NHL First Half Recap

With this weekend being the NHL All-Star Game I figured it was a good time to take a look back at the first half of the NHL Season so far. And here we go.A record six teams will open the regular season in Europe, in a series branded the "2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Games."[8] On October 7–8, 2010, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Minnesota Wild played two games at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland. The Hurricanes swept the Wild. On October 8–9, 2010, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the San Jose Sharks played two games at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The two teams split a two-game premiere. On October 9–10, 2010, the Boston Bruins and the Phoenix Coyotes played two games at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The two teams also split a two game premiere. The first Premiere Games goal was scored by Minnesota Wild forward Guillaume Latendresse. The regular season will also begin in North America on October 7 with four additional games. In Canada, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada will broadcast a double header featuring four Canadian teams. The first game will see the eastern Canadian Original Six-era rivalry rekindled, with the Toronto Maple Leafs hosting the Montreal Canadiens. This game will be followed by the Battle of Alberta when the Calgary Flames visit the Edmonton Oilers. In the United States, both 2010 Stanley Cup Finalists will be in action as well on Versus. Besides the previously mentioned Philadelphia Flyers-Pittsburgh Penguins game to open Consol Energy Center, the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks will play against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center in the nightcap.[11] The Blackhawks will have their home opener two nights later against their Central Division rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, and hoist their first Stanley Cup championship banner in 49 years in a pre-game ceremony. The first NHL Face-off games goal was scored by Tim Brent of the Toronto Maple Leafs. That takes care or opening weekends in the NHL.

Since then the only other major highlight of the season was the Winter Classic on New Years Day between the Capitals and Penguins at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic playing the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011.[8] The game was telecast on NBC in the USA and on CBC and RDS in Canada. The Washington Capitals won the game 3-1. The game was originally scheduled to be played at 1 PM. However inclement weather in Pittsburgh forced the NHL to move the game into prime-time at 8 PM. Highlighting the contest was the pair of goals scored by Eric Fehr the fight between Erskin and Rupp, and the delayed start time. All it all it was actually a fun night.

On October 30, 2010, four penalty shot goals were scored on one night for the first time in league history. David Booth, Frans Nielsen, Ryan Callahan and David Steckel were the scorers.[13] The previous record was three penalty shot goals in one night. Four penalty shot attempts in one night has occurred previously. On November 20, 2010, the 50,000th game in the NHL's history was played, counting all regular season and Stanley Cup playoff games,[14] going back to the league's inaugural season in 1917. Considering the fact the NHL has been around as long as it has that is pretty impressive to say the least.

Here are the current standings as of now in the league:

Eastern Conference
1 Philadelphia Flyers*
2 Tampa Bay Lightning*
3 Boston Bruins*
4 Pittsburgh Penguins
5 Washington Capitals
6 New York Rangers
7 Montreal Canadiens
8 Atlanta Thrashers
9 Carolina Hurricanes
10 Buffalo Sabres
11 Florida Panthers
12 Toronto Maple Leafs
13 Ottawa Senators
14 New York Islanders
15 New Jersey Devils

Western Conference
1 Vancouver Canucks*
2 Detroit Red Wings*
3 Dallas Stars*
4 Nashville Predators
5 Anaheim Ducks
6 Phoenix Coyotes
7 Chicago Blackhawks
8 San Jose Sharks
9 Colorado Avalanche
10 Minnesota Wild
11 Los Angeles Kings
12 Calgary Flames
13 Columbus Blue Jackets
14 St. Louis Blues
15 Edmonton Oilers

Here are the scoring leaders as of the Half Way Point:
Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay Lightning 51 38 29 67 +12
Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 41 32 34 66 +20
Daniel Sedin Vancouver Canucks 50 27 37 64 +21
Henrik Sedin Vancouver Canucks 50 11 50 61 +18
Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning 51 20 40 60 +6
Brad Richards Dallas Stars 50 20 37 57 +7
Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings 49 16 37 53 +6
Eric Staal Carolina Hurricanes 50 25 27 52 –9
Corey Perry Anaheim Ducks 52 25 26 51 +1
Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 51 19 32 51 +14


Finally lets take a look at some of the Major Milestopnes that have been achieved in the NHL so far this season:
-On October 22, 2010, Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson recorded a hat trick, with the third goal being his 1,000th career NHL point. He became the 75th player in league history to record 1,000 points.

-On October 26, 2010, Ottawa Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar participated in his 1,000th NHL game.

-On October 28, 2010, Calgary Flames forward Craig Conroy participated in his 1,000th NHL game.

-On November 3, 2010, Buffalo Sabres forward Mike Grier participated in his 1,000th career NHL game.

-On November 6, 2010, Los Angeles Kings forward Ryan Smyth participated in his 1,000th career NHL game.

-On November 22, 2010, Ottawa Senators forward Alexei Kovalev recorded his 1,000th career NHL point with a goal against the Los Angeles Kings. He became the 76th player in league history to record 1,000 points, and the third Russian born player to do so.

-On November 24, 2010, Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi scored two goals, with the second being his 1,500th career NHL point. He became the 13th player in league history to reach this milestone.

-On December 26, 2010, Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski participated in his 1,000th NHL game.

-On December 27, 2010, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood recorded his 400th NHL win. He became the 10th player in league history to reach this milestone.

-On January 17, 2011, San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau and Dallas Stars forward Jamie Langenbrunner both participated in their 1000th NHL game in separate contests.


So there you have it. A recap of the first half of the NHL Season. Stay tuned for a first half recap for the New York Islanders!