Sizing up stretch drive
The NHL All-Star weekend is in the books.
Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby (four goals, four assists) added to his trophy haul with an All-Star MVP award as the Metropolitan Division won the three-on-three tournament.
And women’s hockey got a big boost as Team USA player Kendall Coyne Schofield took part in the fastest-skater event (finishing seventh of eight) and Brianna Decker’s unofficial time of 66 seconds in the Premier Passer event topped the winning time of Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl.
What to look forward the league’s stretch run:
❚ Who wins: The Tampa Bay Lightning are running away. But maybe we’ll see the first Canadian team to win a Stanley Cup since 1993 with the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets also playing very well.
❚ MVP: Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association who’ll vote on the Hart Trophy at season’s end had Nikita Kucherov (Lightning), Johnny Gaudreau (Flames) and Connor McDavid (Oilers) as their top three in a vote for first-half MVP. Vancouver Canucks AllStar Elias Pettersson likely already has clinched the Calder Trophy as top rookie.
❚ Trade deadline: Mats Zuccarello, Gustav Nyquist, Wayne Simmonds and Micheal Ferland are some of the names being tossed around before Feb. 25.
❚ Lose for Hughes: The Ottawa Senators hold last place, though they wouldn’t get to draft phenom Jack Hughes if they win the lottery. They had dealt their first-round pick earlier to the Colorado Avalanche. The New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings also are near the bottom of the league. to in