Top Five Stories to Follow This NHL Season

A healthy Sidney Crosby is exactly what the NHL looks to put the lockout behind them. (Gene J. Puskar)

After a long and laborious lockout, the NHL season finally gets under way tomorrow. In this shortened season, there are many stories to follow. I will simply give five of my top ones to watch throughout this season.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby returns to the ice fully healthy. Crosby significantly benefited from the lockout in that he was able to get fully healthy after battling through concussions the last two seasons. Crosby was inspirational in moving the NHL past the 2005 lockout and bringing fans back to the game. This season could be very similar. Crosby could be set for a huge return to stardom. That is something even his haters cannot ignore.

2. The Minnesota Wild spent big money during the offseason, but it remains to be seen if it will be worth it. The Wild have not been to the playoffs since 2008. Their main struggle last season was that they had the NHL's worst offense. During the offseason, the Wild spent a combined $196 million on free agents Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Whether that can translate to success, remains to be seen. The Wild have many unanswered questions so far, including whether or not goaltender Josh Harding can return to top form following his inspiring return from multiple sclerosis.

3. Rick Nash could be the missing piece that the New York Rangers need to win the Stanley Cup. The Rangers have had some great pieces. Brad Richards, Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik lead the way offensively. They also have had a solid core of young players and a solid defense that is anchored by Henrik Lundqvist, one of the greatest goaltenders in the world. Over the past several years, they simply have not been enough. This likely prompted the Rangers to go out and get Rick Nash. Nash is one of the league's best scorers and is going to make a huge impact if he can adjust to life in the spotlight.

4. The Carolina Hurricanes could be this season's surprise playoff team. The Hurricanes were not in the playoff picture last season, but they steadily improved as the season wore on. In fact, they had the Southeast Division's best record over the last 48 games of this past season. In the offseason, the Hurricanes bolstered their roster by acquiring Jordan Staal and signing Alexander Semin. They could be primed to make some noise in a winnable division.

5. This could be the season the Detroit Red Wings finally don't make the playoffs. Last season, the Red Wings fell down to the fifth seed in the playoffs. Then, during the offseason, they had to deal with the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom, one of the best defensemen in NHL history. The affect this will have on the Red Wings, remains to be seen. Some people believe that they could wind up coming up short in their bid for their 22nd straight playoff berth.

Swedish Finish: Red Wings' Captain Retires

It was a half-decade that felt too short.

But after six seasons as team captain, and twenty seasons as a professional, Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom has announced his retirement this morning.

Nicklas Lidstrom with the Stanley Cup in 2008 (Getty Images)

We knew it was coming. The last two or three years have had whispers that "maybe this is the year"; whispers which were never significant, always put out, and forever rejoiced over in Hockeytown. But when the rumors began after the Red Wings were eliminated in the playoff's first round, there was a different feel. There was a sense that Lidstrom might call it a career, placed against hopes that he had one more championship in his future.

Not that we are complaining--he did win four Stanley Cup championships with Detroit.
And a few Norris trophies as NHL's best defensemen to boot.

But this is yet another goodbye to another legend in Detroit. The Wings have had to do this before--but that never makes it easy. Most recently was the man Lidstrom replaced as captain in 2006--Steve Yzerman, wearing his legendary #19, and referred to across hockey simply as "The Captain." Detroit also said goodbye to a legend behind the bench in 2002, as Coach Scotty Bowman, arguably the greatest hockey coach of all-time, bid adieu to Detroit with the words "It's time for me to go."

And so ends another Swedish legend for Detroit. Lidstrom's departure is saddening, yet no one supporting the red and white jersey would ever ask Nick to stay if he knew it was time.

A bitter-Swede ending for Hockeytown's captain.

Night of Shootouts Reminds Us How Important They Are

When the regular season draws to a close, there is usually only a few points difference between playoff positioning and even making or missing them all together. These few points can often be made or lost in one simple thing. Shootouts. Every team plays them multiple times each season. If you win, you get two points. If you lose, you only get one. If you win enough of them, those additional points can start to add up nicely. Amazingly, five of the nine NHL games played tonight ended in a shootout. I will take a look at each one and give a breakdown of its importance.

Minnesota Wild 3 Florida Panthers 2

The Minnesota Wild have slid farther out of the playoff picture, but their steady goalkeeping came through for them again in this game. The Panthers are in the hunt to win the Southeast Division (currently only 1 point behind Winnipeg for the lead). If they win the division, they will likely get the #3 seed in the playoffs. If they don't, they are barely clinging onto the eight and final playoff spot. Ideally, they obviously want to win the division. However, this is yet another disappointing shootout loss. This now puts their shootout record for the season at 3-7. That is the most losses of any team currently in the playoffs. If the Panthers don't fix this soon, it might be the difference between the #3 seed and missing the playoffs all together.

