This story originally appeared in the Globe’s Sunday Hockey Notes. Read the rest here.
The 82-game NHL schedule has flipped to the second half. So, before we all begin conjuring our swap matrices around the March 8 trade deadline, a look back at eight intriguing story lines across the Original 32 in the first half:
▪ Alex Ovechkin. The Great Eight’s legendary goal-scoring touch plummeted down the charts with an Enron-like flair. The Capitals winger began the season with 822 goals, needing 73 to eclipse Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark. As the weekend approached, the 38-year-old winger still needed 65. At this rate, he’ll struggle to reach 20, less than half of his 42 last season. OK, Nicklas Backstrom is gone, but it appears age, and not his absent setup pal in crime, is the issue. He has two years left on his deal at a $9.5 million AAV. Mercy.
▪ The Winnipeg Jets. That quaint little operation in Manitoba, playing in that quaint little building, in recent days took ownership of the No. 1 spot in the league standings. Credit to ex-Bruins coach Rick Bowness, who’s had to navigate job demands while needing time off to help his wife deal with health issues. Big props, too, to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who coaxed franchise goalie Connor Hellebuyck and top scorer Mark Scheifele into long-term contract extensions. Both stars have produced in lockstep with their shrewd GM.
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▪ Erik Karlsson. Thus far, the kismet has come up short for the Fenway Sports Group’s big acquisition. New Penguins GM Kyle Dubas made what looked like the deal of the summer, filching the flashy Norris Trophy winner from the Sharks, with a cap hit slightly trimmed to $10 million. Yet coach Mike Sullivan still hasn’t quite finagled a way to get maximum backline pop out of Karlsson and longtime wizard Kris Letang. Sometimes they just don’t work out the way you draw ‘em up, right? Meanwhile, the Penguins are in a cat-and-mouse chase to land a wild-card playoff seed. They have some legendary talent in that lineup. Seems it just shouldn’t be this hard.
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▪ Sam Reinhart. Along with Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov, the Panthers’ center has a legit shot at 60 goals — after never potting more than 33. Heck of a time to have a contract year. Given that the Maple Leafs just handed forward William Nylander a gigunda bag of cash (eight years at $11.5 million per), Reinhart’s a shoo-in for $10 million. The ex-Sabres pick (selected six rungs higher than Nylander in the 2014 draft) is expected to re-up in Sunrise. If not, he’ll have abundant suitors on July 1, perhaps including the Bruins, who still have a need for a bona fide No. 1 right-shot pivot.
▪ Connor Bedard. We’re not likely to see the Blackhawks rookie back in the lineup for at least 6-8 weeks, following surgery at the start of the week to repair a broken jaw (compliments of a Jan. 5 collision with the Devils’ Brendan Smith). Bedard exited as the top rookie point-getter, on a pace for 69. Much like Oilers star Connor McDavid (45 games, 48 points his rookie season), Bedard has been every bit the phenom advertised ahead of last June’s draft. It was injury, by the way, that limited McDavid to the 45 games his freshman season. He ended up third in Calder balloting. No. 1. Chicago’s Artemi Panarin; No. 2. Philadelphia’s Shayne Gostisbehere.
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▪ Connor Ingram. In net for Tuesday’s overtime win over the Bruins, the Coyote has been among the league’s top goaltenders since moving into the No. 1 role at the end of October. Originally a Tampa Bay pick, and considered a fringe prospect before arriving in Tempe at age 25, he credits a prolonged stay in the Player Assistance Program for getting his life/career on solid ground, after years of dealing with undiagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He recently noted to NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin how psychotherapy continues to guide him. “For the rest of my life,” he said, “I’ll sit in a stranger’s chair and tell them my problems once a week. It’s just a fact of my life.”
▪ Luke Hughes. The Hughes boys just keep on coming, as if manufactured in an elite hockey lab. His arrival not as ballyhooed as brothers Jack (New Jersey) or Quinn (Vancouver), No. 3 in the Family Hughes series has had immediate impact on the Devils’ backline. Now, with Bedard sidelined, he could end up the Calder winner. Look closely, and it’s hard not to think of smooth-skating ex-Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer when Hughes has the wheels going, puck at the end of his stick. Coach Lindy Ruff recently paid even greater homage. “You think of some of the great skaters in the game,” said Ruff, invoking the names Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey. Hughes & Co. will be in Boston for Monday’s Garden matinee.
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▪ David Pastrnak. His scoring pace has cooled slightly since October, but the Bruins’ star right winger is still on pace for 50 goals, a dip from last season’s career-high 61. All the more impressive; his top two setup guys, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, now pivot for Team AARP, yet Pasta keeps on firing and scoring. As the weekend approached, he had a league-high 208 shots on goal, a category he led last season with 407. Yep, he shot 4.96 times per game when riding with two of the best centers in the game, and this season has averaged 5.07. Coach Jim Montgomery told Pastrnak last spring that the burden would be greater this season. “Don’t worry,” said Pastrnak. “I got it.”
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.