Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra saw 16:59 of game action as he entered the game against Nashville in relief and saved all eleven shots on his net on the way to a 2-5 loss. The Avs’ 65 points in 63 games are good for fifth in the Western Conference Wild Card race.
Minnesota Wild
Nino Niederreiter became the first Swiss NHL player to reach the 20-goal-mark in league history. After two pointless games to start the week against Dallas (6-2 win) and Edmonton (1-2 loss) with a combined plus-1 rating, two shots on goal and 17:00/13:54 time on ice respectively, Niederreiter’s two goals in Nashville pushed his goals total to 21. He finished the game with a plus-2 rating and two shots on goal in 14:45. The Wild earned their 11th win in 14 games in February with a 3-1 over Colorado. Niederreiter played 15:22, recording one shot on goal. The great run in February resulted in a significant surge in the standings – Minnesota now is in hold of the second wild card spot, three points ahead of Calgary.
Nashville Predators
Roman Josi’s Predators bounced back from a shootout loss to Philadelphia with a shootout win on their own against Buffalo the day later (2-1). Josi had two shots on goal and played 31:15. Josi’s two-point effort on Tuesday helped his team to a 5-2 win over Reto Berra’s Colorado. In only 22:32, Josi recorded one goal (the gamewinner), one shorthanded assist, a plus-3 rating and three shots on goal. He followed this dominant performance up with a minus-1 rating on Thursday night against Minnesota. He had four shots on net in 27:36 in a 2-4 loss. His two assist on Saturday were his 34th and 35th on the season, but the Predators fell short to the red-hot Red Wings 3-4 in regulation, thus losing their impressive record of being one of only two teams this season to never lose consecutive games in regulation. Josi had an even rating, two shots on goal and two penalty minutes in 27:52. Despite those two losses, Nashville still tops the league with 89 points in 63 games and has the best goal differential in the Western Conference, as well as the third best offense and second best defense.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
While Jonas Hiller didn’t appear in any of the three Flames games this week, Raphael Diaz was a part of the lineup in all three matchups of Calgary’s New York/ New Jersey roadtrip. He had two shots on goal in 12:27 in a 0-1 loss to the Rangers on Tuesday, followed by two penalty minutes in only 10:59 on Wednesday. After a day off, they faced the Islanders and just fell short in a 1-2 decision. Diaz had one shot on goal in 13:41. Calgary leads the chase of a wild card spot and sits third with 70 points in 62 games (tied with LA for third in the division).
San Jose Sharks
Mirco Müller is getting the Reto-Berra-treatment in San Jose. He has been a healthy scratch for all of the Sharks’ games in the last two weeks without making too many mistakes. San Jose is chasing a post-season berth to avoid snapping their playoff-streak and rely on more experienced defensemen. The Sharks sit fourth in the wild card race with 68 points in 63 games, five points behind Minnesota.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks opened their week with a 4-0 win on Long Island against the Islanders. Ronalds Kenins had his fourth assist of the season and was a plus-1 in 9:06, while Luca Sbisa was a plus-1 with one shot on net in 18:45. Fellow defenseman Yannick Weber scored his fifth of the season and was a plus-1 with three shots on goal in 18:45. The trio followed this win up with a 2-1 over Boston two days later, a game where Kenins added another assist and had three shots on goal in 14:42. The Swiss duo on defense combined for four shots (2 each) in 23:16 (Sbisa) and 20:24 (Weber). The Canucks run of good performances found a sudden stop with a 3-6 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Kenins was a minus-1 in 13:08, while Sbisa and Weber on the back-end were minus-1 as well with two penalty minutes and four shots on goal in 19:17 on Weber’s side and one shot on goal in 20:49 by Sbisa. The Canucks are second in the Pacific Division with 73 points in 61 games.
Metropolitan Division
Philadelphia Flyers
Mark Streit had a great start to the week as he picked up two assists in a 3-2 win over Washington. He was a minus-1 on the night though, along with two penalty minutes and two shots on goal in 20:21. The Flyers followed up their two wins over two current playoff teams with two losses against two of the league’s weakest teams this season. Mark Streit had one shot on goal in 20:18 time on ice in a 1-4 loss to Carolina, before collecting another two power play assists in a 2-3 loss to Toronto. He was all over the ice and had 10 (!) shots on goal, along with two penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating in 23:45 of ice time. Philadelphia avoided a season-series sweep against the New York Rangers in a hard-fought derby with a 4-2 win. Streit was kept off the score sheet and had two penalty minutes and one shot on goal in 23:04.
AHL – Quick Look:
Sven Bärtschi (Adirondack Flames – CGY) picked up points in both of this week’s games. He had a combined three assists in two games, along with a minus-1 rating and two shots on goal. Sven Andrighetto (Hamilton Bulldogs – MTL) had three points (one goal, two assists) in three games this week. He had seven shots on goal and a combined plus-4 rating. Meanwhile, Kevin Fiala (Milwaukee Admirals – NSH) only played one game this week. He had a minus-2 rating and one shot on goal. Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) amassed four points (two goals, two assists) in four games this week. He had an even rating and three shots on goal, along with three minor penalties. Joel Vermin (Syracuse Crunch) was kept off the scoresheet in three of four games, but had a three-assist night against Albany on Friday. He was a minus-1 on the week, had three shots on goal and four penalty minutes.
On the trade deadline:
With the trade deadline creeping closer (tomorrow 3pm Eastern Time, 9pm our time), it doesn’t look like a Swiss NHL player will be in play in tomorrow’s final trade talks. Montreal is looking for depth on defense and an upgrade in size in the forward department though, so a prospect like Sven Andrighetto could get sent the other way in a package deal. If Calgary gets in on the action, I could imagine that the Flames would look into moving Sven Bärtschi, but there have been no reports on any Calgary-related trade action.
