Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
With another mid-season upon us, The Athletic will take a look at all thirty two teams and where they sit.
This week is a Houston Huskies. This team is truly a phenomenon in the NHL. Having only been in the league since the 2018-19 season, they have one President’s Trophy, two Division titles, Three Conference titles, and two Stanley Cups. The team has made the playoffs every year of their existence and are looking to do the same this season.
The team is 21-15-5, good for 47 points; good for fourth in the Central Division and the first wild card position. The sits only two points back from second in the division (Chicago Blackhawks) but only one point up from fifth (St Louis Blues) with one game in hand. The first half of the season was heavy on divisional games and Houston will see much less of the Western Conference in the second half.
Surprising for a team that plays a very aggressive hockey, the Huskies sit 24th in the NHL for goals for per game. Their normal scorers have been rather quiet this season, with sophomore Georg Dreiber leading the club with twelve. Nico Hischier only has ten and offseason pickup Timo Meier has nine. Hischier leads in points with 27, followed closely by Jordan Eberle (25). Houston also has the fifth worst powerplay at 16.1%, compared to being first last season.
The team’s saving grace is their defensive play. The Huskies have the second lowest goals against per game at a measly 2.20 (NY Rangers are first a 2.05) though their penalty kill numbers are middle of the road at 79.6%. The Huskies second line of AJ Likens, Dreiber, and Nikita Scherbak are the only forwards with minuses in plus/minus (-1, -1, -5 respectively). That all said, Huskies have only had 92 goals against 5 on 5. A major part of that is the goaltending, with Sergei Bobrovsky with a 17-12-4 with a 92.6% save percentage and 2.15 goals against per game and two shutouts and Jacob Markstrom with a 4-4-1, a 93.2% save percentage and 2.17 goals against.
Injuries are once again plaguing the team. The team has lost 51 games so far this season, with rookie defenseman Toni Nattinen not having seen the ice since November and defenseman Preston Maurer facing his third time out this season. Prospects Dimitri Mayorov, Dimitri Shirokov, and Wyatt Caldwell would fill the holes.
What does Houston do at the deadline? Interesting question. Houston has over $8 million in cap space so there is a lot of discussion if the team will try to pick up an elite right handed defenseman for the top line. However, the team will have a number of big names to sign in the next couple seasons and may not want to handicap themselves going forward. The team could also use a first line right winger.
Does the team make the playoff? I wouldn’t bet against it. They would need to take a major step back this season not to and they are currently on a three game winning streak. If I was putting money on it, I would say they finish third in the Central.
Stanley Cup? Not seeing a repeat but anything is possible. Stranger things have happened.
Tomorrow we look at the Los Angeles Kings.
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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Re: An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas
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