Another week has come and gone here in the VGNHL and now we begin our drive to the deadline. Some movers, some shakers, some teams rescheduling games due to issues that no one else had, it was a wild week. Let’s take a closer look at it here and see how everyone did. Buckle up, this is going to get confusing by the end.
Central Division
St Louis Blues 32-3-1 (7-1-1)
An overtime loss to the Capitals spoiled a pretty darn good week for the Blues who have been remarkably good all season long. Jeff and Shroy built a really solid team front to back and the acquisition of Ironside helps them bolster their all around game significantly. This team might be quietly a cup threat.
Top Performer: getclxppedXd-_-: 7 GP, 21 G, 10 A, 31 Pts, 4.43 P/G, 5-1-1
Dallas Stars 18-13-5 (4-4-1)
An interesting move from the Stars as they traded their 2 best players in the form of Juul and Crowe to the Eastern Conference. In exchange they acquired Msmth and xPanarin and their fortunes really haven’t changed, Luckily the Central division is egregiously weak and their .500 record should actually be good to get them into the playoffs.
Top Performer: LeCupidon: 7 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 Pts, 2.14 P/G, 2-5-0
Nashville Predators 18-14-4 (2-7-0)
If you are a team battling for a playoff spot like the Predators are currently, the one thing you cannot afford is a full week where you only collect 4 points. Allowing the Stars to pass them and dropping them close to being in the thick of it for the wild card race. Really hope to see them step it up this week.
Top Performer: Justin I87I: 6 GP, 10 G, 8 A, 18 Pts, 3.00 P/G, 2-4-0
Pacific Division
Vegas Golden Knights 34-2-0 (8-1-0)
The Knights got handed just their second loss of the entire season by the Bolts this week but even in that game they looked very, very strong. This team Is now officially out of the running to break the all-time single season team points record but they got a lot deeper than most ever will in that conversation.
Top Performer: mgzQC: 6 Gp, 14 G, 14 A, 28 Pts, 4.67 P/G, 6-0-0
Calgary Flames 29-7-0 (7-2-0)
The Flames as always have proven to be a formidable opponent when they’re actually trying. When they’re just not feeling it, it’s not uncommon to see them losing games they really shouldn’t. It will be interesting to see if they make some trades or just continue being content and leave their roster as is until the playoffs start.
Top Performer: CapsFan X 77: 8 GP, 11 G, 20 A, 31 Pts, 3.88 P/G, 6-2-0
Los Angeles Kings 23-8-4 (7-0-1)
The Kings have had a very strong season and actually are threatening the Flames for 2nd in the division. They should make the playoffs fairly easily however, I can see them losing games as easily as winning them if depth becomes an issue. I would expect to see this team make some trades in the near future.
Top Performer: dicriscio3341: 7 GP, 10 G, 11 A, 21 Pts, 3.00 P/G, 6-0-1
Wild Card
Minnesota Wild 16-16-4 (5-3-1)
The Minnesota Wild haven’t made really any trades all season and have been the pinnacle of mediocrity. Kidmoney is going to need to start playing significantly more if he wants his team to drive up the standings but being in the Central division this should be fairly easy to accomplish.
Top Performer: Kidmon3y: 6 GP, 13 G, 5 A, 18 Pts, 3.00 P/G, 4-1-1
Vancouver Canucks 13-18-2 (0-5-1)
The Canucks can best be described as simply, “bad.” They might have gotten bailed out with their claims that they couldn’t play 1 full night this week as even Montreal and Ottawa could’ve probably beat them, let alone the Lightning. This team is going to need to make some big moves and make them soon if they still want to make the playoffs.
Top Performer: No one.
Colorado Avalanche 13-21-1 (1-6-1)
The Avalanche should probably look to make some trades and soon as they struggled severely this week posting just 1 win. They did have a couple very close games and an OT loss but at the end of the day you can’t move up the standings if you don’t win. They’re so close to moving into that 2nd wildcard spot but if they don’t turn things up quickly, there’s no chance they will take it.
Top Performer: AAli-21: 4 GP, 10 G, 4 A, 14 Pts, 1-3-0
Well there you have it. Another week of VG down and we have officially passed the halfway mark of the regular season. It will be interesting to see how things progress as we move closer to the finish line and some teams start being eliminated and others start clinching. Time for me to go back to my TV show from the early 2000s.
TTFN,
Clark
