LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi TV) – We are now a month in and basically a third of the way into the shortened NHL season and it’s starting to become clear who the contenders and pretenders are. This week we saw the Blackhawks attempt to keep their hot start alive, and we saw the Penguins suffer another concussion-based injury to one of their key players. Which player went down and how long will they be out? Read ahead to find out!
Chicago Blackhawks set new record for games played without a regulation loss
The Chicago Blackhawks have had an amazing start to the season as they are now 15-0-3. Their most recent victory was a 1-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets where goaltender Corey Crawford made 28 saves in the victory. The next team to try to knock the Blackhawks off their pedestal would be the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night (2/25).
Southern Californian hockey teams show their muscle
The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks have been two of the hottest teams lately as the Kings won all three of their games this week and are now only one point out of the final playoff spot. The Ducks meanwhile have now won six straight after defeating the Colorado Avalanche Sunday night in overtime. One of these two teams will see their streak come to an end Monday night however as these two teams will face off in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.
Defending Hart Memorial trophy winner Evgeni Malkin suffers head injury.
Last season the Pittsburgh Penguins dealt with post concussion problems with their star captain Sidney Crosby. Last Friday when the Penguins took on the Florida Panthers, they got quite a scare as Evgeni Malkin went sliding into the boards and suffered an injury to his head. Malkin was forced to miss Sunday’s action and will be re-evaluated by doctors and could be cleared for play next week, however for the Penguins it is quite a scare as they have seen first hand how long it can take players to recover from concussions.
3 Stars of the week (2/17 – 2/24)
Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia Flyers) – In the last week of play, the Flyers winger was the hottest player in the league as he picked up four goals and seven assists, including a hat trick in a 6-5 victory over their in-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks) – Keith has been a consistent source of points from the blue line for the red hot Blackhawks as the blue-liner dished out four assists in the past week while recording a +3 rating for the Blackhawks.
Ray Emery (Chicago Blackhawks) – While several goalies recorded shutouts in the past week, it was Emery who was the star between the pipes as he went 3-0 on the week with a GAA of 1.95 and a save percentage of .930 while beating the Kings, Canucks, and Sharks.
League Leaders (As of 2/24/2013)
Goals – John Tavares (New York Islanders), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 13
Assists – Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 20
+/- – Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim Ducks) – +15
Wins – Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens), Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 10
GAA – Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) – 1.49
Save Percentage – Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) – .952
Shutouts – Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators), Mike Smith (Phoenix Coyotes) – 3
Brazil Player Watch
Robyn Regehr
Regehr had a rough week as his Buffalo Sabres went 0-4 and fired their head coach Lindy Ruff. Regehr struggled as he registered two penalty minutes and a -2 rating.