CBJ 20 games in. I am pleasantly surprised at their record of 9-9-2. They are fun to watch with lots of scoring threats and capable attacks. They are 8th in the league for goals for of 69 and GF/G 3.45 but are also 3rd in the league for goals against per game of 3.60. The defense is not as bad as last year but still crap. Merzlikins is mediocre, the D talent/skill falls off fast after Werenski, and the forwards fail at back checking and positioning on D. I’m hoping that last bit is due to the youth/inexperience of the forwards.
May 7: Doug Armstrong decides he’s done enough of a coaching search, Drew Bannister is the answer. Armstrong gives Bannister a 2-year contract.
November 24: Armstrong falls in love with the guy he really wanted all along, kicks Bannister to the curb and signs Jim Montgomery to a 5-year contract. This makes Montgomery the 6th head coach to be signed under Armstrong’s watch.
Doug Armstrong: super genius.
Since 18,003 people covering hockey are going to talk about Thanksgiving being an important date where most teams going to the playoffs are in a playoff spot, here’s who would be in/out if the playoffs started today and potential movers either way. [Rankings based on point percentage going into tonight’s games.]
Atlantic - (1) Toronto, (2) Tampa Bay, (3) Florida
Metropolitan - (1) Carolina, (2) Washington, (3) New Jersey
Eastern Wild Cards - (1WC) NY Rangers, (2WC) Buffalo
Current 1st-round pairings: Carolina / Buffalo, Toronto / NY Rangers, Washington / New Jersey, Tampa Bay / Florida
Central - (1) Winnipeg, (2) Minnesota, (3) Dallas
Pacific - (1) Vegas, (2) Calgary, (3) Vancouver
Western Wild Cards - (1WC) Colorado, (2WC) Los Angeles
Current 1st-round pairings: Winnipeg / Los Angeles, Vegas / Colorado, Minnesota / Dallas, Calgary / Vancouver
Ted’s list of potential changes [and rough records to get to ~95 points]:
- Boston - remains to be seen how far Joe Sacco can lift the Bruins from an 8-9-3 start, but early on it would appear it’s a fight for the 2WC spot with Buffalo. Record for 95 points: 33-21-6, or a 98.2 point pace for 82 games
- Edmonton - it’s kind of unthinkable that last year’s runner-up would miss the playoffs this year, but at the moment they’re out. This is a little more “the Oilers won’t be this bad” + “someone else is going to tail off” but a whole lot of the former. Record for 95 points: 33-22-5, or a 97 point pace for 82 games
- St. Louis - maybe they’ll get the “new coach” bounce like they did last year. Or, maybe this roster is so mediocre that even Jim Montgomery can’t save it. If the cutoff is more like 98, like last year, it’s going to take an 18-19 type run starting about now. Record for 95 points: 34-19-6, or a 102.8 point pace for 82 games
- Seattle - for all the money supposedly poured into teh analytics the Kraken are looking a lot like a 4th year expansion team. That’s not terrible, and Vince Dunn should be back soon which will help, but they could look a whole lot better in a deep Western Conference. Record for 95 points: 33-21-6, or a 98.2 point pace for 82 games
Ted’s candidates to fall out:
- Buffalo - it’s Buffalo, so they have to go here. Being 8-9-4 through regulation doesn’t help. Getting Tage Thompson back shortly will, and then it’s a question of whether doubt will creep in, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen can hold up in net, and someone else gets hot.
- Calgary - after a 5-0-1 start, the Flames are 7-7-2 but that’s been a mix of cold (2-5-2) and hot (5-2-0). If the offense can kick in a little, they could stay in the fight … but if the goaltending falters, it could be a quick drop.
Canucks are 8-1 on the road this season. If they had a winning record at home they would lead their division.
The west is weird. Have to imagine Edmonton getting back to it. Stanley Cup futures odds still have Edmonton as the favorite to win the cup this season.
