Three compelling Storylines to watch out for on another busy night in NHL
It is another busy night in the NHL and we will be keeping an eye on three main storylines in particular.
After we were treated to a mouthwatering feast of 13 games in the NHL on Tuesday, we will get another 13 games tonight, starting from 7:00 p.m. ET. However, it was meant to be 14 but the showdown between the Vegas Golden Knights and the St. Louis Blues was postponed earlier today with one Golden Knights player and an additional member of their coaching staff entering the league’s COVID-19 Protocol, just a couple of days after Vegas’ entire coaching staff was unable to oversee their first game of the week against the Blues.
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However, despite that setback, it is still going to be a busy night across the NHL and there will be a lot of revenge games with some of those teams in action on Tuesday once again facing each other tonight, which should only add a boatload of more spice to proceedings.
Therefore, it is going to be another night of hugely entertaining hockey in the National Hockey League and there will be a hell of a lot of action to keep an eye on, and it is going to be a lot of fun with a lot of teams really beginning to find their feet and hitting their stride now. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the three storylines that are really intriguing us ahead of tonight’s games.
Three captivating storylines to watch out for across the NHL tonight
3. Revenge Games
Most of the games taking place tonight are rematches of the contests we witnessed on Tuesday, which means that a lot of teams will be out for revenge and that is only going to make for highly compelling and entertaining viewing.
The likes of the New York Rangers, who have suffered a dreadful start to the year with a 1-4-1 record, will be hoping to bounce back against the Buffalo Sabres after dropping a tough 3-2 loss to the same opponent on Tuesday, as will the Pittsburgh Penguins who lost in the shootout to the Boston Bruins and they will hope for redemption tonight.
The same can be said for the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders, while the Ottawa Senators will be hoping to avoid back-to-back losses at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks after suffering a 5-1 loss last night.
With teams in each Division playing each other up to 10 times a season, we will see this kind of scheduling a lot and with every single game more important in a shortened 56-game season, we could see the start of new rivalries with teams playing each other a few times in a row and that’s only going to be good for the game in the long run.
2. Can the Carolina Hurricanes secure a winning return?
Tonight will be the first time that the Carolina Hurricanes have played an NHL game since Jan. 18 after a COVID-19 outbreak hit their facility, forcing the league to shut things down and postpone four of the Canes’ games in the 2020-21 season.
The Hurricanes were 2-1-0 on the year before they were forced to down tools, and they will hope to hit the ground running upon their return against a Tampa Bay Lighting team who dropped a tough 5-2 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, so they will be gunning for revenge tonight.
In truth, it has been a disjointed start to the year for teams in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars also having their season delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak, so the likes of the Hurricanes, the Lightning and the Florida Panthers will be hoping that they can now get into a flow without any further unwanted disruptions or breaks.
And all eyes will be on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight as they will finally get a chance to hit a puck in competitive anger, although the odds will be stacked against this team. After all, Captain Jordan Staal, who was the first Canes player to appear on the NHL’s daily COVID-19 list, will be available but it remains to be seen whether he is at full tilt.
Then, there is the small matter of the fact that Carolina will be without forwards Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook, Jesper Fast and Warren Foegele, and defenseman Jaccob Slavin will all on the list today and they will miss the game as a result. That is a lot of manpower for the Hurricanes to be without and it just makes a tough task against a loaded and talent-laden Tampa Bay Lightning team out for revenge that much harder.
1. Can the Dallas Stars continue their hot start?
It seems that having their 2020-21 NHL season delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak has had little negative impact on the Dallas Stars. Rather, they have absolutely thrived and flourished since finally being allowed to return to the ice, going 3-0-0 and making some serious noise in the Central Division.
And, going up against the Detroit Red Wings tonight, the Stars will have the opportunity to start a season 4-0-0 for the first time since 2010-11. It is an impressive feat but even more so when you consider the adversity that this Dallas team has had to overcome already, while they are without elite goaltender Ben Bishop and their most potent weapon in center Tyler Seguin, who are both expected to miss a large chunk of the season, not to mention the fact that Captain Jamie Benn is also now out.
However, we’ve seen before that the Dallas Stars are made of tough stuff and they are also deep as was showcased last year when they made a stunning run to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final, losing to the eventual champions the Tampa Bay Lightning.
But, with Anton Khudobin carrying on from where he left off inside The Bubble with one shutout, a 0.99 Goals Against Average and a .958 Save Percentage, John Klingberg getting off to a hot start with six points (1 G. 5 A) in three games and Joe Pavelski leading the way for Dallas’ offense with eight points (3 G, 5 A) in three games, the Stars are rolling right now and they should only get better too once they blow off more of the rust built up during their hiatus.
Going up against the Red Wings tonight, who they beat on Tuesday in Overtime, the Dallas Stars have a great chance of maintaining their perfect start to the 2020-21 NHL season and going 4-0-0 would send a clear message to the Tampa Bay Lightning that the Central Division won’t be so easy to win this year.
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Honorable Mention: It could be a big night for Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, who will be hoping to extend his goal streak which currently stands at six games. It is the longest active streak in the NHL and Rantanen has eight points (6 G, 2 A) on the year for the Avs who are third in the West Division with a 4-3-0 record.