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The 2024-25 NHL regular season reached its mathematical halfway point last week with game No. 656. Here’s a catchup on some of the more interesting things happening around the league:
The “Gr8 Chase” is heating up.
The NHL’s strained branding for Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record isn’t catching on, but Ovechkin is certainly doing his part on the ice. Despite missing almost six weeks with a broken leg, the Washington Capitals star has already reached 20 goals for the 20th consecutive year, and it’s looking increasingly likely that No. 8 will break the Great One’s record of 894 goals before the end of this season.
Ovechkin, who’s averaging a league-high 0.74 goals per game, is now just 22 goals away from passing Gretzky. He’s on pace to score No. 895 at the end of March, with more than two weeks left in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Washington is one of the most surprising teams in the league. After missing the playoffs in 2023 and getting swept in the first round last year by the Rangers, the Caps (28-10-5) are tied with Vegas and Winnipeg for the most points.
Three Canadian teams are in the top six overall.
The Jets, inevitably, have cooled off since their absurd 15-1-0 start. But at 29-12-3, they still own that aforementioned share of the overall points lead along with a three-point edge over Minnesota in the Central Division. Winnipeg also boasts the best goal differential in the league at plus-48 while ranking third in goals scored and second in goals allowed on a per-game basis.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is on his way to winning his second straight Vezina Trophy and third of his career, which would be a record for a U.S.-born player. He leads all netminders in wins (26), goals-against average (2.02), save percentage (.928) and shutouts (six). Forward Mark Scheifele is tied for third in the league in goals with 25 while Kyle Connor is seventh in goals (23) and points (55).
Canada’s other division leader is Toronto, three points up on Stanley Cup champion Florida in the Atlantic. Despite losing reigning NHL goals champ Auston Matthews for a total of 15 games due to an unspecified upper-body injury that he fears could bother him for the rest of the season, the Leafs are sixth in the overall standings thanks to a defensive overhaul by new head coach Craig Berube. Pending free agent Mitch Marner is on pace for a well-timed career year — he’s tied with Connor McDavid (who missed time with an injury early this season) for fifth in the league with 59 points in 44 games.
McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers (27-13-3) have rebounded from a slow start to climb to fifth place overall, though the defending Western Conference champs still trail Vegas by four points in the Pacific. Surprising Calgary (21-14-7) holds the final wild-card spot in the West, one point ahead of Vancouver (19-13-10), whose two best forwards may or may not be feuding.
Ottawa (21-18-3) and Montreal (20-18-4) remain very much in the hunt for a playoff spot in the East. The Senators are just one point out of a wild card while the Canadiens are two points back.
Reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon is the front-runner for his first scoring title.
The Colorado Avalanche star snagged his first Hart Trophy last year after racking up career highs in goals (51) and points (140) while finishing second in the Art Ross Trophy race behind Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (144 points).
MacKinnon currently leads the league with 68 points in 44 games, while his linemate Mikko Rantanen is fourth with 60 points and Cale Makar leads all defencemen with 49 points. But the top-heavy Avalanche, who have just one playoff series victory since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, are a disappointing fourth in the Central Division, which could hurt MacKinnon’s case for a second straight Hart.
Other top MVP candidates include McDavid (as always) and his Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl. The 2020 Hart winner leads the league in goals with 31 in 43 games and is second in points with 64.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is just 4 weeks away.
McDavid, MacKinnon, Makar and Marner are part of the stacked Canadian team for the upcoming mini-tournament against the United States, Sweden and Finland, running Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston in place of the NHL All-Star Game.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is the first “best-on-best” event with NHL players since the 2016 World Cup. It’ll serve as an appetizer for their return to the Winter Olympics next year in Italy after the NHL skipped the 2018 and 2022 Games.
The four teams play each other once, then the top two square off in the winner-take-all final in Boston. Here’s the full schedule and rosters for every team.
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