Preusser’s NHL Rundown: Getting into the heat of the season

Photo Courtesy: Kamil Krzaczynski, USA TODAY Sports

Just when you thought that the NHL was out of headlines, BAM the Blackhawks fire head coach Jeremy Colliton AND Jack Eichel is officially out of Buffalo and moving to Vegas.

After going 1-9-2, the Blackhawks fired head coach Colliton. I’m not surprised. Considering, for some reason, it took years for the team to try to implement and fully respond to his game plan and system, it doesn’t come as a shock to me. I also think that former GM Stan Bowman had personal ties to Colliton and was really the only person in charge that wanted him in and with Bowman gone and I knew that Colliton wasn’t far behind. On paper, this Chicago team should be winning games. I do not know what is going on in that locker room but it’s just disappointing.

On the other hand, in some exciting NHL news, Jack Eichel is out of Buffalo..finally! He was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. He is expected to make his return to the ice three months after he gets his neck surgery. He will have an artificial disk replacement surgery, which Buffalo would not approve of.

This past week, I checked out the Buffalo Washington game on Monday night. Buffalo has surprisingly been doing well so it’ll be interested to see how they match up against a powerful Washington team. The Capitals ended up winning that game 5-3, but it wasn’t an easy feat. Washington made some mistakes that led to the Sabres gaining momentum. Even though the Capitals won, it still shows Buffalo’s strength to stay in games.

 Looking ahead, the Vegas Carolina matchup will be a good one. Both of those teams are strong forces, so it is always fun to see those kinds of teams play each other. Also, can we talk about Detroit being 15th in the league?!?! And…. Tampa Bay is 16th ?!?! This season is baffling. I am excited to see Chicago play Seattle because Seattle is the new kid on the block, and they aren’t doing too well, and Chicago is on a little win streak right now soooo!!! I also have been seeing a lot of injuries and players getting suspending for illegal checks and so on. Maybe I’m over thinking it, but it seems like there’s an increase from the previous seasons.

 Tune into this week’s Hockey Down Here episode to hear more about my thoughts and opinions on this NHL season!!