NHL Central Division Preview

• Tweet
• Pin It

Chicago Blackhawks

Last Season: 48-28-6, 104 pts, 2^nd in Central Division

Playoffs: Defeated Nashville in 1^st round, Defeated Minnesota in 2^nd Round, Defeated Anaheim in 3^rd Round, Defeated Tampa Bay in Stanley Cup

GF/GP: 2.68 (17^th in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.27 (2^nd in NHL)

PP%: 17.6% (20^th in NHL)

PK%: 83.4% (10^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Baun	Toews	Hossa
Desjardins	Anisimov	Kane
Garbutt	Teravainen	Shaw
Panarin	Kruger	Tikhonov

 

Keith	Seabrook
Daley	Hjalmarsson
Van Riemsdyk	Rundblad

 

Crawford

Darling

 

Additions: F Artem Anisimov, F Marko Dano, F Jeremy Morin, F Corey Tropp, F Viktor Tikhonov, D Trevor Daley, F Ryan Garbutt

Subtractions: F Brandon Saad, G Antti Raanta, F Patrick Sharp, D Johnny Oduya

The Blackhawks will make the playoffs if… In all honesty, the Blackhawks will likely not be challenged at the top of the Central Division this season. The champs made a number of shrewd offseason moves, including offloading two older players with poor contracts to division rival Dallas.

The Blackhawks will miss the playoffs if… The combination of Andrew Baun, Artem Anisimov, and Ryan Garbutt do not fill the void for the forwards that left via trade in the offseason. Chicago scores just below the league average per game, and a drop in that statistic will bring them back towards the pack.

Statistic to Watch: The Blackhawks scored 1 goal every 9:46 of powerplay time last season.

Prediction: 1^st Place in Central Division

 

Colorado Avalanche

Last Season: 39-31-12, 90 pts, 7^th in Central Division

Playoffs: Missed Playoffs

GF/GP: 2.55 (23^rd in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.72 (21^st in NHL)

PP%: 15.0% (29^th in NHL)

PK%: 84.6% (5^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Landeskog	Duchene	MacKinnon
Tanguay	Soderberg	Iginla
Comeau	Mitchell	Everberg
McLeod	Hamilton	Winchester

 

Barrie	Johnson
Beauchemin	Zadorov
Stuart	Holden

 

Varlamov

Berra

 

Additions: F Carl Soderberg, F Mikhail Grigorenko, D Nikita Zadorov, D Francois Beauchemin, F Blake Comeau

Subtractions: F Ryan O’Reilly, F Jamie McGinn

The Avalanche will make the playoffs if… The Avalanche defense corps improve their dreadful team Corsi %. The Avalanche had the second worst Corsi Close % in the NHL last season (43.1%). The lack of puck possession impacted both the Avs goals for and goals against totals.

The Avalanche will miss the playoffs if… Nathan MacKinnon cannot return to the form of his rookie season. MacKinnon’s shooting percentage dropped from 10.0% in 2013-14 to 7.3% in 2014-15.   If MacKinnon had played a full season last year and shot at the same percentage as 2013-14, he would have finished with 24 goals, rather than the 14 he scored last year. MacKinnon’s success alongside Landeskog and Duchene would have this team contending for 1^st in the division again.

Statistic to Watch: Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov faced the 9^th most shots per 60 minutes in the NHL last season (32.49).

Prediction: 7^th Place in Central Division

 

Dallas Stars

Last Season: 41-31-10, 92 pts, 6^th in Central Division

Playoffs: Missed Playoffs

GF/GP: 3.13 (2^nd in NHL)

GA/GP: 3.13 (T-26^th in NHL)

PP%: 19.0% (T-11^th in NHL)

PK%: 80.7% (19^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Ja. Benn	Seguin	Nichushkin
Sharp	Spezza	Hemsky
Roussel	Eakin	Eaves
Moen	Fiddler	Sceviour

 

Goligoski	Klingberg
Oduya	Demers
Jo. Benn	Jokkipakka

 

Lehtonen

Niemi

 

