Dallas Stars: Five Early Central Division Predictions Based on Two Weeks of Play
By Summer LeBel
MacKinnon Will Lead in Goals, but Seguin Will Have More Shots
Nathan MacKinnon is currently leading the Central in goals with 7. That’s second in the league behind Auston Matthews and his 10 goals.
There are three Chicago players hot on his trail right now, as Alex DeBrincat has 6 and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane each have 5.
As for the Stars, Alexander Radulov, Jamie Benn, and John Klingberg have 4 a piece.
Out of those players, MacKinnon is a safe bet to end the season at the top of the Central. Kane is another good choice, and there are a few players who aren’t even mentioned that could end up there by the end of the season.
For example, Tyler Seguin is only at 3 goals, but he could certainly challenge MacKinnon as well. He ended last season with 40 goals, while MacKinnon had 39.
Speaking of Seguin, he has 38 shots after six games. That’s almost double the second highest on the team, Klingberg’s 21. It’s also leading not only the division, but the league.
The Central actually holds the first three spots on the league leaderboard for shots, as Kane has 33 and Vladimir Tarasenko has 32.
Technically, Kane is shooting at a higher rate per game, since they’ve only had five games and the Stars and Blues have both played six. The Blackhawks have gone to overtime in all five games this season, but Kane still sits at the lowest total ice time out of the three.
Despite Kane still shooting at a higher rate, Seguin still looks like the favorite in this mostly meaningless race, which results in absolutely nothing for the winner. He was second in the league last year behind Alexander Ovechkin, though both Kane and Tarasenko were in the top 10.