We have passed the halfway mark and the potential playoff teams are getting clearer as the tankers are tanking and the eagles are soaring. If you have a shot at the playoffs just remember if your best week is better than another teams worst week you always have a chance to win when it matters most.
Based on FPts scored and Team Name denotes current playoff teams
1. Vancouver Canucks (29-3) Previously #1- Has gone an astounding 19-1 in the last 20 games. Erik Karlsson's slow start has turned into another Norris caliber season. Currently is on pace to possibly have (6) 40-goal scorers and (5) players score around a point a game. Truly an all-time offensive juggernaut. Oh and they have Vasilevskiy/Domingue pairing which are about as sure of a thing as Trump tweeting "witch hunt", "Obama", or "Clinton" in a given day.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (31-1) Previously #4- I have gone 22-0 since my last loss, but it looks like this short week is going to put the kibosh to that. It had been a good run. The kind of long distance run previously only accomplished by an 80lb Ethiopian man. Unlike that runner I don't win enough money to feed my family for the rest of our lives.
3. St. Louis Blues (25-7) Previously #3 - Thomas Chabot has finally made the NHL roster and has been savage. Shea Weber pops off the IR after missing a year and goes right back to shooting pucks through goalie sticks. What has happened to Tarasenko? 30 points in 47 games. His hockey game has gone from NHL All-Star to best RW on a team named after a description of his mood (Blues). Yikes.
4. Winnipeg Jets (25-7) Previously #5 - What a great division rivalry with the Blues. Going tit for tat all year long. Brayden Point is thriving on this team. Go watch the NHL Lightning's PP and tell me how you stop it? Stamkos firing bombs from the left point, or a slap pass to Kucherov on the right wall who can slapshot into an open cage, pass back to Stamkos to shoot into an open cage, or pass through the crease to Point for an easy goal. Patrick Kane needs 5 more points to have as many as he did all of last year. He is back to playing at his peak sexual assault levels.
5. Colorado Avalanche (20-12) Previously #2 - Where did Victor Arvidsson come from? Did the Avs draft him? Sign him off of FA, or did Snug use some kind of create a player feature in our league? The guy misses 20 games and is still on pace for 35+ goals. That is really good. Baking cookies and then just eating the dough before it gets into the oven kind of good. Glad to see Craig Anderson back from concussion. Unfortunately for Anderson though the only thing worse than living day to day with the symptoms of a concussion is playing for the hopeless Senators.
6. Philadelphia Flyers (22-10) Previously 7 - A real potent goalie carousal with Lehner, Hart, Holtby, and Mrazek. To bad their defense has taken two steps back like its hop scotch. Ghost, Provorov and Sanheim are snake bit. Unfortunately for them that freakish monster that is their mascot mates with snakes, which only exacerbates the problem. Malkin has fallen off a f****** cliff. His 5v5 production is 4th line level. I keep reading it is because Jack Johnson is out for much of his shifts. Jack Johnson isn't making Malkin drop pass in the neutral zone to the opponent, or spinning into 2 defenders to lose the puck and his edge to slide out of the play giving up breakaway after breakaway. He has as much confidence in his game as I do playing Clue.
7. Chicago Blackhawks (18-14) Previously 13th - Truly big man moves from the Blackhawks. Toews and DeBrincat are scoring in bunches. Bringing in Reinhart is finally starting to pay off. Offseason signing Petry is a stat column filling machine. In-season trades for Subban and Doughty might be the difference when it comes to making the playoffs. Ullmark and Hutton are a great pair to have. Really great GMing this year to breathe new life into this team.
8. Edmonton Oilers (19-13) Previously 8th - Giordano is doing his best impersonation of Gordie Howe as any d-man has in a long time. 52 points in 49 games and a +29. He is doing is job better than everyone else doing theirs in the NHL. On the opposite end are Chychrun and Puljujarvi. Everyone still waiting for their breakout year to happen. I have a hunch they should pull up a rocking chair, some yarn, and knitting needles to settle in for a few years. Freddy Andersen was getting a bunch of Vezina hype and with him being injured it has shown just how bad the NHL Maple Leafs team defense is.
9. New York Islanders (17-15) Previously 6th - Nylander has 4 points in 20 games playing on the 3rd line for the NHL Leafs, but boy is making some cash. He played that exactly right. He is a beautiful man who is going to need all that money for plastic surgery if the Leafs keep losing and fans beat his face into mash.
10. Toronto Maple Leafs (21-11) Previously 9th - The Adams leading Maple Leafs. This is the part where a team has a guy in the minors for what seems to be no good reason. Brandon Pirri is averaging 4.99 FP/G since coming to Vegas. Get him in the lineup, so you can beat the Flyers, Avs, Canucks, and Blues for me. Please. What a year Ryan O'Reilly is having. Oddly he was traded from the underachieving Avs, to be traded from the underachieving Sabres and is now on the underachieving Blues. He must have some bad juju himself.
11. Buffalo Sabres (15-17) Previously 12th - The William Karlsson gamble has not paid off. His averageness is shining brightly. Luckily for the Sabres they pulled a rabbit out of their hat with Blake Coleman. NHL Devils should trade Hall to get this guy some better players around him. Rasmus Dahlin is having a great rookie season. Casey Mittelstadt is not. When you look at Dahlin the color of his skin is non existent. He is a Swedish ghoul.
12. Nashville Predators (13-19) Previously 16th - Technically they are still in it and I think they have the right players to make a push for the playoffs. Palmieri is the less dickish version of Marchand. I will say no more about their team in case they want to trade with me.
13. Montreal Canadiens (17-15) Previously 14th - Tied for 10th place in the standings, but have fewer fantasy points. These Canadiens are like the jolly rancher that adheres to the top of your mouth and you just can't get rid of. May they continue to taste delicious and give us cavities.
The parade float of lost seasons grows a little bit larger.
14. Washington Capitals (11-21) Previously 10th
15. New York Rangers (6-26) Previously 15th
16. Boston Bruins (9-23) Previously 11th
17. Detroit Red Wings (6-26) Previously 17th
18. Vegas Golden Knights (7-25) Previously 18th
19. Ottawa Senators (8-24) Previously 19th
20. Arizona Coyotes (1-31) Previously 20th
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