Quietly two NHL teams have started piling up points and now sit at, or very close to, the top of the standings. Much of this can be attributed to their recent winning streaks, both of which are now in double-digit territory.
The first team, and quite honestly the biggest surprise so far this season, is the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a victory over the Boston Bruins last night, the Jackets win streak now stands at 13 games. While some of the wins were against teams near the bottom of the standings in Arizona and Detroit, quality wins over teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens have us believing that the Jackets are the real deal this season.
With a win last night over the Nashville Predators, the Minnesota Wild have now extended their win streak to 11 games.They have bounced up to 2nd place in the Central division, all while playing 3 fewer games than the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild took a huge risk last offseason by buying out Thomas Vanek’s contract and signing an aging Eric Staal. However, Staal is currently putting up points left and right, leading the team, and seems to have found new life as a member of the Wild organization.
While both win streaks are impressive, to say the least, we know that at least one of them will definitely come to an end this week. On Saturday, the Blue Jackets and Wild will battle in Minnesota in what should be an excellent game to watch.
