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AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Hurricanes: Cohesive
The Canes have been so well-constructed and so well-coached ever since Don Waddell and Rod Brind’Amour took over. What you’re seeing now is the product of that discipline. They never have individual players putting up top-10 scoring numbers around the league, and part of that has been their refusal to overpay non-home-grown players and/or compromise too much of the future for a big splash. But the front office has been elite at both drafting and finding sneaky-great trades, and no coach in the league is better at squeezing out the best in every player than Brind’Amour.
One stat I always look for when it comes to the Canes is shots against per game, and just as expected, they’ve got the fewest in the league at 26.52. This team always controls what it can control, and it’s no surprise Carolina is back on top of the Metropolitan Division at the halfway mark.
Blue Jackets: Yikes
No one expected Columbus to be Cup contenders this year, and yes, there have been injuries to key players throughout the season, but they also weren’t expected to own a 14-30-3 record and be in last place in the Eastern Conference halfway through the season. Are they underperforming? Are they tanking? Was the Johnny Gaudreau acquisition a lovely surprise but still not enough to fix depth issues on this team?
Seems like all of the above.
Devils: Fun
Every year we get an unexpected regular-season darling who goes on a whirlwind run we can simply sit back and enjoy for what it is. No expectations, just vibes. Shoutout to the Devils for giving that to us right out of the gate. They’ve had their rough patches like any other team (except for the 2022-23 Bruins, I guess), but they’re shaping up to look like the real deal now, and it’s been fun to watch Jack Hughes grow into the player we knew he could be.
Islanders: Regression
Many of us were pleasantly surprised with the Islanders at the beginning of the season. They started out strong after leaguewide criticism for lack of offseason moves. Ilya Sorokin absolutely rocked in net. Sorokin still rocks, and a few off games aren’t going to change that, but it appears the team as a whole is coming back down to earth.
Rangers: Roller coaster
I can’t think of a team more fun to watch than the Rangers when they’re on, but I can imagine the inconsistency and silly mistakes have been frustrating for Rangers fans. They’ve been getting it together recently, though—they’re sitting in a playoff spot and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. This is a roller coaster I’ll gladly strap into to experience the highs, and I feel like there are many more to come in the postseason.
Flyers: Sad
The vibes are horrendous in Philadelphia this season, and not even Gritty can turn it around.
Penguins: Twilight
Is this the last kick at the can for the 17-year-strong trio of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin? Who knows, so we’d better appreciate the big three while they’re still together. The Penguins have been frustrating to watch at some points in the season—the losses have been piling up, and easy wins have been slipping away.
But they’re still in the wild-card race, and I’m not counting out a Crosby-led team. Ever. Tuesday night’s 7-6 win led with a two-goal, four-point Letang performance and multipoint evenings from Crosby and Malkin speaks for itself.
Capitals: Fine
Despite arguably the worst injury luck this season and a few other obstacles, it appears the Capitals will be just fine. And by “just fine,” I mean, “They’ll make the playoffs…I think.” They’ve been way too inconsistent to warrant too much confidence, but I’m here for the rise of goaltender Charlie Lindgren and the return of stablemate Darcy Kuemper. Washington needs to develop more consistency as players return from injury and the regular season dwindles down, but if they can keep chipping away, they’re fine. This is fine. Everything’s fine.