The NHL season resumes with 14 games on Saturday and 10 more Sunday with every team in action at least once this weekend coming out of the break for the massively successful 4 Nations Face-Off.
The puck drops for the playoffs on April 19. The league’s 32 teams are set to play in a total of 422 games before the four-round race for the Stanley Cup begins in earnest.
“There’s still a lot of hockey left to be played,” center Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals said Friday. “Some teams their playoff races will start with 18 games left and some will start with 10, but I think the pace really goes up pretty soon.”
Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record, the outdoor game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings at Ohio State’s Stadium, the March 7 trade deadline and various injury situations coming out of the 4 Nations are among the things to watch down the stretch.
Ovechkin’s GR8 chase
The Capitals captain in his 20th season is 16 back of passing Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals that long seemed unapproachable. Coach Spencer Carbery expects again to see Ovechkin, now 39 years old, refreshed and ready to roll.
“I just am expecting for him to be a real impactful player for us in these last 27 games of the season,” Carbery said. “He looks great. He’s got tons of energy. It feels like he had a real good break to be able to get some work in but also get mentally refreshed for this last little stretch.”
The odds are still against Ovechkin breaking the record this season. BetMGM Sportsbook still favors him not getting there.
Ovechkin scored 15 goals in his final 27 games last season, a pace that would tie Gretzky. But it also might be foolish to bet against the greatest scorer of this — and soon any — generation.
“Everyone’s excited about it, looking forward to it,” teammate Dylan Strome said. “It’s going to be tough to get it this year, but if anyone can do it, I think it’s him.”
Taking it outside
The Blue Jackets are set to play in an outdoor game for the first time in franchise history March 1 when they host the Red Wings at Ohio Stadium. The site of so many college football rivalry games between Ohio State and Michigan is also a nice chance to showcase a surprise season of success for Columbus.
With top defenseman Zach Werenski and new coach Dean Evason leading the way, the Blue Jackets are firmly in contention and getting captain Boone Jenner back after missing the first three-quarters of the season following shoulder surgery.
“I haven’t had this much fun playing hockey in a long time and being around a group of guys,” Werenski said during the 4 Nations tournament. “We’re just enjoying it. We’re having fun. We’re working hard. We’ve all bought into our team game. No one cares who has the success.”
The Red Wings are also in the race — one point ahead of Columbus — thanks to a midseason coaching change that paid big dividends. Detroit has won 15 of 21 games since Todd McLellan replaced Derek Lalonde behind the bench, and duking it out with the Blue Jackets puts an even brighter spotlight on the Stadium Series game between them.
Trade season
There was a flurry of moves before the 4 Nations, with Colorado, Carolina and Chicago completing a three-team blockbuster that sent Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall to the Hurricanes and Martin Necas to the Avalanche, the New York Rangers landing J.T. Miller from Vancouver and Dallas acquiring Mikael Granlund and Codi Ceci in a trade with San Jose.
But there’s plenty more in that vein to come before the 3 p.m. EST deadline on March 7.
The New York Islanders have a big decision to make with big center Brock Nelson, a pending unrestricted free agent who seems unlikely to re-sign. They are four points back of the second and final wild-card spot in the East, and 82-year-old general manager Lou Lamoriello’s uncertain future makes it impossible to know what will happen with Nelson.
Seattle’s Yanni Gourde likely won’t play until the deadline after surgery to repair a sports hernia, but he is also a player who, like Nelson, could be a nice rental addition for any contender looking to add at the deadline. Options on defense are much sparser, but Philadelphia is open for business on big Finn Rasmus Ristolainen and Montreal could get a significant return for hard-nosed Cup winner David Savard.
Injuries all over
Sidney Crosby could miss time for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Matthew Tkachuk for the Florida Panthers after playing through pain at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Crosby played for Canada despite getting hurt before the break and sitting out a couple of Penguins games, while Tkachuk suffered a lower-body injury in one of the U.S. games and was unable to finish the final Thursday night.
Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Vegas’ Shea Theodore are definitely out for their respective teams, and more bumps and bruises from the tournament could reveal themselves as players get back to practice in the coming days.
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