NHL 2021-22 Eastern Conference 1st Half Recap

It was rocky, but the NHL made it to the All-Star Break, the midpoint of the season. The second half will begin sooner than planned, as the 95 games that were postponed due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, will all be played during the NHL's originally scheduled Olympic break during the heart of February. But that's the second half. This is about the first half of the season, and it was quite interesting in the NHL's Eastern Conference. Here's how things stand in the East entering the break.

Atlantic Division: The Sunshine State dominates the Atlantic Division, representing two of the division's Top 3. Of course, among other things returning is the current playoff format after two seasons, with the top three teams in each division qualifying for the playoffs. Between the two Florida teams, it's the Florida Panthers leading the division at 69 points (32-10-5), while the Tampa Bay Lightning are close behind at 66 points (30-10-6). Despite the Panthers' amazing season last year, it is quite surprising that they are leading not just the Atlantic, but the entire league in the standings; this team truly means business.

The third team above the Atlantic Division's playoff line? The Toronto Maple Leafs with 61 points (29-10-3). Honestly, this squashes the backlash against the all-Canadian North Division from last season, with too many saying that the Leafs were handed first place because they were the only good team in it, and they wouldn't be good enough in the normal division. However, the Leafs have continued the habit of not making it easy for themselves, as they have had a series of games where they have big leads, and blow them. Even with those devastating losses, the Leafs continue to be a playoff team--in fact, they are one of only two Canadian teams above the playoff line so far.

Metropolitan Division: The Metropolitan Division features quite an intriguing Top 3, as it consists of the Carolina Hurricanes, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the New York Rangers. Each team has actually held first place in the Metro during the last month, but entering the break, it's the Hurricanes leading the division. Both they and the Rangers have 64 points, but the Canes have five games in hand over New York. The Penguins are two points behind with 62 (27-11-8), but they enter the break on a four game losing streak--though three of those losses went past regulation, and those overtime/shootout loss points add up.

Carolina being on top shouldn't be a surprise; they were part of the three-headed monster in last season's localized Central Division with the Florida teams. The Penguins being in the Top 3 is also expected, but the Rangers? That's the surprise. Hiring Gerard Gallant as head coach has definitely helped, as well as Chris Kreider shooting everything into the net, while Igor Shesterkin has been phenomenal in net.

Wild Card: Wild Cards are also back, and entering the break, the Washington Capitals (59 points) and Boston Bruins (55 points) currently hold the Eastern Conference's Wild Card positions. The fact that these two teams are in the Wild Card standings tell me that they are struggling...badly. The Caps have been falling in the Metropolitan standings; they were actually deep in the Top 3, but they've had recent problems stringing wins together. They've played four more games than Boston, but they're only ahead by four points. That's not a good thing. As for the Bruins, they have the same problem that's hit them for the last few years: they're a one-line team. Plain and simple, if the Perfection Line (Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak) doesn't pick up points, they don't win. Their legendary goalie, Tuukka Rask, returned to play, but he hasn't been showing out in net, either. They're only six points out of the Atlantic's Top 3, but they need to get it together.

The Bruins and Capitals should consider themselves lucky, as the rest of the Eastern Conference isn't anywhere close to them. The first team behind the playoff line is the Detroit Red Wings, but they enter the break nine points behind Boston. Despite this, it's a vast improvement from where the Red Wings had been in the last three seasons. They're really the only team with a shot of denting the playoff standings; the others aren't even close. The Columbus Blue Jackets are inconsistent, the Philadelphia Flyers did win back-to-back games, but it was after a very long losing streak, the Sabres, Devils, and Senators are going though the motions, but the two biggest shockers? The New York Islanders and the Montréal Canadiens.

The Habs and Isles represented half of last year's Final Four, with the Habs actually reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Yet they are having nightmare seasons, and it's not ending for them. If the Islanders have any excuses, it's the fact that they started the season with 13 straight road games, plus COVID hit them badly. The Canadiens, however, completely fell apart. They enter the break as the only team not to have double digit wins (8), which is shocking considering they won thirteen playoff games last season. Being without Carey Price hurts them, so did Cole Caufield underperforming.

The regular season ends on April 29, so there is still a lot of time for some teams, but for some others, time may start to run out. From the looks of the Eastern Conference, it doesn't look like the Top 8 will change, but playoff positioning might. We'll see who ends up where in the final few months.

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