Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins leads the Penguins into the final quarter of the season as team captain Sidney Crosby remains on the sideline. (Bennett/Getty Images)
The 2011-12 NHL season officially hit the third-quarter mark this week. There are only five weekends before the Stanley Cup playoffs roll around. So with the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, here are seven storylines to follow in the final quarter of the regular season.
1. Will Sidney Crosby return to action this season? He hasn't played since his eighth game of the season on Dec. 5 after he suffered a setback with his head and neck ailments. No. 87 has regularly practiced with his teammates in the past five weeks, but he has expressed that he still is experiencing concussion-related symptoms. Even without Crosby, the Penguins remain a contender, especially with how well Evgeni Malkin and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury have played.
2. Can the Vancouver Canucks win back-to-back Presidents' Trophies? The Stanley Cup finalists currently occupy the penthouse in the overall standings with a two-point advantage over the New York Rangers. The Rangers, however, have three games in hand. The Detroit Red Wings were the last club to win back-to-back Presidents' Trophies, but we don't count that because the 2004-05 lockout split the 2003-04 and 2005-06 regular-season titles. You have to go back to the 1997-98 and 1998-99 Dallas Stars to find the last time a team won the Presidents' Trophy in successive years. Maybe this is a good omen for the Canucks because the Stars won the Stanley Cup in the back end of their Presidents' Trophy success.
3. Which teams will snatch the final playoff spots in the East and West? It's like a musical chair competition. Six points separate the eighth-place Winnipeg Jets from the 12th-place Tampa Bay Lightning in the East. There only is a four-point differential between the seventh-place San Jose Sharks and the 11th-place Calgary Flames in the West.
4. Can the Winnipeg Jets add a playoff berth to their storybook return to the NHL? Imagine the hysteria in Manitoba and with Jets fans around the country if Dustin Byfuglien and Co. can pull it off. The good news is they currently occupy eighth in the East. The bad news is the ninth-place Washington Capitals have three games in hand and of the 16 games the Jets have left on their schedule, nine are on the road. They have played much better at the MTS Centre with 20 wins. Only six other clubs have more wins this season than the Jets have won at home.
5. How will the Phoenix Coyotes perform with the never-ending story that they could be in their final season in Arizona? The Coyotes enjoyed one of the strongest third-quarter segments in the league, but the rumours of their demise and possible relocation to Quebec City or Seattle will only heat up as the regular season nears its conclusion.
6. How many points will Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson finish with? The third-year blue-liner has put together an impressive season with 15 goals and 66 points with 18 games remaining. He's tied for sixth in the overall scoring race. Can he become the first defenceman to finish in the top 10 since Paul Coffey in 1994-95? Can he check in with the most points in a season by a defenceman since the 2004-05 lockout? Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom currently has the honour at 80 points in 2005-06.
7. The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs seem destined to miss the playoffs. But how low could these storied franchises fall in the Eastern Conference standings in the next five weeks? The original six rivals have only missed the playoffs in the same season on four previous occasions - 1919-20, 1925-26, 1969-70 and 2006-07. They meet on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.
Third-quarter report
The Canucks enjoyed the strongest third-quarter run with 33 of a possible 42 points. The Blue Jackets, Wild, Maple Leafs, Sharks and Canadiens were the only teams not to pick up 20 or more points in the 21-game third-quarter segment
Eastern Conference
| Team | After 62 Games | Third Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| N Y Rangers | 41 - 15 - 6 - 88 | 14 - 5 - 2 - 30 |
| Boston | 38 - 21 - 3 - 79 | 10 - 9 - 2 - 22 |
| Pittsburgh | 36 - 21 - 5 - 77 | 15 - 5 - 1 - 31 |
| Philadelphia | 34 - 21 - 7 - 75 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| New Jersey | 35 - 23 - 4 - 74 | 12 - 7 - 2 - 26 |
| Ottawa | 32 - 22 - 8 - 72 | 11 - 7 - 3 - 25 |
| Florida | 30 - 20 - 12 - 72 | 10 - 7 - 4 - 24 |
| Washington | 31 - 26 - 5 - 67 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| Winnipeg | 29 - 26 - 7 - 65 | 9 - 10 - 2 - 20 |
| Toronto | 29 - 26 - 7 - 65 | 8 - 11 - 12 - 18 |
| Tampa Bay | 28 - 28 - 6 - 62 | 11 - 8 - 2 - 23 |
| Buffalo | 27 - 27 - 8 - 62 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| N Y Islanders | 26 - 28 - 8 - 60 | 11 - 8 - 2 - 23 |
| Carolina | 23 - 26 - 13 - 59 | 10 - 5 - 6 - 26 |
| Montreal | 24 - 28 - 10 - 58 | 8 - 10 - 3 - 19 |
| Team | After 62 Games | Third Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | 40 - 16 - 6 - 86 | 15 - 3 - 3 - 33 |
| Detroit | 41 - 18 - 3 - 85 | 15 - 4 - 2 - 32 |
| St. Louis | 38 - 17 - 7 - 83 | 14 - 5 - 2 - 30 |
| Nashville | 36 - 19 - 7 - 79 | 14 - 4 - 3 - 31 |
| Chicago | 33 - 22 - 7 - 74 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| San Jose | 33 - 22 - 7 - 73 | 8 - 11 - 2 - 18 |
| Phoenix | 32 - 21 - 9 - 73 | 13 - 4 - 4 - 30 |
| Dallas | 32 - 26 - 4 - 68 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| Los Angeles | 28 - 22- 12 - 68 | 8 - 8 - 5 - 21 |
| Calgary | 28 - 23 - 11 - 67 | 10 - 5 - 6 - 26 |
| Colorado | 31 - 27 - 4 - 66 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| Minnesota | 28 - 25 - 9 - 65 | 7 - 11 - 3 - 17 |
| Anaheim | 27 - 25 - 10 - 64 | 14 - 3 - 4 - 32 |
| Edmonton | 25 - 31 - 6 - 56 | 9 - 9 - 3 - 21 |
| Columbus | 18 - 37 - 7 - 43 | 7 - 12 - 2 - 16 |
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
