With All-Star weekend festivities wrapped up, the second half of the National Hockey League's 2014-15 campaign is set to kick off on Tuesday.
5 Biggest Surprises In First Half of 2014-15 NHL Season
With Team Toews dropping Team Foligno 17-12 in a record-setting All-Star Game on Sunday at the Columbus Blue Jackets home rink of the Nationwide Arena in Ohio, the NHL now shifts its attention back to the regular season as the push to the playoffs is set to continue.
Here are five things to look for when the NHL returns to action on Tuesday.
3 Most Disappointing Teams From First Half Of The 2014-15 Campaign
5) Playoffs in Winnipeg? Manitoba hasn't hosted a playoff game since 1996, but the surprising Winnipeg Jets could be set to make a move to end the drought. The Jets closed out the first half on a torrid pace, winning five straight games and entered the All-Star break in possession of the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 60 points and a 26-14-8 record. Since their move to Winnipeg from Atlanta, fans of the Jets have suffered through three straight seasons without a playoff berth. The team has been a great story thus far after finishing 11th in the conference last season.
4) Champions Fading? The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings have been very inconsistent this season and are on the outside looking in on the playoff picture at the break. While Los Angeles is only one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference with 52 points, it is off to a 20-15-12 start and has been sluggish through the first half. Los Angeles has been very inconsistent this season and lost four straight games to close out the first half. If the Kings don't get it together and the championship hangover continues, it could be a long second half.
3) A Coliseum Send-off: The New York Islanders final season in the Nassau Coliseum had a memorable first half as the Isles stormed out to a 31-14-1 record and now sit atop the Metropolitan Division with 63 points. Their 31 victories are the most in the Eastern Conference and tied for the most in the NHL. New York hasn't won its division since it was in the Patrick Division in the 1987-88 campaign, but after a fantastic start things are looking up in its farewell season on Long Island.
2) Presidential Ducks: The Anaheim Ducks are on pace to win the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the most points at the end of the NHL season. The Ducks finished the first half of the campaign with a 31-10-6 record for an NHL-best 68 points. Anaheim has never won the Presidents' Trophy before, but are on pace to do it now. The Ducks won five straight games to close out the first half of the season and are on pace to win the Pacific Division for the third straight season.
1) Smashville Central: The Nashville Predators were a huge surprise in the first half of the season, skating their way to a 30-10-5 record and 65 points. Nashville has missed the playoffs the last two seasons and has never won its division in its entire history, dating back to the 1998-99 campaign. While the Predators closed out the first half on a low with two-straight losses, the team won five consecutive contests before that streak. Another thing to watch for Nashville is Filip Forsberg, who is a Calder Trophy favorite. Forsberg is third in the NHL with a plus-24 rating and leads all rookies with 40 points and the Predators with 15 goals.
After an exciting first half and memorable All-Star Weekend, the puck is set to drop on a exhilerating second half as the race to the NHL Playoffs begins to heat up.
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