Eastern Conference is a mess; Bruins don't need centers?; Sam Reinhart makes history

We’re halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn’t all that hard, because I’m stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who’s going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really don’t. There are arguably six to eight teams that are vying for two wild-card spots and one or two automatic playoff spots. And thanks to the three-point games the NHL loves to toss at fans, especially in the second half of the season when things tighten up, it’s only going to get murkier. - Sam Fels Read More

The Boston Bruins are the perfect team in the NHL to have the eternal-long fatalism vs. determinism debate. They sit atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference once again, just as they did last year. Just as last year, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are two of the best players in the league. The goaltending is outstanding, and that’s with using two goalies equally. They’re top five in goals-against per game, the special teams are both above average. Looks all the same as when we were here last year. - Sam Fels Read More

Florida Panthers star Sam Reinhart has scored a special-teams goal in eight consecutive games — something no other NHL player has ever done.

However, as hot as Reinhart is — and his 33 goals rank second in the league — the Panthers are in dire need of a win on Friday night when they end their five-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild. - Field Level Media Read More

Warren Foegele scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games. - Field Level Media Read More

Dakota Joshua scored the game-winner as the host Vancouver Canucks edged the Arizona Coyotes 2-1 on Thursday.

Elias Pettersson had the other goal for Vancouver, while Thatcher Demko, who was playing in his 200th career NHL game, made 20 saves to improve to 11-1-1 in his last 13 games. - Field Level Media Read More

Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist for the visiting Nashville Predators in a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.

Gustav Nyquist also scored and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators, who have won six of nine.

Drew Doughty scored a power-play goal and David Rittich made 31 saves for the Kings, who have just one win in their past 11 games.

The Kings were hoping for a better outcome in the opener of a four-game homestand after going 1-3-2 on the recently concluded six-game road trip, but instead were knocked out of a playoff spot they’ve held all season. - Field Level Media Read More

Ivan Barbashev scored two goals and Logan Thompson made 29 saves to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night in Las Vegas. - Field Level Media Read More

Auston Matthews collected his fourth hat trick of the season in a four-point game to lead the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Calgary Flames that snapped their four-game winless skid on Thursday. - Field Level Media Read More

Warren Foegele scored twice and Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the visiting Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday and extend their franchise-record winning streak to 12 games. - Field Level Media Read More