The Rangers seem to be in free fall at the moment but also still have a good record so I don’t know why there is so much panic. They have the 2nd best goalie on the planet. Yes, they’ve had an easy schedule compared to the other Metro leaders but I don’t see them spiraling out of control from here. It’s still early.
Not often that you see a team throw in the towel on a high 1st-round pick, but Columbus did exactly that in trading 6th overall pick in 2022 David Jiricek to Minnesota for a player and a package of picks.
Minnesota loves this trade because Jiricek has a ton of potential and has size to go with his talent. If he plays to his 6th overall hype, dealing a 1st - probably a late 1st this year - and 3 other picks is going to be a pretty cheap price. It also lays a potential cornerstone on the blueline, and gives Kirill Kaprizov another reason to sign long-term with the Wild.
Columbus loves this trade because it’s a pretty solid return for a kid who couldn’t crack the lineup under new coach Dean Evason, after he couldn’t crack the lineup under prior head coach Pascal Vincent, and who was passed over on the depth chart and sent back to Cleveland in the AHL. But more importantly, given concerns the team had about Jiricek’s skating and ability to defend because of it, it allows them to collect assets for future players or moves while unloading a potentially flawed prospect before the rest of the league catches on and his value drops accordingly.
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Ottawa looks good on offense, but the other 2/3 of the ice is questionable. They hold the blue line well, tiring out the other team.
Love Adam Gaudette having 12 goals thus far after spending the entire year last season in the AHL (he did lead the AHL in goals). shooting at 35% is not sustainable though. Sens unfortunately still have goalie issues.
Washington 3rd highest scoring team through November going back to 1993. Ovechkin coming back soon. How are they making this happen? Last year they sucked. Loving the turn around.
Took a break from watching the Canucks’ game to view the Johnny Hockey observance at the Calgary-Columbus game. Tough to watch 
Any thoughts on the 4 nations cup teams?
I think Sweden might be underrated.
My money would be on the US to win the 4 Nations. 10 years ago I would have said Canada.
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Sweden is going to be good. Centers might be a little weak compared to US/Canada but the top 2 lines of:
Bratt-Petterson-Nylander
Forsberg-Karlsson-Kempe
should compete with anyone. If Zibanejad gets his head on right by then they shouldn’t have many problems in their top 9 with Raymond being top 6 quality.
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LAK rolling along. Thought lst bight’s game v DAL would be the same-ol’, because DAL has had LAK’s number forever.
1st period was just that, but LAK came back after down 0-2.
No way, USA isn’t that good apart from goaltending. Their Defense is meh, and no way they can match the horsepower we have on the offense with Mcdavid and Mckinnon.
I hope you are right! 
Auston Matthews: 3 games since he’s returned. 3 goals, 2 assists.
Mitch Marner: 9-27-36 on the season after 3 more assists tonight.
William Nylander: 16 goals on the season.
John Tavares: 11-11-22.
The roster outside of those 4, Knies and Reilly: 318 man-games, 19-49-68. That’s about 5-12-17 for 82 games.
Even if Stolarz and Woll are playing great in net, can Toronto keep that up and be successful in the postseason?
Yes, this is the Leafs’ year. (He says for the 57th time in the last 57 years).
I remember, as a kid, the Leafs winning four Stanley Cups in six years and just expecting it would always be thus.
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Jacob Trouba is not on the ice today for the Rangers, and won’t play vs. Pittsburgh tonight.
Reason: “roster management.”
I like the Goal Visualizer under each goal on nhl.com’s gamecenter. Great way to see positioning and the type of goal scored without having to watch the commercials. I did not watch the Columbus Edmonton game last night so I usually just watch the recap then check out the gamecenter. Here’s the game center from last night’s game.
Columbus Blue Jackets - Edmonton Oilers - Dec 5, 2024 | NHL.com
Check out #19 (Fantilli) for CBJ during Draisaitl’s goal in the second, floating and puck watching. Fantilli, lots of talent, very green.
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