Anaheim Ducks 3 Carolina Hurricanes 2

Both of these teams are considerably far out of their respective playoff pictures, so the importance is rather minimal. The Ducks have played better as of late. They are 7-1-2 in their last ten games. It is interesting to note that the Hurricanes are now 0-5 in shootout games. They are the only winless team in that regard.

Vancouver Canucks 4 Detroit Red Wings 3

This is the granddaddy of them all. The Red Wings came in with their NHL-record 23-game home winning streak. The Canucks came in with the NHL's best road record. As you might have imagined, these are the two teams with the most points in the Western Conference. With time running down in the third period, the Red Wings were clinging to a 3-2 lead. The Canucks pulled goalkeeper Roberto Luongo to get the extra attacker. With 16 seconds remaining in the game, Henrik Sedin found his brother Daniel, who blistered home the tying goal. In the shootout, Luongo shut down all three Red Wings shots. On the third shot for the Canucks, Alexandre Burrows netted the game winner. He reacted by pretending to snap his stick to signify the record steak being snapped. This game was a great one and could be a preview of the Western Conference finals further down the road.

St. Louis Blues 3 Nashville Predators 2

These two teams currently seem destined for a #4 vs. #5 playoff matchup in the Western Conference. With how evenly matched these teams appear to be, it could be very valuable to finish ahead of the other to secure the home ice for the matchup. By winning the game, the Blues increased their lead over the Predators to four points. There is still a lot of hockey to be played, but every point between these two could end up making the difference.

Phoenix Coyotes 4 Calgary Flames 3

The Coyotes are currently the #7 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. They currently hold a five point lead over the hotly contested #8 seed (currently six teams within 4 points of that spot). The Coyotes should do all they can to keep winning to avoid getting involved in that mess. That is just what they accomplished by winning the shootout tonight. The Flames are one of those six teams currently in the hunt for that final playoff spot. Every point matters to those teams right now, so they didn't do themselves any favors by losing this shootout. They are now 3-5 in shootout games, which isn't terrible, but at this point, every point matters in these teams' pursuit of a playoff berth.

Red Wings Motorting Their to the Top of the NHL

The NHL season is quickly approaching the trade deadline of next Monday. It remains to be seen which teams make the big deadline move to propel them into a playoff run. I will take a look at something we do know for now. That is the three best teams in the NHL.

1. Detroit Red Wings - 41-17-2
When you win 23 straight games at home, it kind of helps you to get to the top spot. They did find out some bad news though. Pavel Datsyuk is expected to miss two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove fragments from his right knee. This team should be fine in the meanwhile. This team is built for the playoffs, especially if they get home ice for the entirety of it.

2. New York Rangers - 38-15-5
The Rangers have hit a bit of a rough patch of ice. They have lost two of their last three, with the only win coming over the lowly Blue Jackets in overtime. The big rumors surrounding this team is around their supposed interest in Rick Nash. Could the couple of losses make them pull the trigger on a deal? It remains to be seen. Nash could make a huge difference for this team down the stretch.

3. Vancouver Canucks - 38-16-6
If anyone can beat the Red Wings at home, it might be the red hot Canucks. Entering tonight's game, they hadn't lost in over a month (10-0-3). Tonight, they fell in Nashville 3-1. The streak is still impressive to say the least. The Canucks will get their shot at the Red Wings on Thursday night as they travel to Joe Louis Arena to try and snap the streak. The game could definitely be a preview of the Western Conference final.

Detroit Likes Their Wings Home-Cooked

Detroit Red Wing fans at Joe Louis Arena haven't seen their team lose in over three months. Tonight, the Red Wings defeated the Dallas Stars 3-1. The win was their NHL single-season record 21st straight win at home. Their last home loss came on November 3. The Red Wings' next two games are at home as well. They play Friday against Nashville and Sunday against San Jose. Those games give the Red Wings a shot at breaking another NHL record. The 1929-1930 Boston Bruins won an overall record 22 straight home games over a two season span.

Detroit is more concerned about winning than about the streaks. The Red Wings have a NHL-best 39 wins and 80 points. However, the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers only trail by one point, despite having played three less games. Additionally, the Central Division isn't a cake walk to navigate through. St. Louis, Nashville, and Chicago all are talented teams. Finally, the defending Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks should be coming after the top spot hard the rest of the way.

Well it will be interesting to see if Detroit can break the overall record. It will also be interesting to see how their home dominance affects them come playoff time. The Red Wings are going to need to continue to play well to stay atop the standings. The Red Wings seem to like their home cooking. After all, they haven't lost in three months at home.