Additions: G Antti Niemi, F Patrick Sharp, D Johnny Oduya

Subtractions: F Shawn Horcoff, D Trevor Daley, F Ryan Garbutt

The Stars will make the playoffs if… The tandem of Niemi and Lehtonen can improve the Stars’ dreadful goaltending. Only 3 teams finished giving up more goals last season than Dallas (Edmonton, Buffalo, and Arizona). The difference between these 3 and the Stars was the fact that the Stars’ defense was not nearly as bad as these teams. The Stars ranked 18^th in Unblocked Shot Attempts Against last season, yet conceded the same number of goals against as the Toronto Maple Leafs, who ranked 28^th in Unblocked Shot Attempts Against. If the Stars can improve their goaltending, they should be optimistic about a return to the playoffs.

The Stars will miss the playoffs if… They cannot improve their record at American Airlines Center. The Stars had the 3^rd worst record at home last season (17-16-8, 42 pts, .512 Pts %). Last season, all 8 Western Conference teams finished with at least 50 points at home. If the Stars had hit that number, they would have been in the Playoffs.

Statistic to Watch: The Stars finished with the 4^th most Road Points in the Western Conference (24-15-2 on the road)

Prediction: 5^th Place in Central Division

 

Minnesota Wild

Last Season: 46-28-8, 100 pts, 4^th in Central Division

Playoffs: Defeated St Louis in 1^st Round, Lost to Chicago in 2^nd Round

GF/GP: 2.77 (T-12^th in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.42 (6^th in NHL)

PP%: 15.8% (27^th in NHL)

PK%: 86.3% (1^st in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Parise	Koivu	Pominville
Zucker	Granlund	Vanek
Haula	Coyle	Niederreiter
Fontaine	Schroeder	Carter

 

Suter	Spurgeon
Scandella	Brodin
Dumba	Reilly

 

Dubnyk

Kuemper

 

Additions: D Mike Reilly

Subtractions: F Matt Cooke, F Kyle Brodziak

The Wild will make the playoffs if… Devan Dubnyk continues to prove that he is a better goalie than his statistics in Edmonton and Arizona indicate. The stats indicate that he is playing in front of a much better defense in Minnesota. In 2013-14, when he hit rock bottom with the Edmonton Oilers, Dubnyk faced 31.64 shots/60 minutes. In 2014-15 with Minnesota, Dubnyk faced just 27.84 shots/60 minutes. This reduction in workload will continue to help Dubnyk perform at the level he finished last season at.

The Wild will miss the playoffs if… They cannot improve one of the league’s worst powerplay units. The Wild powerplay finished 27^th in the NHL with a 15.8% efficiency rating; only Anaheim, Colorado and Buffalo had worse efficiency. The Wild powerplay especially struggled on the road, scoring a Western Conference low 12 goals in 108 road powerplay chances (11.1% efficiency).

Statistic to Watch: For all the talk of the Wild playing a tight, defensive style that results in low scoring games, the Wild had 22 games decided by 3+ goals last season. The Wild were 14-8 in those games.

Prediction: 2^nd Place in Central Division

 

Nashville Predators

Last Season: 47-25-10, 104 pts, 2^nd in Central Division

Playoffs: Lost to Chicago in 1^st Round

GF/GP: 2.76 (14^th in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.46 (9^th in NHL)

PP%: 16.2% (25^th in NHL)

PK%: 80.8% (18^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Wilson	Ribeiro	Forsberg
Bourque	Fisher	Neal
Hodgson	Jarnkrok	Smith
Nystrom	Gaustad	Moses

 

Weber	Josi
Jones	Ellis
Jackman	Ekholm

 

Rinne

Hutton

 

Additions: D Barret Jackman, F Cody Hodgson

Subtractions: F Rich Clune, F Viktor Stalberg, F Taylor Beck, F Matt Cullen

The Predators will make the playoffs if… They continue to possess one of the best records in the NHL in 1 goal games. The Predators had a .638 winning percentage in 1 goal games (30-7-10, 70 points). The biggest factor is the presence of Pekka Rinne. Rinne tied for the 5^th best save percentage in the NHL last season at .932, with 4 shutouts on the season. If he can continue to stay healthy and perform at his peak level, the Predators will always be in the mix.

