâs all about keeping it new. Thatâs why writers like me stay focused on giving you fresh, original angles youâve never seen before, like âThe Department of Player Safety made a mistakeâ and âThe Leafs are a disappointment.â
But today, Iâm going to break that rule and hit you with a rerun, for one simple reason: Red Light readers are flooding my inbox with the same question, and itâs one weâve already tackled.
The question is some variation of: What are the rules around a player getting kicked out the faceoff circle? Or to put it the way most of you do: Why donât linesmen just drop the stupid puck already?
Weâve covered this! But it was last season, and many of you werenât subscribing yet back then. We love our new subscribers around here, and I donât want to be stubborn about not answering a question that you didnât get a chance to see. So today, in what I promise will be a rare moment of recycling, Iâm reposting that answer from last spring. Into the time machine we go âŚ
Why do players get tossed out of faceoffs? Iâve been watching hockey for over 50 years and Iâve never heard anyone explain this. â Chris F.
The short answer: Because many linesmen didnât get enough attention as kids and are trying to make up for it now.
The longer, and more accurate answer: There are a whole bunch of rules around how a faceoff is supposed to be done, taking up the better part of four full pages of the rulebook. Most of those are focused on the centers taking the draw, who have to have their shoulders square, their sticks down properly and their skates in the right place, and canât move until the puck does. Meanwhile, their teammates are supposed to stay out of the circle and avoid contact.
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If the linesman feels like any of those rules are violated in a way that prevents a clean draw, he can kick the offending teamâs center out, to be replaced by a teammate. If the same team commits a second violation on the same draw, itâs a minor penalty for delay of game.
As most fans have noticed, some of these rules are enforced inconsistently. For example, the wingers infringe on the circle on just about every draw, and itâs almost never called. Sometimes the linesman will issue a warning instead, at least for a first offense. Youâll also get those frustrating plays where the linesman only decides the faceoff wasnât done properly after he drops the puck, and we have to start all over again.
But in general, thereâs a ton of gamesmanship involved in every faceoff, and if a center gets tossed, itâs because the linesman feels that he went too far.
Back to 2026: There you go. I hope that helps, and now you can all stop sending me the same question. Also, if you happen to be an NHL linesman: Please just drop the stupid puck already.
Aside from Lane âIt was a good pun and I stand by itâ Hutson, the two leading scorers from the second round of the 2022 draft are Bostonâs Matthew Poitras (taken 54th by the Bruins) and Fraser Minten (taken 38th by the Leafs and then included in last yearâs Brandon Carlo trade).
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Sean McIndoe has been a senior NHL writer with The Athletic since 2018. He launched Down Goes Brown in 2008 and has been writing about hockey ever since, with stops including Grantland, Sportsnet and Vice Sports. His book, “The Down Goes Brown History of the NHL,” is available in book stores now. Follow Sean on Twitter @DownGoesBrown
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