The Box Seats: Edition Eighteen
NHL Action Preview for the Week of February 5th-11th, 2024
THE BOX SEATS (Edition Eighteen, February 5th-11th, 2024)
Hello, and welcome to “The Box Seats”, a column designed to keep Pro Hockey fans informed, educated and entertained with the news and notes from around the National Hockey League. So kick back, and read along every week during the National Hockey League season.
The National Hockey League returns from a weekend of All-Star Festivities taking place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We saw Edmonton Oilers superstar forward Connor McDavid take home $1 Million dollars for winning the All-Star Skills Challenge on Friday Night, and on Saturday, we saw tons of goals from the four teams, captained by McDavid, defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, forward Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, with all four of their players represented on a squad led by Auston Matthews, who took home Game MVP honors after scoring two goals in the final and leading his club to victory in the three-game mini-tournament.
Now, with nine weeks left before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, things are really going to heat up around the league, especially with talks of players getting moved around before the Trade Deadline on March 8th. Teams will be figuring out if they are “Buyers” or “Sellers” as their playoff future starts to take shape right now. As we now head into the official second half of the season, let’s take a glance with a couple of players to watch for in this week’s NHL Games Recap
Players to watch this week
Auston Matthews – Forward, Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs had some fun in their own backyard this weekend with the NHL All-Star Game in town. Auston Matthews continues his goal scoring run, even in the exhibition contests, as his two goals late in the third period of the All-Star Game Final between his captained “Team Matthews” against “Team McDavid”, captained by Oilers star Connor McDavid.
Team Matthews won 7-4 and he took home Most Valuable Player award honors as a result. With 40 goals already in 46 games, the Leafs’ superstar will have to continue that run as the club opens up the second half right out of the gate on Monday hosting the New York Islanders, followed by a contest with Dallas on Wednesday and in Ottawa on Saturday for Hockey Night in Canada.
Alex DeBrincat – Forward, Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings will be engaged in a battle for one of the two coveted spots as a Wild Card contender in the Eastern Conference for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, just nine weeks away. One of those key pieces to helping Head Coach Derek Lalonde’s club getting to the postseason for the first time since 2016 will be forward Alex DeBrincat.
The 28-year old All-Star scored a Hat Trick in the All-Star Semifinal and another goal in the Final as he was part of “Team Matthews” which won the All-Star Game tournament. DeBrincat ranks second in goals and points for Detroit, with 18 and 43, respectively. The Red Wings will have an extended break and not return to the ice until Saturday in a matinee game at home against the Vancouver Canucks.
Team Trends To Watch For
(Stats as of 2/4/24)
Edmonton Oilers: Sixteen-game winning streak is not only the longest in franchise history, but is now the second longest winning streak in National Hockey League history, just one win behind the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins, who hold the All-Time record with 17 consecutive victories.
Edmonton is on a current run of 23-3 in their last 26 games overall. They will look to tie the record on Tuesday in Vegas against the Golden Knights, where there’s already been rumors of tons of Edmonton fans preparing to travel for the chance to witness history.
Top Five Teams Games Past Regulation:
1. New York Islanders: 19 Games (38.7%)
2. Toronto Maple Leafs: 17 Games (36.1%)
3. Montreal Canadiens: 17 Games (34.6%)
4t. Boston Bruins: 15 Games (30.6%)
4t. Columbus Blue Jackets: 15 Games (30.6%)
4t. Dallas Stars: 15 Games (30.6%)
Top Five Teams to First Period Over 1.5 Goals/Game
1. Ottawa Senators: (32/47 = 68.09%)
2. Vancouver Canucks: (32/49 = 65.31%)
3t. St. Louis Blues: (31/49 = 63.27%)
3t. Calgary Flames: (31/49 = 63.27%)
5. Detroit Red Wings: (31/50 = 62%)
Top Five Teams with a Goal in First 10 Minutes
1. Ottawa Senators: (33/47 = 70.21%)
2. Tampa Bay Lightning: (35/50 = 70%)
3. Minnesota Wild: (34/49 = 69.39)
4t. Seattle Kraken: (33/50 = 66%)
4t. Detroit Red Wings: (33/50 = 66%)
5. Vancouver Canucks: (32/49 = 65.31%)
NHL FULL SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:
February 6th
Colorado at New Jersey 
– 7:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Avalanche play their second game in two nights crossing over from Long Island to Newark to take on the Devils.
