NHL: Five Thoughts As We Enter The NHL All-Star Break
By Jim Lynch
Fourth All-Star Break Thought: The Atlantic Division Holds Three Teams Built For The Postseason…
… but only one can make it to the Conference Final.
The NHL has three of the league’s best teams in the Atlantic Division. The Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning are all pushing for the Stanley Cup. Any one of them could represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final and whichever two faceoff in the second round very well could determine the winner of the Stanley Cup.
The Panthers and Maple Leafs both need to get over the playoff hump, and the Lightning are trying to continue their era of dominance. This division is stacked with talent and it is going to be fun to watch it play out. This playoff format is honestly a detriment to a division this strong as they have to play each other to get out of the first two rounds.
Fifth All-Star Break Thought: Missing Out On The Olympics Definitely Is Going To Hurt.
There are a lot of star players that would have been fun to watch at the Olympics this year. While it makes sense why the league is not going due to the pandemic and the fact that league has to make up a lot of games, I do think it is going to hurt not seeing so many of the league’s brightest stars shine at the Olympics.
The NHL was about to see Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby together, Steven Stamkos was going to get a crack at the Olympics, and the U.S. was going to have a team filled with talent in Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, the Hughes brothers, and many many more great young players.
The Olympics only come once every four years, so hopefully, we will be able to see the NHL back at the games in four years, by then who knows who will be leading the charge for their respective countries. Hopefully, Ovechkin is still competing for the top of the league in goals.