NHL teams
Scott Burnside, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

The top stretch-run storylines

NHL, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils

There is one month left of the regular season, and after so much ground traveled there is so much left unknown.

Maybe all seasons are the same and we just think of them differently in hindsight, but we can't recall being this late in the season and left pondering not just which teams are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, but which players deserve consideration as the best at their position. And in this special season, which teams are the absolute worst of the worst.

So, with a month to go, here's a look at 10 storylines that will unfold before our very eyes.

Whither the Los Angeles Kings?

Are the defending Stanley Cup champs -- winners of two of the past three Cups, with a Western Conference finals appearance in between -- going to be shut out of the playoff dance altogether? It's almost unthinkable given that the Kings have made a habit of meandering through the regular season, only to go into hyperdrive the moment the puck drops in the postseason. But the Kings, even after a torrid streak that saw them win eight straight in February, have fallen back into wheel-spinning mode, and that won't cut it with the level of competition in the West. That said, it's still hard to imagine they won't sneak into the top eight when the dust clears and once again be a force come mid-April.

Western Canada's plucky teams

Logic would suggest that injuries to key personnel of the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks would have spelled the end of their playoff dreams. However, Bob Hartley's Flames have thrived in spite of losing captain Mark Giordano and, as of Wednesday, are in third place in the Pacific Division. Calgary is just a point behind the Canucks for second, where Vancouver resides despite losing No. 1 netminder Ryan Miller to injury. The Jets are playing without Dustin Byfuglien and earlier played through crippling injuries along the blue line -- and also dealt with disgruntled winger Evander Kane (since traded to the Buffalo Sabres) -- but they are nonetheless hanging on to a wild-card spot. Whew. The question with a month to play is whether there's room for all three in the postseason? Tough to imagine given the aforementioned Kings lurking about. But not as tough to imagine as where they are right now.

How low can the Leafs go?

Let's stick with Canada for a second. How bad can it get for the Toronto Maple Leafs? If it can go wrong, it likely has for a Maple Leafs team that finds new ways to embarrass itself on an almost daily basis, whether it's spats with the media, potential lawsuits for unflattering tweets, tardy (and subsequently benched) players and, of course, putrid play on the ice. And the best is yet to come for a team that still needs a case or two of dynamite if it's ever going to get back on track. Expect an offseason that sees a search for a new GM and coach, and the trading away of key high-priced players. Oy. The Leafs are the hockey equivalent of a freeway pileup: can't watch, can't turn away. That dynamic isn't likely to change in the next month.

The Year of the Goalie?

We have spent a considerable amount of time wondering whether this is a season when a goaltender will emerge with the Hart Trophy for the first time since Jose Theodore managed the feat with the Montreal Canadiens in 2002. If it happens -- and it looks as though the Hart Trophy wind is blowing that way with a month to play -- it will be another Hab who earns the honor. Carey Price is having a season for the ages for the first-place Canadiens. A word of caution, though. We had earlier this season penciled in Nashville Predators netminder Pekka Rinne as a Hart candidate, but injury and now a significant skid by the Preds have moved him farther down the list for both the Hart and Vezina Trophies. Could the same thing happen to Price, opening the door to Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares or Nicklas Backstrom to win the league's most prestigious individual award? Possibly. But a month out, this is Price's trophy to lose.

Central Division calamity

Last season, the upstart Colorado Avalanche won the Central Division, leaving the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks to wrestle for the second and third spots. Then, the Avs were bounced by the fourth-place Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs, and there's a strong possibility the Wild will again take on the first-place team in the Central, while there's also a good chance the Blues and the Blackhawks will be at it again for second and third. Like Colorado a year ago, the Predators have surprised many by leading the Central for much of the second half. The Preds' struggles have allowed the Blues to creep within hailing distance, though, while the Wild have played so well they are actually closing in on the Blackhawks for third place in the division. How the division settles in the next month will make for great drama, given how important home ice looks to be for the top two teams. The upshot, though, is that after a weird start to the season in which the Wild, Avs and Dallas Stars all played poorly in the face of high expectations, the Central is once again the toughest division in the league, with Winnipeg gamely hanging on to a wild-card spot and the Wild perhaps playing as well as anyone in the league at this juncture.

