The NHL season is coming to a close and anything can happen

The top is well guarded by the Boston Bruins, and the end of the season is more exciting than ever. With few playoff spots available, the closing of the season is more attractive than ever in professional hockey.

With a few games left to be played, the lower part of the standings is catching attention in both conferences, with several teams fighting for those available spots.

To start, let’s say that the top is well guarded by the historic team, the Boston Bruins, who achieved a dramatic overtime victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to a spectacular play by David Pastrnak. The Bruins have the opportunity to equal or surpass the Red Wings of Detroit and the Tampa Bay Lightning with 62 wins in a season, which is the record.

By the way, Pastrnak reached 11 game-winning goals this season, tying Leon Draisatl of the Edmonton Oilers as the best in this department.

Continuing with the Bruins, this team has everything to be a champion and lift the Stanley Cup in 2023, but they will have some obstacles to overcome in the playoffs. Their goaltender, Linus Ullmark, even scored a goal against the Vancouver Canucks in February. He has a season with 30 or more wins, ranking as the second-best in franchise history after Tiny Thompson’s 35 games.

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They have already achieved the best season in franchise history, surpassing the previous record of 58 wins. Their depth is impressive, with players like Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, who has over 600 assists in his career, and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy. This year, they added Tyler Bertuzzi, AJ Greer, Garnet Hathaway, Dimitry Orlov, and Pavel Zacha.

However, all of that can be forgotten if other teams in their conference and/or the Stanley Cup pose a challenge. We know that the postseason is different, it’s about getting on a streak and having the right momentum at the right time.

While we wait to see the four remaining playoff spots that will be defined in the eight games from now until April 14th, those two games with some combinations can be crucial for the playoff picture.

Let’s talk about the teams that are already in and will give the Bruins some trouble.

The defending champions, the Colorado Avalanche, are a dangerous team with over 20 home and away wins, one of the 10 teams that surpassed 100 points. Although far from the Bruins’ potential record-breaking season, Colorado is closing the campaign with an impressive record, winning 11 of their last 12 away games and 12 of their 19 home games. They are in good shape for the Stanley Cup contention.

Led by Mikko Rantanen, they pose a threat as he once again surpassed the 50-goal mark and reached over 100 points with his assists.

In the same Western Conference, the Dallas Stars have seen Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson reach 100 points in a triumph for their team. Pavelski, with his 38 years, is on the verge of reaching 1,000 career points and has already scored in five games in this part of the season.

It’s worth noting that the Golden Knights and the Kraken can be tough opponents. Las Vegas has been in the playoffs in 5 of their last 6 seasons, and this year their reinforcements, especially Jack Eichel, have been paying off. They have eight players on their roster with over 30 points, with Jonathan Marchessault as their top scorer in power-play situations and Reilly Smith lethal in the scoring zone. The only problem for this team is the solidity in goaltending, where it seems that things will change in the playoffs.

The NHL postseason will visit Seattle. The Emerald City will host the NHL postseason after 104 years of absence. The Kraken has done a great job in marketing to attract fans, and their management has shown solidity and efficiency. They are one of the few teams in their second season to make it to the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup.

Only 13 teams in history have managed to make the playoffs in just their second year, and since 1968-69, only the Atlanta Flames (now Calgary), Vegas Golden Knights, and now Seattle have achieved it. They also have the best development in terms of points and wins, going from 27 wins and 60 points in the previous season to 44 wins and 96 points so far, with the potential for more.

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The deadly duo. It has been many years since a Canadian team lifted the trophy most valued by Canadians, three decades since that distant 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings. Since then, they have only been spectators as different teams took home the Cup.

This year, the Edmonton Oilers hope to be the team to break that curse with the duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. This team is ready to showcase their offensive prowess as both players surpassed the 100-point mark, repeating their achievement from last year, making them only the second pair in history to accomplish this in consecutive seasons.

McDavid is a generational player, destined to be among the NHL elite. He has had 43 games with multiple points, reaching a total of 258 games in his career with this achievement, just like Draisaitl. They join the ranks of legendary players such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemeiux, Mark Messier, and others.

And that’s not all, they also have two other players with 30 or more goals, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, making them the only team with such a lethal lineup.

In the Eastern Conference, Boston will have to deal with teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are always contenders within the league. The New York Rangers have strengthened their roster for the playoffs, as have the Carolina Hurricanes and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

So, we will continue to wait and see if Boston’s great season culminates with a championship, or if being the best during the year doesn’t guarantee lifting the Stanley Cup in the NHL.

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Mai Linh Pham

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