Oh, it’s the time of the year when NHL hockey gets very, very relevant, and for all the right reasons. Through the first half of the year, we’ve seen a lot of teams we expected to position themselves for a playoff run, but there have been a few surprises in the mix.
Some teams have fallen way short of expectations while others have superseded them. Below, we got three matchups on the slate (technically four, but we’ll get to that in a moment) that feature some high-stakes action here in early February. The theme? Surprise teams are facing off with one another: Both the good and the bad.
February 4th and 6th at 7 PM: Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning
Yep, we’re kicking things off with a pair of games, albeit consisting of the same opponents, so maybe it’s more appropriate to say ‘four games’ instead of three. Anyway, these two feature an upstart Ottawa Senators team squaring off with the ailing Tampa Bay Lightning, and this mini-series can make or break these Atlantic Division rivals.
Tampa looked like one of the hotter teams in the Atlantic earlier this season, but they now find themselves in a dogfight with the up-and-down Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings to even stay relevant. Meanwhile, the Senators have 60 points as of Sunday morning and look like they’re raring to go as they’re entrenched as the No. 3 team in the Atlantic. And this is all without Linus Ullmark.
February 6th at 9 PM: Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
We got a pair of wildcard contenders in the Western Conference getting ready to roll here, with the ‘depends on what day it is’ Avalanche squaring off with another one of the league’s most surprising teams, the Calgary Flames. Consistency has been hard to come by for both groups, and that should be shocking for the Avs while the Flames are just looking to keep this dream season going.
For the Flames, it’s all about making their mark against each of the league’s top-four teams in their respective divisions, so beating a team like Colorado would be a confidence booster. Still, it’s easy to accuse Calgary of overachieving, so the underachieving Avalanche can make a statement here.
February 8th at 7 PM: New York Rangers at Columbus Blue Jackets
Finally, we got arguably the two biggest surprises of the season squaring off, with the still-lackluster New York Rangers visiting the upstart Columbus Blue Jackets. For the Rangers, each loss from here on out is an additional blow to their playoff hopes and for the Blue Jackets, every win at this point is a big one.
We all thought the Blueshirts would rule the league again starting in October and for a minute, they looked on the verge. But the narrative has shifted, and you can say the same for the Blue Jackets, even if it’s for all the opposite reasons. This win puts Columbus one small step closer to an unprecedented playoff berth, and if the Rangers lose, it’s another giant leap back.