The Box Seats: Edition Twenty-Four, NHL Recap
NHL Preview for the Week of March 18th-24th, 2024
THE BOX SEATS
(Edition Twenty-Four, for the Week of March 18th-24th, 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 push for the playoffs is on in the National Hockey League this week as teams are down to their final dozen games after this week’s deep slate of action. Several teams are looking to either make it into one of the eight slots per conference or to solidify seeding positions and home-ice advantage for when the postseason starts on April 22nd. With that said, let’s start this NHL Recap with a quick rundown of each conference with the NHL playoff picture.
STANDINGS AND PLAYOFF PICTURE
(as of EOD March 17th, 2024)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
| Metropolitan Division | W-L-OT | P | Games Remaining |
|---|---|
 New York Rangers | 45-19-4 | 94 | 14 (9 Home/5 Road) |
 Carolina Hurricanes | 42-20-6 | 90 | 14 (6 Home/8 Road) |
 Philadelphia Flyers | 34-26-8 | 84 | 14 (7 Home/7 Road) |
| Atlantic Division | |
 Boston Bruins | 40-14-15 | 95 | 13 (5 Home/8 Road) |
 Florida Panthers | 45-19-4 | 94 | 14 (8 Home/6 Road) |
 Toronto Maple Leafs | 38-19-9 | 85 | 16 (8 Home/8 Road) |
| Wild Card (Top Two Advance) | |
 Tampa Bay Lightning | 36-25-6 | 78 | 16 (8 Home/8 Road) |
 Â Detroit Red Wings | 34-28-6 | 74 | 18 (8 Home/10 Road) |
 Washington Capitals | 32-25-9 | 73 | 16 (9 Home/7 Road) |
 New York Islanders | 29-23-15 | 73 | 15 (8 Home/7 Road) |
WESTERN CONFERENCE
| Central Division | W-L-OT | P | Games Remaining |
|---|---|
 Winnipeg Jets | 43-19-5 | 91 | 15 (7 Home/8 Road) |
 Colorado Avalanche | 43-20-5 | 91 | 12 (8 Home/4 Road) |
 Dallas Stars | 41-19-9 | 91 | 12 (6 Home/6 Road) |
| Pacific Division | |
 Vancouver Canucks | 42-18-8 | 92 | 13 (8 Home/5 Road) |
 Edmonton Oilers | 40-21-4 | 84 | 17 (9 Home/8 Road) |
 Los Angeles Kings | 34-22-11 | 79 | 15 (9 Home/6 Road) |
| Wild Card (Top Two Advance) | |
 Nashville Predators | 39-25-4 | 83 | 16 (6 Home/10 Road) |
 Vegas Golden Knights | 36-24-7 | 79 | 18 (9 Home/9 Road) |
 St. Louis Blues | 36-29-3 | 75 | 15 (9 Home/6 Road) |
 Minnesota Wild | 33-27-8 | 74 | 14 (7 Home/7 Road) |
Team Trends To Watch For (as of EOD March 17th, 2024)
- Dallas Stars: 24-2 Run to the 2nd Period Over when lined at 1.5 goals in their last 26 games overall. On the Season, they are 53-16 to the 2nd Period Over.
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 11-2 run to the 1st Period Over in their last 13 games overall.
- Nashville Predators: 14-2 SU last 16 games overall.
- New York Rangers: 15-4 SU last 19 games overall
- Colorado Avalanche: 8-1 SU last nine games overall.
Top Five NHL Teams to Go Past Regulation
1. New York Islanders = 24 Games (35.8%)
2. Boston Bruins = 24 Games (34.7%)
3t. Montreal Canadiens = 21 Games (31.8%)
3t. Toronto Maple Leafs = 21 Games (31.3%)
5. Dallas Stars = 20 Games (28.9%)
NHL FULL SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:
March 18th
Washington at Calgary 
– 8:30p ET on NHL Network
With two games to open the week of NHL Games Action, we see the Washington Capitals looking to make a Wild Card push in the East take on the Calgary Flames in Alberta.
