Four out of five in the hunt

Despite off season speculation and in my case, hopes, it seems most of the five Midwest-based NHL teams are in a similar position to where they stood 365 days ago.

If the post season started today, four of the five teams would be invited to the dance while the lone outsider — the Columbus Blue Jackets are miles away and slipping further behind by the day.

Here’s a look at the five teams, in alphabetical order:

Chicago Blackhawks — Ok, so the defending Cup champs are not exactly destroying the league this season, but this team has learned from previous experience to save itself to a certain extent until the real important battles begin in April.

Certainly, the off season losses of some key personnel due to salary cap issues and the off ice issues that put its top player in the headines could be looked at as negatives, but honestly, this team has faced adversity in the past and moved on and there’s no reason to think this season will be any different.

The Hawks sit in a slightly nervous fourth spot in the Central Division and fifth overall in the Western Conference with a 20-13-4 record to date. If the post season began today, the Hawks would begin by traveling to face the Dallas Stars, the league’s best team statistically so far and the lone Western Conference entry — as of right now — unaffected by the incredible parity that is taking place.

The Hawks sit just four points shy of second spot in the Conference but also just 7-8 points away from being uninvited to the tournament.

If Patrick Kane was affected by the off-season headlines it sure doesn’t show as he is among the league leaders with 50 points (21g, 29a) in 37 games — on pace for by far, the best offensive season of his NHL career so far.

One of the players benefiting from Kane’s prowess is 24-year-old rookie Artemi Panarin who sits second in team scoring with 31 points (10g, 21a) and among the mid-season favorites for the Calder Cup — the NHL’s Award for Top Rookie.

Corey Crawford is enjoying another fine season with 18 wins in 30 starts and a .925 Save Percentage. As we’ve learned, Crawford takes his game to a new level in the post season.

As of this moment, the Hawks look somewhat ordinary in the Western Conference, but any team that runs into them in the post season will find this team pushes back hard.

The Hawks returned from the Christmas Break with a 2-1 loss on home ice against Carolina and will wrap up the year on the road, at Arizona tonight (Dec. 29) and Colorado on New Years Eve.

Columbus Blue Jackets — A solid late season run in the 2014-15 and some potential stars among its young talent pool had this writer speculating the 2015-16 season could see a big turnaround in Columbus.

That has not been the case — at all.

Nearing the halfway mark, the Jackets sit dead last in the league with a 13-22-3 overall record. That record has already cost the head coach his job and the new man behind the bench — John Tortorella, while confident is also realistic looking at the team.

A groin injury that has kept 27-year-old netminder Sergei Bobrovsky on the shelf has not helped but recent comments from Coach Tortorella seem to indicate the problem in Ohio might be more in the head and heart of the team’s players.

The coach recently stated his intention to start giving younger players a chance as he has apparently lost faith and respect for the veterans and the way they approach the game. The Jackets sit miles behind and have played more games than most in the east. While not impossible, a rally to a playoff spot seems more unlikely by the day and it might not be surprising to see this team put many of its vets on the  block in the next few weeks in an effort to begin a solid rebuild with players Tortorella feels will at least care more about playing.

Scott Hartnell leads the team offensively with 27 points (14g, 13a) and has appeared in 37 of the team’s 38 games. High priced winger Brandon Saad has 25 points (13g, 12a) in 37 games and Ryan Johansen has 24 points (6g, 18a) in 35 games.

Not all of the news is bad in Columbus though. The recent injury to Bobrovsky gave Joonas Korpisalo, a 21-year-old Finnish goaltender a chance to strut his stuff for the Jackets. While he has come up short in four of five starts, there have been flashes of brilliance. He is likely still at least a season or two away from being a regular in the NHL but the Jackets rightly are expecting big things from this young goaltender.

If the Jackets were hoping to regroup over the short Christmas break, it didn’t work as they dropped back to back decisions in Florida  losing 5-2 to the Lightning and then 3-2 to the Panthers. The team returns home tonight riding a three game losing skid and facing the NHL’s best Dallas Stars and will be off then until Saturday night when the best in the East Conference’s best, Washington Capitals pay a visit.

Detroit Red Wings 

There is plenty of reason for optimism in Motown although the Wings could use a little more consistency and a knack for putting games away.

Earlier this month, the Wings ran an impressive string of 13 straight games collecting at least a point, 10 of those games decided in either overtime or shootout.

Key players who have endured significant time off in the past — Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk haved proven resilient so far. Although both began the season on the Injured Reserve, they have not been out of the lineup since their respective returns.