February 7th
Tampa Bay at NY Rangers 
– 7:00p ET on TNT/MAX
A pair of Eastern Conference powers clash in Manhattan to kickoff the Wednesday night TNT Doubleheader as Nikita Kucherov and the Bolts skate against the Blueshirts.
Minnesota at Chicago 
– 9:30p ET on TNT/MAX
Two Central Division rivals that seem to be looking more towards the future, especially for Chicago, who are still without many of their key offensive players due to injuries, including rookie star Connor Bedard.
February 8th
Tampa Bay at NY Islanders 
– 8:00p ET on ESPN
The Lightning continue their trip through New York for a second straight night, this time against Patrick Roy and his New York Islanders.
February 10th
St. Louis at Buffalo 
– 1:00pm ET on ABC/ESPN+
The St. Louis Blues are looking to continue the momentum from interim coach Drew Bannister into a possible Wild Card spot as they take on the Sabres in a Saturday matinee.
Washington at Boston 
– 3:30p ET on ABC/ESPN+
The Caps are just looking to play some consistent hockey and hope they can make their way into the Wild Card race while the Bruins open the second half with a homestand that they hope can launch them towards another Atlantic Division title.
Seattle at Philadelphia 
– 7:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol returns to his old stomping grounds as he coached the Flyers from 2015 until 2018. Both clubs are playing good hockey in their respective divisions.
Edmonton at Los Angeles 
– 10:00p ET on NHL Network
The hottest team in the National Hockey League, and possibly, by this time on Saturday, potential new record holders, the Edmonton Oilers head down to Hollywood to take on the slumping Los Angeles Kings, who fired their coach Todd McLellan during the All-Star break to wrap up the Weekly NHL Preview.
Frozen Fashion: The Hockey Jersey of The Week
Each Week, we will select one NHL team jersey to highlight the design and the history of that specific sweater. This week, we go back in time and look at jersey from the 1990’s that drew some mixed reviews when it was released.
Phoenix (Arizona) Coyotes 1998-1999 Green “Peyote Coyote” Alternate Jersey
When the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Coyotes in 1996, many National Hockey League fans wondered how the game would look in a desert state that rarely ever sees snowfall in the valley areas. When the logos came out, we saw the heavy inspiration drawn from the artwork, architecture and culture of the state of Arizona with the Kachina-styled skating coyote.
This element was taken to the next level in 1998, when the club unveiled a green alternate jersey that took the half-masked Coyote head and made it the focal point as the center crest, with a desert facade around the edges and sleeves of the jersey.
The optics make it seem like the coyote head is floating in the sky in the middle of the desert, which is something that people have claimed to see in that region when under the influence of certain plants and natural chemicals, hence the informal nickname “Peyote Coyote”, This jersey lasted until 2003, when the team changed their entire color scheme and design pattern.
Thanks to the Adidas Reverse Retro drops in 2021 and 2022-23, we saw returns to this classic design scheme in different base colors like Purple and Sienna.
With February being Black History Month, The Box Seats will depart from NHL Trivia for the next four editions to give you a moment of Hockey History from a Black Perspective:
GREAT MOMENTS IN BLACK HOCKEY HISTORY
May 19th, 1984: Grant Fuhr wins his first Stanley Cup
Goaltender Grant Fuhr, who was born of Afro-Canadian and Canadian First Nation ancestry, led the Edmonton Oilers to their first of four Stanley Cup wins in the decade of the 1980’s in his first full NHL season as the club’s starter. Fuhr, a native of Spruce Grove, Alberta, joined the club in 1981 as a first round draft pick of Edmonton, selected from the Victoria Cougars of the Western Hockey League, where he shined leading the club to the 1981 WHL Championship and a berth in the prestigious Memorial Cup Tournament. With this win for the Oilers, Fuhr became the first black player to win the Stanley Cup.
Fuhr would play ten seasons with the Oilers, winning five Stanley Cups with the team before playing eight more seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames before retiring after the 2000 season.
Fuhr made history again in 2003 by becoming the first Black inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In addition to his five Stanley Cups, Fuhr was a six-time All-Star, won Two Gold Medals for Team Canada at the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups, and he holds the record for most points by a Goaltender in National Hockey League history with 61 (all assists) and the record for most games played by a goalie in a single season (79) and most consecutive appearances by a goalie (76), both taking place with St. Louis during the 1995-1996 regular season. It’s safe to say, that those two records will most likely stand the test of time.
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