No one’s happy sports around the world have been cancelled and NHL fans are no different (unless you’re a Detroit Red Wings fan in which case the season was already mathematically over). Watching classic games, while great for reminiscing and nostalgia, doesn’t have the same buzz as a live game, where you are on the edge of your seat each and every second. I’m sure it’s the same for all sports fans no matter what you watch, except cricket which is only good for catching up on much needed sleep (sorry Jarrod).
For some teams though the NHL break could not have come at a better time. Others it’s the complete opposite. Today we will look at two teams from the Central Division who have both been effected by COVID-19 but in completely different ways, starting with the Dallas Stars.
Jamie Benn et al have hit a rough patch as of late that has seen them drift away from the St Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche at the top of the Central Division, leaving them looking over their shoulder for that coveted third position. They have lost their last six games including a shout-out defeat to the Blues on February 29th and an overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 3rd. Their last ten games record reads a worrying 3-5-2 and they have averaged only 1.9 goals per game over that period, including two losses to the Nashville Predators when they shutout.
This doesn’t come as a surprise with Dallas only outscoring the LA Kings and Detroit Red Wings over the course of the season. Fortunately for them they got above average goaltending throughout the season from Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin. Unfortunately for them Bishop’s form as of late has been horrific as he has posted a .861 SV% and 3 GAA in the games he’s played over the last ten. Khudobin has remain strong posting a .941 SV% and 1.8 GAA in his five starts over that period.
The problem for Dallas comes with effected team two… the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets currently sit two points shy of the Stars, albeit with 2 more games played, and a last ten record of 6-3-1. They had also won four straight before the break scoring four goals in three of those four. They were averaging 3.1 goals per game during the last ten while averaging 1.9 goals against, nearly the complete opposite of Dallas. This has been led by the foursome of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers who have all averaged a point or more per game in the last ten with help from Vezina Trophy contender Connor Hellebuyck in net where needed.
If the season had continued and both teams remained true to their last ten games form, Winnipeg Jets would have picked up 14 points to finished the season on 94 points, two points ahead of Dallas who would have picked up 10 points to finish on 92. In fact, if current trend had continued Dallas could have found themselves out of the playoff picture completely with Nashville on pace (based on their form in the last ten games) to finish on 94 points and the Minnesota Wild on pace to finish with 95 points.
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The corona virus has ruined our enjoyment of the sports we love, but there is no doubt some teams are letting out a huge sigh of relief in the hopes they can reset and get back on track once the season resumes. Others will have wished, like ourselves, that it never had to stop.