Captain Henrik Zetterberg leads the team offensively with 27 points (6g, 21a) and he has been a key figure in helping the progress of rookie forward Dylan Larkin who currently sits second on the team with 24 points (13g, 11a).

While Datsyuk and Helm have managed to stay in the lineup, there have bee injuries along the way to others and that has given the team a chance to look at a host of youngsters, like forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Nosek who will be key figures in the future and currently hone their craft primarily in Grand Rapids.

The Wings have lost five of its last seven, but find itself in the thick of the Atlantic Division race with an 18-11-7 record overall. With a Montreal freefall bringing the Habs back to the pack, the Atlantic is currently the closest of the four conferences. The Wings enter play on Dec. 29 in third spot, just two behind the division leading Habs but just one in front of both Boston and Ottawa and three up on Tampa Bay — currently on the outside of the playoff bubble.

The Wings will wrap up a three game road trip at Winnipeg tonight (Dec. 29) and finishes the calendar year at home Thursday against the Penguins.

Minnesota Wild 

As a part of the Central Division, the Minnesota Wild has found itself in a wild race with at least six of the division’s seven entries in the playoff hunt and the other team — the Winnipeg Jets having slipped out despite a 5-5 run through the month of December.

While the Stars threaten to leave the entire division behind, the gap between second place St. Louis and fifth place Nashville is currently six points while the suddenly surging Colorado Avalanche is just four more points back and far from out of it.

The Wild has bounced back and forth mostly between second and fourth with a 19-10-6 record so far and 8-3-2 through a busy month of December so far.

The team has dropped two in a row twice this month, but the first time saw both defeats coming in overtime during a stretch that saw the team collect at least a point in nine straight contests.

Defensively, the Wild has allowed 84 goals this season — best in its division and second best in the Western Conference behind only Los Angeles. After his solid run down the stretch last season Devan Dubnyk once again is putting up some awesome numbers in goal to lead the defense. He has appeared in 28 games and Darcy Kuemper has been equally as effective as a starter in nine. Actually Kuemper has yet to lose in regulation this season, posting a record of 4-0-4 and a .926 Save Percentage. Dubnyk has a 15-10-2 record and a Save Percentage of .917.

Offensively, Mikko Koivu leads the way with 31 points (10g, 21a) in 35 games and Thomas Vanek leads the way in goals with 11. He is second to Koivu in team points with another 14 assists for 25 points.

After a 3-1 win on home ice earlier this week against the Wings, the Wild wraps up the year on Thursday at St. Louis to battle the Blues in a game that  could get the Wild to within two points of second place in the division.

St. Louis Blues 

In recent seasons it has not been unusual to see the Blues near the top of the standings and this season is no exception as the team enters play tonight (Dec. 29), second in both the Central Division and the Western Conference.

The trick for the St. Louis crew is to carry that momentum into a successful post season run –something it has not been able to do in the past few otherwise successful seasons.

The team has tried a few things — including bringing Ryan Miller in at the trade deadline — a deal that still haunts it as it will cost a third round pick this season after already sending a first rounder to Buffalo last year. The team does get the third rounder back though, getting Washington’s pick as part of last summer’s T.J. Oshie trade.

With a 22-12-4 record, the Blues are in a nice spot, but the team has been a little more ordinary through December with a 7-6-1 record. In its latest tests, the Blues showed it could go toe-to-toe with the league leading Dallas Stars, rallying back from a deficit to capture a 3-2 win in shootout on home ice, but falling two nights later in Dallas 3-0. The Stars who watched the post season from the sidelines threaten to run away with the division and conference title, carrying a nine point lead on the Blues into action Dec. 29.

With the departure of Oshie, it was apparent the Blues would try to build around 24-year-old right winger Vladimir Tarasenko and he has not disappointed this season, his 39 points (22g, 17a) good enough for sixth best in the league and Alex Steen, on pace to top 70 games played for a second year in a row (currently in all 38 Blues games) is not far behind with 33 points (12g, 21a).

The goaltending has been a tandem job in the past with Brian Elliot and Jake Allen generally splitting the games fairly evenly. This season, Allen has been given the nod 28 times and he carries a 17-8-2 record with a .927 Save Percentage. Elliot has also delivered with a 5-4-2 record and a .916 Save Percentage.

The Blues will wrap up the calendar year with important division home games against Minnnesota tonight (Dec. 29) and then Nashville on Thursday, the first two of a three game homestand that carries into the New Year on Monday against Ottawa.