Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
After a conditioning sting at the AHL, Reto Berra got the recall from the Avs prior to the Stadium Series game versus Detroit on Saturday. He was scratched for the game though.
The Colorado Avalanche rank on the fifth place in the Central Division and sit in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with 68 points out of 64 games.
Minnesota Wild
Last Sunday, the Minnesota Wild showed an impressive performance, when they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in a “Stadium Series” game with 6-1. In front of 50’426 spectators, Nino Niederreiter scored the third goal of his team by converting on a nice tic-tac-toe play. He also earned an assist in the contest and finished with a plus-3 rating and 13:53 TOI. Minnesota’s three other matchups this week resulted all in losses. “El Niño” added a goal on Friday’s game against Washington but was held scoreless in the two other matchups. Over three games he averaged 17:58 TOI and combined for a minus-1 rating and seven shots on goal.
NHL | #Wild vs #Capitals 2-3. Nino Niederreiter (17:02 TOI, +0) with 1G, 4 shots on goal, and 2:40 TOI on the PP. pic.twitter.com/PXcDxex2jN
— Swiss Hockey Scores (@SHNscores) 27. Februar 2016
Minnesota is riding the rollercoaster right now: from losing-streak to winning-streak to losing-streak again. By now, the Wild stand at 64 points out of 62 games. By now, they are four points out of a playoff-spot.
Nashville Predators
The Predators look back at a successful week in which they earned four wins in a row. Roman Josi added two assists in Tuesday’s game against Toronto (W 3-2). He earned another helper on Saturday in a 5-0 rout against the St. Louis Blues. Through this week, Josi averaged 25:52 TOI and combined for a plus-2 rating as well as two penalty minutes. He also put a total of nine shots on goal.
73 points out of 63 games gives the Preds the fourth place in the Central Division. As for now, they sit comfortably in the first Wild Card spot of the Western Conference.
Winnipeg Jets
On Tuesday, Winnipeg faced the Dallas Stars and lost with a final score of 3-5. Nikolaj Ehlers stayed without a point. He was on the ice for 19:47 minutes and received two penalty minutes. Then on Thursday, the Jets again faced the squad from Dallas and defeated them with 6-3. Nik Ehlers earned two assists in 16:33 TOI and finished with a plus-3 rating. The 20-year-old added another assist on Saturday in a 1-4 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was on the ice for 19:33 minutes, put two shots on goal and was a minus-1.
The Winnipeg Jets sit in the last place of the Central Division with 56 points through 61 games.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
Jonas Hiller allowed five goals on 33 shots (.843 SV%) in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He did not see any further playing time this week, as Calgary head coach Bob Hartley nominated Joni Ortio for the starting job in three consecutive games. Hiller is reportedly on the trading block and might be shipped out of Calgary until the trade deadline on February 29.
The Calgary Flames sit in the sixth place of the Pacific Division with 56 points out of 61 games and are well out of the playoff race. They have already traded away one of their best forwards in Jiri Hudler (to FLA). There are more moves expected until the trade deadline.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks snapped a four-game losing streak last Sunday, when the beat the Colorado Avalanche with 5-1. They added another win on Thursday with a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Sven Baertschi and Luca Sbisa both remained without a point over those games. Baertschi averaged 15:49 TOI and combined for one shot and a minus-1 rating, whereas Luca Sbisa was on the ice for an average time of 16:31 per game and earned himself a plus-1 rating. Yannick Weber was a healthy scratch for both games.
The Canucks are on the fourth place of the Pacific Division with 60 points in 60 games. They trail the Colorado Avalanche for the second Wild Card spot with eight points. Vancouver has four games in hand tough.
ATLANTIC Division
Montréal Canadiens
Sven Andrighetto earned himself an assist in Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs (W 4-1). Over three games played this week, he put six shots on goal and averaged 15:12 time on ice.
The Canadiens are currently five points out of the last playoff spot with 65 points through 62 games.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After being out since December, Joel Vermin has recovered from his hand injury. He was therefore activated from Tampa’s injured reserve list and immediately sent down to the AHL.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently on a five-game winning streak and moved up to the second place in the Atlantic Division. After 61 games played, their point total stands at 74.
Metropolitan Division
Philadelphia Flyers
On Saturday, Mark Streit set another milestone in his successful career. With three assists in a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, the 38-year old became the first Swiss player to reach the 400-point-plateau. He already put his name on the scoresheet the day before, when he scored on the power play in the game against the Minnesota Wild (W 3-2). On Tuesday, when the Flyers faced the Carolina Hurricanes, Streit remained without a point. Over all three games this week, the defender averaged 20:48 time on ice, put nine shots on goal, received four penalty minutes and combined for a plus-1 rating.
The Philadelphia Flyers are still in the race for a playoff spot, as they trail the Pittsburgh Penguins with only three points. After 61 games their point total stands at 67.
AHL – Quick Look:
Raphael Diaz (Hartford Wolf Pack – NYR) appeared in three games in which he earned one assist. Further, he combined for nine shots on net and a minus-3 rating. Christoph Bertschy (Iowa Wild - MIN) is on an eight-game scoreless slump. In five games this week he combined for eleven shots on goal, six penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating. Dean Kukan (Lake Erie Monsters – CBJ) remains out with a lower body injury he suffered in December. Christian Marti (Lehigh Valley Phantoms – PHI) put one shot on goal in two games played. Kevin Fiala (Milwaukee Admirals – NSH) added two assists to his scoring total. Further he combined for eleven shots on goal, four penalty minutes and a minus-4 rating. Reto Berra (San Antonio Rampage - COL) played three more games at the AHL before he was recalled to the NHL. Over those three games (1 W/2 L) he faced 101 shots and stopped 90 of them. Mirco Müller (San Jose Barracuda – SJS) remained scoreless through three games in which he had a combined minus-1 rating, fired one shot on goal and received two penalty minutes. Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) remained without a point in two games played this week. He received two penalty minutes, totaled four shots on goal and was a minus-3. Joel Vermin (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) returned from injury und appeared in two games. He had one shot on goal, received two penalty minutes and combined for a plus-1 rating. Ronalds Kenins (Utica Comets – VAN) is on a four-game scoring streak. In this week’s two games he added two assists. Further, he had seven shots on goal, two penalty minutes and a plus-1 rating.
