NHL: First half reactions

Every team in the NHL has reached the halfway point of the season in games with all teams having played at least 42 games. The questions that may have been held since the start of the season are now being answered by now.

These are some reactions to some of the biggest storylines of the season.

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals

Coming into the season the Great Eight was just 41 goals away from the all-time goal record. After a lackluster season last year, it seemed he would need at least two years to break the record.

Halfway through the Caps season, he has 21 goals already in only 29 games. He is also powering a well-oiled machine that is the Capitals team right now.

The Caps hold sole possession of the top spot in the NHL tied with the Jets with 65 standings points (with one less game played).

In what was thought to be a rebuilding year where they may be able to crawl into a wild card spot in a weak Metropolitan division, they have silenced all the naysayers.

New York Rangers

The Rangers have struggled a ton this season. They have plummeted from Stanley Cup favorites to sixth in the Metro division and 23rd in the league.

They started out rough with some drama at the goalie position with a contract dispute with Igor Shesterkin. They got his situation figured out, but he has not looked the same posting a 2.97 GAA and a solid .907 save percentage.

The team has fallen apart in front of him though. They rank in the bottom half of the league in powerplay percentage, goals against per game, and goals for per game.

They traded away their captain Jacob Trouba and a former top pick in Kaapo Kakko. After being favorites to represent the East in the Stanley Cup, they have fallen off the tracks and once held sole possession of the basement of the Metro.

Western Conference Strength

The Eastern Conference is typically the stronger conference with the top five or six teams of both divisions battling for those eight playoff spots. The Western Conference usually has its strong teams then everyone is limping into the playoffs and getting eliminated quickly.

Not this year. The top of the Western Conference has seven legitimate Stanley Cup contenders. The top of each division is loaded with talent and all look like a hardout when playoff time comes.

Both the Kings and the Wild have had surprisingly strong years. The Wild have always been a fringe playoff team, but struggle to perform under the lights, while the Kings have been in a long re-tool that has worked out quite well for them.

Both teams are getting great years from unlikely sources powering them to the podium in their divisions. Anze Kopitar is having arguably one of his best seasons yet for the Kings, and Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson is holding together on the back end quite well.

The Knights looked like they would have a down year due to injury and they have kept right along with the strength of the conference.

It was known some teams would be up top, but the top of the conference looks like any of them could make a run.

Weak Eastern Conference

As mentioned earlier, this conference is usually the power of the NHL, but this year, the entire conference looks rough.

The Caps look like they’re going to run away with the Metro, and the Maple Leafs look to have a stronghold on the Atlantic, but the rest of the conference is pretty open.

The Hurricanes started out on fire, but have since started to burn out, and the Panthers look tired from going to back-to-back cup finals.

The gap between the top wild card spot and the team in eighth in that running is only six points. The division's top three are also in danger at any given time with the third spot in the Metro only being up five points.

The Atlantic is much closer with the Lightning only having a two-point lead over the Bruins in fourth.

You could look at it as it will be good hockey coming down the stretch, but even bad teams such as Montreal and Philadelphia are right there in the mix.

Tristan Kunec is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email tqk5432@psu.edu.