NHL: 3 teams that are proving their doubters wrong
The NHL All-Star break is around the corner and the standings are starting to establish themselves. Here are three teams that are proving doubters wrong.
Hockey is the hardest sport to bet on because of the sheer amount of luck that is required to win. Sample sizes can mean everything or it can mean nothing at all. The NHL is full of surprises, and twists and turns.
However, we are more than halfway through the NHL season and barring an incredible collapse, these three teams are on pace for a playoff berth, despite all their hardships and doubt from the rest of the hockey community.
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
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The Columbus Blue Jackets had a departure-filled summer as so many star players left for free agency. They lost their star goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky and two top goalscorers in Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin. The team looked completely different and it seemed like they were going to take a step back after Jarmo Kekalainen decided to go all in.
To kick off the 2019-2020 season, the Blue Jackets released a very pointed season intro video, with the song “Loyalty” by Kendrick Lamar playing in the background while players and John Tortorella talked about wanting players “who want to be Blue Jackets” on their team.
Well, the players the Blue Jackets have right now are playing like they want to be on the team and Tortorella has done a great coaching job despite the lack of star talent. Joonas Korpisalo took the team on his back and was playing some of the best hockey of his career before his injury and his .913 save percentage is much better than Bobrovsky’s .898 sv% with the Florida Panthers.
The lack of superstar goalscorers hasn’t been a problem since the team is getting scoring from literally everyone, as they have eight players who have 20+ points. Considering the sheer amount of injuries this team has gone through and the fact that they are playing better than ever before shows the true strength of this hockey club. The team has completely adopted the underdog storyline and has been proving people wrong ever since.
2. Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have been the butt of many jokes for the past few years and many people are angry at them for wasting Connor McDavid‘s prime. They’ve been told year in and year out that they can’t just rely on McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to win games.
Even though that was true last season, it’s not true anymore as they have reached another level of greatness. Both players have reached the 75-point plateau in less than 50 games played and they finally have goaltending to back them up.
When you have two life-changing players scoring at will on your team, all you need is some league-average goaltending to build a playoff contender. People have been constantly saying that it isn’t sustainable to rely on two players but it sure is working for the Oilers right now. Their power play is the best in the league and they average 3.1 goals per game.
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McDavid and Draisaitl are 1-2 in league scoring and it’s not even close. To make matters worse (for the rest of the league), both players are the best points per game percentage of their career. If they can get more scoring depth before the Trade Deadline, this team will look really dangerous.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
Throughout the season, this team has been bombarded with injuries to almost all their star players. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Justin Schultz, the list goes on. In fact, this team has just five players who have been healthy all season long. The fact that they have managed to not just tread water but actually be one of the best teams in the league is a testament to the depth and resilience of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last year, they were 26-16-6 in their first 48 games. This season, they are even better with a 30-13-5 record. When Crosby went down with an injury, Malkin and Guentzel stepped up big-time and lead the team in production. Now that Guentzel is out and Crosby has returned, Crosby has helped carry the torch with 6 points (3G 3A) in his three games back. Crosby has returned with all his swagger and the reunion with Malkin is a very dangerous combination for the rest of the NHL.
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The Penguins have 14 players with 15+ points which goes to show the offensive depth the team has up and down the lineup. Tristian Jarry has been phenomenal for the Penguins in net, with a .929 save percentage and 2.16 goals-against average in 24 games played. When star players went down with injuries, players took advantage of the promotions and propelled the team to second place in the Metropolitan Division. This team refuses to quit and proved many doubters wrong.