Mid-Season Reports: Western Conference

Anaheim Ducks
Pre-Season Prediction: 4th Pacific, 9th West
Where they are now: 4th Pacific, 9th West

First half look-back:
You can make an argument that the Ducks are the most bi-polar team in the NHL. One night they’ll look like world beaters; the next, they'll look totally out of sorts. Through the ups and downs, they are tied for seventh in the West as we hit the midway point. Jonas Hiller has had to bail his team out on many nights, putting them in the position they’re in now. Offensively, Corey Perry has taken the next step and is on pace for a career high in goals and points.
Second half look-ahead:
While the Ducks have been in playoff position recently, everyone around them has games in hand, which will be an uphill battle for Randy Carlyle’s club in the second half. They have the offensive talent to make some noise, but Ryan Getzlaf could miss another six weeks. The defense is still suspect (though improving), which could ultimately tell the tale of whether a return to the playoffs is in the cards.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 39 (20 home, 19 away)


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Calgary Flames

Pre-Season Prediction: 2nd Northwest, 10th West
Where they are now: 4th Northwest, 14th West

First half look-back:
It has not been an easy calendar year for the Flames (dating back to Jan. 2010). The on-ice play has been shoddy, the front office has made some questionable personnel moves, and recently saw their GM ‘step down’. The team has lost the intangibles that made them such a hard team to play against in prior years. Captain Jarome Iginla was in a nasty funk to start the year, but has since broken through that.
Second half look-ahead:
A cloudy future surrounds the Flames, who are now led by Jay Feaster, Darryl Sutter’s replacement at the GM post. Will Iginla get traded? What about Robyn Regehr? Will Brent Sutter survive as coach? If the struggles continue, we may get those questions answered sooner rather than later.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 41 (22 home, 19 away)


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Chicago Blackhawks

Pre-Season Prediction: 2nd Central, 4th West
Where they are now: 4th Central, 12th West

First half look-back:
Defending the Stanley Cup hasn’t gone as well as the Blackhawks would have liked, but this should have been expected. With all of the new faces coming in, combined with the annual Cup hangover every champion goes through (it is real, people), the ‘Hawks have had a rocky start. The good news is that everyone is healthy (for now) and there’s another half to turn things around and get back on track.
Second half look-ahead:
Before the season I predicted the ‘Hawks would sputter in the first half, but take off late in the year. There is still time to do so, but a couple things have to happen. One, Corey Crawford needs to continue his stellar play in the crease; Marty Turco just isn’t cutting it out. Also, the pairing of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook must step up and play to their caliber.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 40 (18 home, 22 away)


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Colorado Avalanche

Pre-Season Prediction: 3rd Northwest, 11th West

Where they are now: 2nd Northwest, 6th West

First half look-back:
Joe Sacco raised many eyebrows last year simply by getting the Avalanche back into the playoffs. Many thought they’d take a step back this season (including yours truly). Amidst numerous injuries, though, the Avs are right there once again. Matt Duchene has taken a step towards stardom, coming through in the clutch time and time again. Defensemen John-Michael Liles and Kevin Shattenkirk have been productive on the blueline, too.
Second half look-ahead:
As long as they can keep their heads above water, this Avs club be very dangerous later on in the year. Power forward Chris Stewart is on the mend, while Peter Mueller could still return from his concussion. If those two come back fully healthy, can you imagine what Colorado’s top-six would look like? It’d create a lot of mismatches. I think Colorado is a playoff team, but they’re kind of teetering on that edge right now.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 41 (20 home, 21 away)


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Columbus Blue Jackets

Pre-season Prediction: 5th Central, 14th West
Where they are now: 5th Central, 13th West

First half look-back:
Under new bench boss Scott Arniel, things were looking pretty for the Blue Jackets back in late November as they were challenging the Red Wings the top spot in the Central. However, similarly to last year, everything turned for the worse in December, via a 3-9-3 stretch. They are now in the back of the pack as far as teams in playoff contention go.
Second half look-ahead:
It will be interesting to see how the goaltending situation plays out. Garon has been better than Steve Mason, who still getting the bulk of the starts. In the last month or so, though, neither has shown enough consistency to make up for the Jackets’ hit-or-miss offense. 14 more games against divisional opponents could ultimately determine their fate.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (20 home, 22 away)


