5 NHL Questions: League powers meet in St. Louis, Erik Cole with money on the board
A daily NHL feature that asks five questions about the days games. Will they be answered? (That doesn’t count as one of the questions.)
After being traded to the Stars midseason by the Habs last year, there was some obvious bitterness lingering between Cole and Montreal. For a long while in Dallas he struggled to produce at all, but Cole is heating up with 5 goals and 3 assists in his last 6 games. With the Habs struggling mightily from every perspective you can dream up, now would be an opportune time for the spurned power forward to stick it to them.
One of the most intense playoff series last season featured these two teams, with the Kings beating the Blues in a hard-fought 6 games. But now the Kings are struggling a little bit, and the Blues are among the hottest teams in the NHL. In this clash of the titans, who wins out?
Can Taylor Hall remain hot against the Sharks?
Hall has been tearing the league apart of late after a bit of a slow start to the season (for him), as he makes a case to be named to Team Canada for the upcoming Winter Olympics. But against a very strong team in San Jose, can he keep it going?
Which Canadian winning streak ends tonight?
Both the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets carry winning streaks into tonight's matchup, Ottawa with 2 and Winnipeg with 3, but we know that one has to lose. Ottawa has the better underlying number of late, but they've continued to struggle all season to find the consistency in the defensive zone that they had last year. Winnipeg on the other hand, will have to somehow overcome the consistent Achilles heel that is Ondrej Pavelec.
How will Nathan Horton's return impact the Columbus Blue Jackets?
It's been a long time coming, Nathan Horton has finally recovered from offseason shoulder surgery that has kept him out for the entire season thus far. Horton was an impact player for the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers previously, and it's no secret that the Jackets could use a veteran presence who can score.
