USA TODAY International Edition
As playoff races take shape, pressure mounts
With about 50 days left in the NHL regular season, pressure is building for many people. Players, coaches and general managers are feeling added heat to make the playoffs — or to put a positive spin on the season. Eight with considerable pressure to make something happen ( statistics and records entering Wednesday): Henrik Lundqvist, New
York Rangers, goalie: The Rangers are the third- highest scoring team, but they are King Henrik- dependent when it comes to playoff aspirations.
He has won eight of his last 10 starts, but his overall numbers ( 2.68 goals- against average and .911 save percentage) are career worsts. The Rangers have enough cushion for the first wild- card spot, but to make a run, they need Lundqvist to consistently be their best player — more so around his 2.30 GAA, .920 save percentage career numbers. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche, GM: At 15- 37- 2, the Avalanche have the NHL’s worst record. They are contemplating trading one of their most skilled players, Matt Duchene. If Sakic doesn’t hit a home run with this deal, it could set the franchise back further. If he doesn’t like the offers, he can wait until summer to make his move.
Paul Maurice, Winnipeg
Jets, coach: The Jets are four points out of a playoff spot. If they miss, they will have not qualified in five of the six seasons since their return to Winnipeg.
Maurice, in his fourth season in Winnipeg, is being listed by Bovada as having 7- 2 odds to be the next coach to lose his job. The Jets have lost four of five games and need a strong finish for Maurice to feel confident about his job security. This team has talent. Ken Holland, Detroit Red
Wings GM: With the Red Wings looking like they’ll miss the playoffs for the first time since 198990, Holland will likely have a different mind- set in the final two months than he has in the past.
He might be a trade- deadline seller, looking to move Thomas Vanek and Brendan Smith for prospects and draft picks. He could also move other veterans.
This is the first time fans will be judging Holland on what he does to set up the Red Wings for a better future.
Aaron Ekblad, Florida Pan
thers, defenseman: It’s easy to forget that he’s 21. But that does not change the reality that the Panthers need him to play like a 10- year veteran down the stretch if they want to make the playoffs.
The Panthers are five points out of a playoff spot with 28 games to play. Ekblad had a plusminus of + 30 over his first two seasons, but he’s - 17 this season. He has 15 points in 54 games. Donald Fehr, NHL Players Association, executive direc-
tor: It’s clear players want to play in the 2018 Olympics, and it is equally clear most NHL owners have lost their appetite for Olympic participation.
NHL Players’ Association officials will have to be creative and come up with a form of pressure, inducement or persuasive argument to get owners to sign on to allow players to go. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles
Kings, center: Kopitar rarely plays poorly, but when an athlete receives a contract paying him $ 10 million a season ( which he got in January 2016), greatness is expected on a regular basis.
He has six goals in 49 games, the worst scoring rate of his NHL career. The Kings rank 24th in scoring, and they need Kopitar to close this season with an offensive surge. Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues, goalie: Allen seems to have benefited greatly from the coaching change made Feb. 1 — including from new goalie coach Martin Brodeur.
Since the Blues fired Ken Hitchcock and promoted Mike Yeo, previously struggling Allen has gone 4- 1- 0 while stopping 142 of 149 shots (. 953 save percentage). But he has a 2.67 GAA and .904 save percentage for the season. Given the tightness of the Central Division, the Blues need Allen to stay this hot to make the playoffs. They are one point ahead of the Nashville Predators for third place in the division.