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Dallas Stars

Pre-Season Prediction: 5th Pacific, 15th West

Where they are now: 1st Pacific, 3rd West

First half look-back:
Ok, I’ll admit… I was totally wrong about this Stars club, as were a lot of people. I didn’t see this coming from a mile away. The offense has been astounding (the addition of Jamie Langenbrunner will only help), as the top six has been dynamite, while Stephane Robidas, Kari Lehtonen and company have held their own on the back end. Two other reasons why the Stars are leading the division as we speak is remaining healthy up front and their success in one-goal games (14-3-4).
Second half look-ahead:
When you look at the schedule, the Stars may be able to feed off home-ice in March during a seven-game home-stand. We’ll find out if they are the real deal or not here in the second half. I do believe they’ll be able to keep up this success and ultimately get back to the 'second season'. And if they do keep chugging along, they can’t trade Brad Richards… can they?

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 41 (20 home, 21 away)


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Detroit Red Wings

Pre-Season Prediction: 1st Central, 2nd West
Where they are now: 1st Central, 2nd West

First half look-back:
Detroit seemingly picked up where they left off at the end of the 2009/10 season. They steamrolled into the playoffs, and jumped out quickly this year. But all of that occurred when they were healthy. Once the injury bug came back to bite the Wings, they started to lose their grip on the division. Mike Babcock and company is a mediocre 8-6-3 in their last 17 games.
Second half look-ahead:
The Wings are in the midst of a key stretch where they’ll play seven of eight away from home-ice. Pavel Datsyuk and Dan Cleary are expected to return to action at or around the All-Star break, which will be a big boost offensively. I still feel the Red Wings are the division favorites heading into the second half, but have some work to do if they want to wrestle away the conference's top seed from Vancouver.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (19 home, 23 away)


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Edmonton Oilers

Pre-Season Prediction: 5th Northwest, 13th West

Where they are now: 5th Northwest, 15th West

First half look-back:
As is the case with every young, developing club, growing pains will consistently be there. Edmonton has had their fair share of them, especially lately, as they had lost nine of 10 prior to Thursday’s victory. Rookies Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle have shown flashes of brilliance, but seem to take a step back after taking a step forward.
Second half look-ahead:
One positive to take away from Edmonton’s predicament is the fact that they’ll be getting another high-end talent in next summer’s draft. Already loaded with young talent, the future is so bright that it’s practically glaring. What will the Oilers do at the trade deadline? Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner have been floated around in trade rumors.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 43 (20 home, 23 away)


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Los Angeles Kings

Pre-Season Prediction: 1st Pacific, 3rd West

Where they are now: 5th Pacific, 11th West

First half look-back:
The feeling surrounding the Kings now is much different than it was back in early November. Terry Murray’s club was cruising along, sporting a 12-3 record. Things have turned for the worse over the last couple months as Murray has seen his team go 10-14-1 since the hot start. There has been no consistency with this team, despite getting great efforts from Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick and Dustin Brown.
Second half look-ahead:
L.A. desperately needs Willie Mitchell (injured for much of the first half) back in the lineup. As for the team itself, I don’t think they should be in panic mode just yet. In my opinion, this is still a team that can get back on track quickly and win the division. However, if these struggles persist, will Murray’s seat get hot in SoCal? The Kings have what is developing into a make-or-break 10-game road trip following the All-Star break.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (21 home, 21 away)


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Minnesota Wild

Pre-Season Prediction: 4th Northwest, 12th West

Where they are now: 3rd Northwest, 10th West

First half look-back:
Coming into the year, not much was expected out of the Wild. Todd Richards didn’t have the best debut behind the bench last season, while management was silent all summer. Yet here they are, quietly lurking in the playoff picture, courtesy of their recent 7-of-10 stretch. The power play was a catalyst early and is currently ranked sixth. Also, Brent Burns’ solid bounce-back year is seemingly going unnoticed.
Second half look-ahead:
Even though the Wild sit just one point out of a playoff spot, they still have a lot to prove. To me, Niklas Backstrom is going to have to regain his No. 1 status in net. Jose Theodore has kept their heads above water as Backstrom battles inconsistencies, but I don’t see Theodore leading the Wild through the rugged West. After Saturday, they’ll play 22 straight games against conference foes; we’ll know a lot more about this team after that stretch.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (20 home, 22 away)


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Nashville Predators

Pre-Season Prediction: 3rd Central, 6th West
Where they are now: 2nd Central, 4th West