Visiting Cellar City

This final month of the regular season will be as intriguing for the race to the bottom of the standings as it will be for the myriad playoff permutations unfolding. Sad, but true. That's what happens when you have a generational draft like the one coming up in Florida in June, with Connor McDavid and, to a lesser degree, Jack Eichel as the prizes for the first two selections in the draft. Finish 30th and you're guaranteed at least one of those players. With a month to play, it's really a three-team race with the Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes all with a shot at losing their way to draft glory. All three have their own special odor that accompanies their play, so there's not much to differentiate them, although the Sabres' deft dismantling of their goaltending tandem of Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth before the trade deadline might end up being the final piece to their tanking puzzle. The draft lottery itself, still a work in progress in terms of when, where and how, will be the final moment in a season dominated in many quarters by discussion of tanking and losing in order to get better. For the first time this season, all 14 non-playoff teams will have at least a mathematical chance to gain the No. 1 overall pick. If there are hockey gods, wouldn't it be something to see them give a team such as the New Jersey Devils or Ottawa Senators or Carolina Hurricanes -- teams that actually improved, even as their playoff hopes were diminishing -- the top pick? Now, that would be karma.

Coaching carousel in waiting

The last month of the season is also a time for final evaluations of coaches and managers of teams outside the playoff bubble. For instance, what happens in San Jose if the Sharks -- currently six points out of the second wild-card spot and looking quite cooked -- can't make a push into the top eight? After blowing a three-game lead a year ago in the first round against the Kings, can ownership afford another summer of "even if it's broke, let's not do much to fix it"? What do the Oilers do after another disastrous season in terms of the management team and coaching staff? (Hint: Get a broom.) What transpires in Toronto the moment the season ends? What about New Jersey, where co-coaches Adam Oates and Scott Stevens have helped the Devils regain a measure of respectability with more consistent play since the start of the new year? Has Craig Berube done enough with an injury-plagued Philadelphia Flyers team to get another shot, even though he's not really GM Ron Hextall's guy? Maybe the decisions have already been made. Maybe these final weeks will write a different ending to the script.

The injury after-M.A.S.H.

The final month will also see a bevy of stars of varying brightness return from injury. Their ability to get back to previous levels of play will say much about not just the playoff seedings, but the eventual Cup winners. To wit, how does New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist perform after an injury to a blood vessel in his neck? The Rangers have been great in his absence, but they are legitimate Cup contenders with The King between the pipes. Elsewhere, Kevin Shattenkirk was having a Norris Trophy-worthy season for the Blues, but can he return to form after suffering a serious abdominal injury suffered right after the All-Star break? Like the Rangers, the Blues are a good team made much better by Shattenkirk's return. And will the return of Kyle Okposo, who missed time due to a detached retina, boost the New York Islanders to the top seed in the East? Then there are other players whose return is less certain. Brett Connolly, a trade deadline pick-up for the Boston Bruins, broke his hand before playing a game in Boston but hopes to be back by the playoffs. And what about David Krejci, a top playoff performer for Boston? Without him, the Bruins' chances of a long run are diminished, but with him contributing they could run the table again. What of Byfuglien in Winnipeg, dealing with an upper-body injury after being such a key contributor regardless of where he's playing on the ice? Does he make it back for the start of the playoffs, assuming the team gets its first postseason experience since the team moved from Atlanta? Will he return later, or not at all? Jason Zucker had 18 goals when he went down with a clavicle injury, and his return before the playoffs will only add to a Wild team that is peaking at the right time.

The dream scenarios

Of course, the final month will determine the playoff matchups, and this season there are tantalizing possibilities. Do we get a Rangers-Islanders matchup to kick things off? What about a rematch of the classic 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals playoff series, the first and only meeting between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby in the postseason? A reprise of last year's Bruins-Canadiens drama? A natural and a distinct possibility. In the West, the possibility of Blues-Blackhawks is significant. And if the Kings do sneak in, will they draw an Anaheim Ducks team looking to avenge last season's seven-game series loss in the second round? And, of course, there's the chance of an old Smythe Division battle between the Flames and Canucks. If we have one thought for the hockey gods, it's this: Give us what we want. Please.

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