March 19th
Carolina at New York Islanders – 7:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
ESPN Plus has an app-only doubleheader to open the week of NHL Games Action with a huge game involving Carolina and the Islanders, two clubs looking to solidify playoff positions.
Minnesota at Anaheim 
– 10:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Minnesota Wild will look for two points on the road against the lowly Anaheim Ducks late on Tuesday night to try and keep their playoff hopes alive.
March 20th
Toronto at Washington – 7:30p ET on TNT/MAX
The Toronto Maple Leafs are locked into the third spot in the Atlantic Division while the Caps look to get one of the final two Wild Card spots in the East.
Minnesota at Los Angeles – 10:30p ET on TNT/MAX
The Los Angeles Kings seem to be backing their way into the NHL Playoffs, as the Minnesota Wild are on the second leg of back-to-back games in Southern California.
March 21st
Seattle at Vegas – 10:30pm ET on ESPN
The Vegas Golden Knights will need a strong finish to wrap up the season to make the playoffs and defend their Stanley Cup title as they host the Seattle Kraken in a late national game on the Worldwide Leader.
March 22nd
Carolina at Washington – 8:30p ET on NHL Network
It’s a battle of Metropolitan Division foes on Friday as the Carolina Hurricanes head up to the Nation’s Capital to take on Alex Ovechkin and playoff-hopeful Washington.
March 23rd
Boston at Philadelphia – 12:00p ET on NHL Network
For the second straight Saturday, we see the Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers, this time they skate in the City of Brotherly Love. The Bruins won 6-5 last week in Boston.
Florida at New York Rangers – 8:00p ET on ABC/ESPN+
It’s primetime hockey on ABC Saturday night as two hot teams from the Eastern Conference clash as the Florida Panthers skate on Broadway with the New York Rangers.
March 24th
Winnipeg at Washington – 1:00p ET on NHL Network
The Capitals once again appear on National Television as they host the Winnipeg Jets in a Sunday matinee affair.
Pittsburgh at Colorado – 3:30p ET on TNT/MAX
It’s a battle of Superstars from the Province of Nova Scotia as Sidney Crosby and the Penguins travel to Denver to take on Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche.
Toronto at Carolina – 6:00p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Carolina Hurricanes in an early evening Sunday contest to wrap up the Weekly NHL Recap.
Frozen Fashion: The Hockey Jersey of The Week
Each Week, we will select one NHL team jersey to highlight the design and history of that specific sweater. This week, we look at a jersey that not only celebrated last week’s holiday but honors the early days of an Original Six franchise.
Toronto Maple Leafs 2024 “St. Pat’s” Green/White Alternate Throwback Jersey
Before the famous Blue and White colors were tied to the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise, this club was known from 1919 until 1926 as the Toronto St. Patricks, or “St. Pat’s” for short. A group of business investors owned an amateur hockey club with the same name. This became the inspiration, after being purchased from the Arena Company, which named the club the Toronto Arenas.
The St. Pats wore green and white striped sweaters and won a Stanley Cup in 1922 under this moniker. In 1927, after some legal mishaps with members of the ownership group, a new group led by then-Toronto Varsity Graduates head coach Conn Smythe spent $160,000 to purchase the club. They would become the Toronto Maple Leafs and switch their colors to Blue and White, which remain today.
The New “St. Pat’s” jersey features a Green Shamrock outline for the crest on top of the basic white body design, with green armband stripes, green and white socks, and green helmets. Unfortunately, the Leafs did not have “Luck of the Irish” as they dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to the Carolina Hurricanes in the only time they wore these jerseys.
National Hockey League Trivia Question
Last Week: Who’s the Last National Hockey League player to earn 200 or more Penalty Minutes in a single season?
Answer: Michael Haley of the Florida Panthers registered 212 minutes in penalties back in the 2017-18 regular season. In a time where we’ve seen fighting decrease in the NHL, the days of seeing “Enforcers” and players with 200, 250, even 300 penalty minutes, seem to be long gone
Q: Who was the first National Hockey League player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, given annually to the Most Valuable Player of that year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Hint: It was introduced nearly 60 years ago!
Check Back Next Week for the Answer!
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