First half look-back:
This has arguably been the streakiest team in the league thus far this year. The wins and losses have come in bunches for Barry Trotz and company, who have dealt with countless injuries in the early going. Going into the year, a main goal was improving the special teams; they’ve at least done so on the penalty kill, which ranks third. All things considered, the Preds had a successful first half and would have home-ice in the first round if the playoffs started today.
Second half look-ahead:
As we head into the stretch run, it appears the Predators will once again be one of those bubble teams in the Western Conference. How they deal with the injuries (and how many more they sustain) will go a long way in determining their fate. 12 of their last 15 games are at home… so if they survive a couple prolonged road trips between now and then, they’ll surely be in the mix come early April.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (23 home, 19 away)


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Phoenix Coyotes

Pre-Season Prediction: 3rd Pacific, 7th West
Where they are now: 3rd Pacific, 8th West

First half look-back:
Last year’s surprise team proved early that their success in 2009/10 was no fluke with a seven-game win streak in November. However, other than that streak, the ‘Yotes have won two games or more in a row just once. Also, they’ve lost three or more games in a row three times, outdoing last year’s total of two. Last season, they were arguably the most consistent team in the league; this season… not so much.
Second half look-ahead:
Even though they currently sit in eighth, I feel like the Coyotes will be one of the odd teams out once Los Angeles and Chicago catch fire. They simply aren’t getting the bounces they got last year, unable to pull out every shootout with an Adrian Aucoin game-winner. Every game after Feb. 23 will be against the Western Conference.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 42 (24 home, 18 away)


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San Jose Sharks

Pre-Season Prediction: 2nd Pacific, 5th West

Where they are now: 2nd Pacific, 5th West

First half look-back:
The San Jose Sharks simply are not the same without the services of Evgeni Nabokov. The big change made by GM Doug Wilson to go with the two-goaltender system has yet to reap its benefits. Two other disappointments have been Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi. With all of that being said, Todd McLellan has his team in playoff position at the halfway mark. Can he keep them there? A bright spot has certainly been rookie Logan Couture, who leads the team with 18 goals.
Second half look-ahead:
In my honest opinion, the Sharks need a shake-up at the trade deadline. They lack that ‘it’ factor from the last couple years, and would likely be a quick exit if they make the playoffs. Would they turn to someone like Tomas Kaberle? What about more of a stay-at-home defenseman… say, Robyn Regehr? Wilson also needs to look at his depth at forward, as they aren’t getting hardly anything from the third and fourth lines.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 41 (21 home, 20 away)


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St. Louis Blues

Pre-Season Prediction: 4th Central, 8th West
Where they are now: 3rd Central, 7th West

First half look-back:
I don’t know if anyone flew out of the gates faster than the Blues. Jaroslav Halak carried over his playoff performance, leading the upstart Blues to a 9-1-2 start in the first 12 games. However, this young team went through some more growing pains in November as they fell back in the deep Western Conference. Injuries to studs David Perron and T.J. Oshie, along with veteran Andy McDonald, didn’t help matters.
Second half look-ahead:
A recent surge has Davis Payne’s gang sitting right on the bubble in the West. They have been great at home, but shaky on the road (opposite from last year); Halak’s numbers just show that. Once they get healthy again, they could wreak havoc. The question is when they will get everyone back. The Blues will stay in the thick of it as long as the injury bug doesn’t come back to bite them in the second half.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 43 (20 home, 23 away)


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Vancouver Canucks

Pre-Season Prediction: 1st Northwest, 1st West
Where they are now: 1st Northwest, 1st West

First half look-back:
The Canucks have been the juggernaut that everyone expected them to be before the year, especially recently; a 16-1-2 stretch has vaulted them to tops in the West. GM Mike Gillis’ under-the-radar moves over the summer are paying off. Manny Malhotra, who’s contributed in all situations, was a great pickup. Others like Dan Hamhuis, Raffi Torres and Jeff Tambellini have been upgrades over their predecessors.
Second half look-ahead:
Vancouver doesn’t have any kind of 14-game Olympic road trip to deal with this season. In fact, they have 43 games remaining and 57 points, which makes them the best point-per-game team in the NHL. There are a number of players to watch here in the second half, but Roberto Luongo has gotten better as the year has gone. In the end, Luongo and the Canucks will be judged with how they perform in April and May.

Critical Stretch:


Remaining games: 43 (22 home, 21 away)



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