Big NHL storylines to monitor going into second half of season

Looking at six storylines that are worth paying attention to in the second half of the season.

The 2025-26 NHL season is nearing its halfway point, and there a few teams and storylines that have my attention.

1. Are the Buffalo Sabres …. for real?

Well this certainly escalated quickly. After firing general manager Kevyn Adams the Sabres have looked unbeatable, going on an eight-game winning streak that has taken them from the NHL’s basement back into serious playoff contention. By points percentage, they are tied for what would be the second wild-card spot and final playoff spot.

Keep in mind: This is a team that has missed the playoffs 14 years in a row. It is a team that has consistently failed no matter the coach, general manager or roster in every season that Terry Pegula has owned the team.

So did they just need a vibe change and a wake-up call? Or is this just some sort of random hot streak that is not really sustainable?

An eight-game winning streak is tough to ignore. That is a big chunk of the season, a lot of points stacked up and it can change a season for the better. In the salary cap era teams that have had winning streaks of eight games or more have made the playoffs over 90 percent of the time. That is all working in their favor. It is also a testament to how bad they were at the start of the season that an eight-game winning streak has only brought them into a position where they are tied for the final playoff spot.

That is where some of the concern starts to creep in.

They are not going to keep winning every game. At some point they are going to lose again, and perhaps more regularly. A lot of this winning streak is primarily goaltending driven.

Since the start of the streak on Dec. 9, the Sabres are 10th in the NHL in goals per game, 13th on the power play, 13th in shots on goal allowed per game and 25th in shots on goal per game. Pretty average to slightly above average across the board. From an underlying numbers standpoint during 5-on-5 play, things get downright ugly. They are 32nd in expected goals per 60 minutes, 20th in expected goals against per 60 minutes and are 32nd in expected goals share. This is all during the winning streak! This is them playing at their supposed best!

The one area they are excelling in his goaltending. And I just do not know if I trust their collection of goalies to keep carrying the team like this.

They have my attention. I am intrigued by the way they played back into this. I am not ready to fully buy them just yet. Which might seem like an unfair thing to say about a team that has won eight games in a row, but at some point that goaltending dam is going to break. I do not know if they have enough else going on to make up for that if/when it happens. They are intriguing for right now.

2. Moritz Seider: MVP watch

Longtime Red Wings writer Prashanth Iyer has been pushing this argument for most of the season, and honestly, it is a good argument to be pushing.