Momentum can be a powerful thing in sports. While it seems to be most potent within the confines of a single game, a streak in any direction for a player or a team can be an incredibly formidable entity. The Sochi Olympic games came roughly around the time of the regularly scheduled NHL All Star Game. However, instead of a four-day weekend, most of the NHL got an extended spring break of sorts to unwind and get away from the rink for a bit.
In a normal season, the 82-game grind can simply grate a team down with injuries and generally bad "juju". The Olympic hiatus gives some teams a reprieve of sorts to rest the ailing and step away from some potentially negative ruts that teams often find themselves in. The standings tell us that 26 of 30 teams are still viable playoff teams so there are certainly some teams that needed a break to recharge the batteries.
Detroit Red Wings: The Wings have to have mixed feelings about the Olympic break. If Henrik Zetterberg had spent his time in the Motor City lying on a block of ice, with an epidural in his back, in a giant hyperbaric chamber, then he might have made it through a couple more games. Let’s face it, he was playing on borrowed time anyway. The three week break gave players like Johan Franzen, Darren Helm and even Jimmy Howard (never saw the ice for Team USA) time to rest up for a playoff push.
Vancouver Canucks: Coach John Tortorella couldn’t wait for the Olympic break. His Canucks were on a seven-game free fall out of the playoff picture before the NHL recess. Wednesday night's 1-0 blanking of St. Louis hardly announces the arrival of Vancouver as a Stanley Cup contender, but it is a step in the right direction over an elite opponent to build on.
Columbus Blue Jackets: With the disappointment of not being able to play in the Olympics behind him, Marian Gaborik was reactivated by the Blue Jackets to help spark their playoff quest. After two consecutive losses before the hiatus, Columbus sits just two points from the final playoff spot. Welcoming their most polished sniper back to the lineup will be a huge boost to a normally unremarkable offense.
Philadelphia Flyers: Though the Flyers were on a roll headed into the break (four wins in a row), they had to work harder than any team in the NHL to get to their current position. A terrible start and replacing their coach within the first month of the season could have been a death sentence. Instead, new coach Craig Berube and captain Claude Giroux have put the Flyers in position to finish in a top two position in the Metropolitan Division. A three-week break for all of the key players in Philly will make them a dangerous opponent over the final month and a half of the season.
Nashville Predators: It has been a grind for Nashville this season more than years’ past which is really saying something given their “grinding” nature. Missing stud goaltender Pekka Rinne for the entire season would have sunk a lesser team, but the Predators still sit on the cusp of playoff viability. Rinne was given an AHL assignment this week and could return to Nashville next week. His return will provide an enormous boost to the locker room and the overall morale of the team. They aren’t the sexiest team in the league, but with elite goaltending back in the lineup, they will be a tough matchup for everyone and a darkhorse for the final playoff seed in the west.
Los Angeles Kings: Daryl Sutter’s Kings had lost eight of ten games headed into the Olympic break. They arguably are the deepest and most talented team in the Pacific, but had fallen double-digit points behind Anaheim and San Jose in the division. They are still well entrenched in the playoff picture, but with 22 games left to play a significant period of rest could do the trick for the 2012 Stanley cup champs.
Ottawa Senators: The Senators were awful through the first month and a half of the season before rebounding. They are loaded with talent and have not had anything close to the gaggle of injuries that they battled through last season. The key will be if Craig Anderson can perform at the level he is capable of. After a pedestrian start, no player appreciated some reflection time more than Ottawa’s embattled goaltender.