The Predators will miss the playoffs if… Their penalty kill continues to struggle, although they do not give up very many powerplay opportunities. The Predators gave up just the 5^th fewest number of penalty minutes (8.5/game), but the Preds gave up 45 goals on just 234 attempts. If the Predators continue to perform at this level, they will be pushed in an ultra-competitive Central Division.

Statistic to Watch: The Predators had the fewest number of road points of any playoff team in the Western Conference

Prediction: 3^rd Place in Central Division

 

St Louis Blues

Last Season: 51-24-7, 109 pts, 1^st in Central Division

Playoffs: Lost to Minnesota in 1^st Round

GF/GP: 2.92 (5^th in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.40 (T-4^th in NHL)

PP%: 22.3% (4^th in NHL)

PK%: 83.7% (8^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Steen	Backes	Tarasenko
Schwartz	Stastny	Brouwer
Ott	Lehtera	Berglund
Caron	Brodziak	Jaskin

 

Shattenkirk	Pietrangelo
Bouwmeester	Gunnarsson
Butler	Harrold

 

Elliott

Allen

 

Additions: F Troy Brouwer, F Kyle Brodziak, D Robert Bortuzzo

Subtractions: D Barret Jackman, F TJ Oshie

The Blues will make the playoffs if… Vladimir Tarasenko lives up to his massive contract from the offseason. Tarasenko scored 15.5% of the Blues goals, and finished 3^rd in the NHL in even strength points, only behind Jamie Benn in Dallas and Jiri Hudler in Calgary. With the departure of TJ Oshie to Washington in the offseason, the onus is on Tarasenko to pick up the offense that departed with Oshie leaving.

The Blues will miss the playoffs if… The departure of TJ Oshie affects one of the league’s most potent powerplays. The unit of Steen-Backes-Oshie-Tarasenko-Pietrangelo was one of the league’s best units last season, and the Blues have several strong forwards to fill Oshie’s spot. If they cannot find one however, their powerplay may struggle, and that may cost them some wins.

Statistic to Watch: St Louis had the second best PP+PK% in the NHL last season (106.0%), only behind Washington (106.4%).

Prediction: 6^th Place in Central Division

 

Winnipeg Jets

Last Season: 43-26-13, 99 pts, 5^th in Central Division

Playoffs: Lost to Anaheim in 1^st Round

GF/GP: 2.72 (16^th in NHL)

GA/GP: 2.49 (T-10^th in NHL)

PP%: 17.8% (T-17^th in NHL)

PK%: 81.8% (13^th in NHL)

 

Depth Chart

Ladd	Little	Wheeler
Perreault	Scheifele	Ehlers
Burmistrov	Lowry	Stafford
Thorburn	Copp	Petan

 

Byfuglien	Chiarot
Myers	Enstrom
Stuart	Trouba

 

Pavelec

Hutchinson

 

Additions: F Alex Burmistrov

Subtractions: F Michael Frolik, F Lee Stempniak, F Jiri Tlusty

The Jets will make the playoffs if… Ondrej Pavelec continues to perform above his career average. Pavelec’s save percentage was 12 percentage points above his career average, and even with that, it took 3 shutouts on the final week of the season to clinch a playoff spot in the Central Division.

The Jets will miss the playoffs if… They cannot improve the number of shorthanded opportunities they face on a per game basis. The Jets were shorthanded 57 times more than the league average last season. If the Jets were at league average in number of times shorthanded and performed at the same penalty kill efficiency as last year, they would have given up 10 fewer goals than they did last year, which would have pushed their team goals against to 2.33 GA/G (4^th in league). This is an important stat to monitor for the Jets all season as they push for another playoff spot this season.

Statistic to Watch: The Jets were 5^th in Corsi Close (53.5%) and 6^th in Fenwick close (53.2%)

Prediction: 4^th Place in Central Division

• Tweet
• Pin It