The Box Seats: Edition Twenty-Two

NHL Preview for the Week of March 4th-10th, 2024

THE BOX SEATS (Edition Twenty-Two, March 4th-10th, 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 heads into the always busy month of March, where NHL teams head into their final twenty games of the regular season.

Uncover Exclusive Picks & Predictions From Our Experts.

Some clubs are already planning to make moves to help their squad right now, while others are planning for the future, and with the NHL Trade Deadline approaching this Friday, we will see some players changing locations over the next few days.

Which leads to this disclaimer that if you are betting on ANY National Hockey League team this week, make sure to double-check and triple-check any lineup changes beforehand.

Make sure to follow any beat reporters on X, podcasts on YouTube and podcast platforms, and definitely make sure to keep up with us here at Point Spreads, where we have daily game previews, news, standings and more NHL info at your fingertips. With that said, let’s start things off with a couple of hockey players to watch for in this week’s NHL Game Highlights.

PLAYERS TO WATCH THIS WEEK

Oilers logo Zach Hyman – Forward, Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have been on one heck of a rollercoaster ride this season, from a very poor start in the first two months of the season, which saw head coach Jay Woodcroft get fired, and under Kris Knoblauch, the club went on an 16-game winning streak, and are now right back into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

One of the key reasons for their success has been the offensive explosion from forward Zach Hyman. Skating on the same line as superstars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Hyman has been the main beneficiary of McDavid’s recent goal drought, which hit a career-high ten games before he snapped it last week with an overtime game-winner.

Hyman has eleven goals in his last eight NHL games, and in four of the last five Oilers contests, Hyman has lead off the scoring for his club.

The 31-year old Toronto native now has 42 goals and 61 points on the season, and his Edmonton squad will be busy this week, with road games at Boston on Tuesday and at Columbus on Thursday, before a back-to-back set on Saturday at Buffalo, with another matinee in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Stars logo Chris Tanev – Defenseman, Dallas Stars (from Calgary)

The Dallas Stars are one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season, and while they have tons of offensive depth, and an All-Star caliber goalie in Jake Oettinger, this club needed some help along the blue-line, and GM Jim Nill got on the phone and made a deal with the Calgary Flames to acquire 34-year old veteran Christopher Tanev last week.

While he has yet to don the Green and Black colors of his new club due to visa issues, Dallas is adding a solid, stay-at-home defenseman, who can play physical on the body, block tons of shots and moves the puck well enough to keep pace with speedsters like Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson.

Tanev has just one goal and 13 assists in 56 games with Calgary, but he also has 171 blocked shots and has registered 100+ or more blocked shots in each of the last six NHL seasons and has accomplished the feat nine times in his 14-year career.

Dallas has a trip out to sunny California this week, playing San Jose to close out a home-and-home series on Tuesday night, then taking on Anaheim on Friday night and Los Angeles on Saturday evening.

Team Trends To Watch For

  • Bruins logo Boston Bruins: Seven of their last Ten games have gone past regulation (2-5 SU in those contests)
  • Oilers logo Edmonton Oilers: 25-6 SU last 31 games overall
  • Rangers logo New York Rangers: 11-2 SU last 13 games overall
  • Panthers logo Florida Panthers: 14-2 SU last 16 games overall
  • Predators logo Nashville Predators: On an 8-0 SU run, 9-2 SU last 11 games overall.
  • Coyotes logo Arizona Coyotes: 2-14 SU last sixteen games overall. Franchise-long losing streak snapped on Friday in a 5-3 win at Ottawa, followed by a 5-2 win over Washington on Sunday.

NHL FULL SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK:

March 4th
Blues logo St. Louis at Philadelphia Flyers logo – 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
Two clubs that have been making magical runs towards the postseason collide on Monday in Philly, where the Flyers have won five of their last six games overall.

March 5th
Blues logo St. Louis at NY Islanders Islanders logo – 7:30p ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The St. Louis Blues continue their trek along the East Coast with a visit to Long Island on the second leg of a back-to-back against Patrick Roy and the Islanders.

March 6th
Sabres logo Buffalo at Toronto Maple Leafs logo – 7:00p ET on TNT/MAX
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to finish the season strong before the Playoffs, while Buffalo is looking at their 12th straight year without a postseason appearance.

March 7th
Blues logo St. Louis at New Jersey Devils logo – 7:00pm ET on ESPN
The Blues are getting some heavy airtime as they look to make their way into one of the two final Wild Card spots in the Western Conference as they play their third nationally televised game in four nights.

March 8th
Wild logo Minnesota at Colorado Avalanche logo – 9:00p ET on NHL Network
It’s a battle of Central Division foes as the Minnesota Wild skate into Denver to take on an Avalanche club looking to capture home ice or even the division title with one more strong run.

March 9th
Hurricanes logo Carolina at New Jersey Devils logo – 12:30p ET on ABC/ESPN+
Two bitter Metropolitan Division rivals battle in a Saturday matinee on broadcast television as the Hurricanes head up to Newark to battle a struggling Devils club.

Penguins logo Pittsburgh at Boston Bruins logo – 3:00p ET on ABC/ESPN+
This All Black and Yellow showcase pits a desperate Pittsburgh team trying to salvage their season against a slumping Bruins club looking for some positive momentum with the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the horizon.

Maple Leafs logo Toronto at Montreal Canadiens logo – 7:00p ET on NHL Network
It’s a classic Original Six match-up between longtime rivals Toronto and Montreal on Hockey Night in Canada to wrap up the Saturday Television slate.

March 10th
Oilers logo Edmonton at Pittsburgh Penguins logo – 1:00p ET on TNT/MAX
After the Oilers dismantled the Pens 6-1 at home last Sunday, Pittsburgh looks for revenge at home seven days later in a matinee showdown to lead-off the TNT Doubleheader.

Predators logo Nashville at Minnesota Wild logo – 3:30p ET on TNT/MAX
The scorching hot Nashville Predators skate into Downtown Saint Paul on Sunday afternoon looking to further distance themselves from the Minnesota Wild in the West Wild Card race.

Coyotes logo Arizona at Chicago Blackhawks logo – 6:00p ET on NHL Network
Two struggling Central Division clubs clash on the West Side of Chicago as Connor Bedard and the Hawks host the Arizona Coyotes in an early evening Sunday contest 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 look at an alternate jersey that has some deep throwback roots from the Mile High City.

Colorado Avalanche Blue 2015-17, 2018-current Alternate Jersey

Avalanche's third jersey for 2017-18 unveiled ... circa 2015

Ever since the Colorado Avalanche came into existence in 1995, after moving from Quebec City as the former Nordiques, the eye-catching color scheme of Burgundy, Blue and Black has been a staple in the Mile High City. In 2015, the club unveiled a new shoulder patch and a new alternate jersey, with both using the same “C” from the Colorado State Flag.

Along with the jersey crest borrowing the same mountain/diamond elements from the Colorado Rockies team that was in the National Hockey League from 1974 until they moved to New Jersey in 1982, becoming the team we all know now as the Devils. Colorado has worn this as their third jersey consistently since 2018, while adding other jerseys into the rotation during the Reverse Retro sets created by Adidas.

National Hockey League Trivia

Q: Who’s the most recent Goaltender in National Hockey League history to start 70+ or more games in consecutive seasons?

Hint: His number #34 was retired this past weekend.

Check Back Next Week for the Answer!

Check out all the updated National Hockey League, NHL Odds, NHL standings, schedules, lineups, futures odds, team stats, recent news and betting tips, right here at Point Spreads.


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