NHL Update

So I meant to do this yesterday, but with everything going on in the NFL I didn't have the time or focus, but this is going to be a weekly thing here at Way More Than Just a Sports Blog. Every week I'll just give you guys a quick run down of what the league looks like, some of the highlight, etc. So to start things off, here's the standings for each of the conferences and how the playoffs are shaping up to look like at the halfway point of the season:

Eastern Conference                    Points:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins                   55

2. Boston Bruins                            50

3. Tampa Bay Lightning                47

4. Montréal Canadiens                   47

5. Detroit Red Wings                     43

6. Washington Capitals                  42

7. Toronto Maple Leafs                 40

8. New Jersey Devils                     37

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9. Philadelphia Flyers                     36

10. Carolina Hurricanes                 36

11. New York Rangers                  36

12. Ottawa Senators                       35

13. Columbus Blue Jackets            34

14. Florida Panters                         33

15. New York Islanders                 27

16. Buffalo Sabres                          21

Western Conference:                   Points:

1. Anaheim Ducks                         57

2. Chicago Blackhawks                 56

3. Los Angeles Kings                     54

4. St. Louis Blues                           52 

5. San Jose Sharks                          50

6. Vancouver Canucks                   50

7. Colorado Avalanche                  48

8. Minnesota Wild                          45

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9. Phoenix Coyotes                        44

10. Dallas Stars                              40

11. Winnipeg Jets                           37

12. Nashville Predators                  36

13. Calgary Flames                        32

14. Edmonton Oilers                      25

A few notes: Blackhawks dropped to the two spot, but it took the Ducks an eight game win streak to do that, so no worries there. The bottom of the Eastern Conference is like watching Unified Hockey, tough to watch with some terrible teams. Bruins and Penguins should breeze through the playoffs until they inevitably have to play each other again.

GOALS OF THE WEEK:

There were a lot of good goals this week, and it's hard to see every goal a team scores that might be nasty, so if you see a great goal let me know. These are the ones I saw:

Patrick Kane: 12/17/2013 vs. Nashville

Just a filthy give and go between Kaner and Patty Sharp. Totally biased but still a sick backhanded wrister from point blank range, not a lot of guys in the league can do that. 

Claude Giroux: 12/19/2013 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

This goal was ridiculous. Giroux wasn't even looking at the net and somehow backhand wrists it into the top shelf. This also was the game of the week. Philly was down 4-0 before scoring five goals in the third period to win 5-4. Check out that recap if you have the time.

Damien Brunner: 12/18/2013 vs. Ottawa Senators

You know when some kid dunks in high school and everyone goes "OHHHHH!" Well that was my reaction here. Brunner bodies up Cowen, then delivers a nasty dangle and throws it in backhanded. Filthy.

Linus Klasen: 12/21/2013 vs. Czech Republic

This is just straight up mean. Klasen (plays for Sweden, by the way) just tools on this goalie from the Czech Republic going through the legs then backhands it home. Hat tip to Eric for the video.

SAVE OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE:

I hate the Red Wings, but this save was too good not to put up.

Jonas Gustavsson: 12/21/2013 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

That's unreal. Great stick save that kept the Red Wings up a goal on the Leafs. Definitely tops the list for save of the year right now.

So there ya go puckheads. Hawks play the Devils tonight so look for a recap after I down a few Molson's and watch the Hawks speed break Marty Brodeur's hip.