The Biggest Storylines to Watch in Week 6 of the 2014-15 NHL Season

As the 2014-15 National Hockey League season heads into its sixth week, at least as many interesting storylines are being generated off the ice as from the games.

Jakub Voracek leads the NHL scoring race after Sunday night's games, but he can't change his team's fortunes alone. Voracek's Philadelphia Flyers had a rough week—going 0-2-0 and dropping to 25th in the NHL standings.

There's plenty of history in the air these days: A health scare for legend Gordie Howe is proving to be cause for concern at the same time as the latest group of Hockey Hall of Fame inductees is being honoured. Looking forward, has the NHL reached a decision on one of its next expansion locations?

Read on for a look at the storylines to watch this week.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.

2014 Hall of Fame Class Has Strong International Flavour

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The hockey week kicks off with the annual Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony from Toronto on Monday night.

The players in the Class of 2014 represent a strong international flavour and a broad cross section of skill sets: Canadian defenseman Rob Blake, Swedish sniper Peter Forsberg, Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek and American leader Mike Modano. Referee Bill McCreary will also be honored, as well as a posthumous nod for coach Pat Burns.

The Hall of Fame inductions give fans a chance to reflect on the greatest players of eras gone by and to predict which players could be the next to be honored. 

Hot Habs Tops in East

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

With a definitive 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens won their sixth straight game and opened up a three-point lead over the rest of the pack for the top spot in the NHL.

Montreal's success is coming from a balanced approach. The team is scoring goals and playing good defense, as well as being solid both at home and on the road. 

One place where the Habs can still improve is on special teams. Their penalty kill is clicking effectively at an 84.6 percent success rate, but the power play ranks 27th in the league—scoring on just 13 percent of its chances.

Montreal starts the week at home but will be tested when they host two of the league's hottest teams. The Metropolitan Division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins roll into town on Tuesday, while the Central Division-leading St. Louis Blues will visit on Thursday.

Will the Mumps Outbreak Continue?

Robert Binder/Getty Images

The Anaheim Ducks caused a stir on November 12 when they announced, according to NHL.com, that the illnesses keeping Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin out of the team's lineup were cases of the mumps.

They're not the first players to receive the diagnosis this year, either. Jesse Tahirali of CTV News in Winnipeg, Manitoba, mentions that players from both the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues were also diagnosed earlier in the season.

Perry was leading the NHL with 11 goals when he fell ill and missed five games. He was pointless and a minus-two in his return to action on November 16, when the Ducks fell 6-2 to the Florida Panthers.

According to Dr. Neil Rau in Tahirali's story, mumps is spread through mucus and saliva. The question now is whether teams will be able to take the necessary precautions to prevent the disease from spreading further in subsequent weeks.

Schneider's Streak Continues

Andy Marlin/Getty Images

The New Jersey Devils weren't kidding around when they signed Cory Schneider to a seven-year deal in July to become their new No. 1 goaltender, according to The Associated Press (via CBC).

New Jersey has played 18 games this season, amassing an 8-8-2 record. Schneider has appeared in all 18 and leads all goaltenders with 1,019 minutes played, according to NHL.com. He has been on the ice for at least two periods of every Devils game so far.

The Devils have already played in four back-to-back situations this year, when the team is 2-2-0. But already, Schneider's numbers have dipped below his career average, to a 2.71 goals-against and a .910 save percentage.

The Devils know that Schneider can't start all 82 games, but the team is lacking a reliable backup netminder. The charmingly named Keith Kinkaid currently boasts a grand total of three career NHL appearances after spending the last couple of years in the AHL with Albany.

If Schneider gets tired or injured and the Devils are in need of an extra goaltender, I'm sure Martin Brodeur would be happy to step in and help out.

Expansion Talk Heats Up: Vegas a Real Possiblity

Andy Marlin/Getty Images

Last week, National Hockey League deputy commissioner Bill Daly admitted for the first time that the league is looking to expand into the west—and that gambling stronghold Las Vegas could be a real possibility for a new team.

Speaking with Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Daly finally stated the obvious: With 16 teams currently in the Eastern Conference compared to 14 in the West, if expansion were to ever take place, "it would have to take place in the West before it would take place in the East because you can’t get further misaligned."

With a new NHL-friendly arena scheduled to open in 2016, Daly is thinking through the logistics of how to place a franchise in the demographically unique marketplace of Sin City.

"

It’s a nighttime city, so it would have to be uniquely scheduled in terms of focusing maybe on industry nights as opposed to your typical Thursday-Saturday nights where everybody would be working. Clearly we think for a Las Vegas market to support a professional sports franchise, you need the support of locals.

"

It could take awhile before we see the NHL act definitely on expansion, but Daly's comments make it crystal clear that the day will come—likely sooner rather than later.

Get Well, Gordie!

USA TODAY Sports

For all the talk of how a career in professional sports can wreak havoc on a player's life after retirement, many of the legends of hockey are living to ripe old ages. I attribute their longevity to their deep-down toughness.

Canadian hockey lore took a blow on October 26 when 86-year-old legend Gordie Howe suffered a major stroke, according to NHL.com. His initial recovery was impressive, but his son Mark reported on November 16 that his father had taken a turn for the worse after a subsequent, smaller stroke and some serious back pain.

"The last 10 days have been difficult. His health is trending in the opposite direction," Mark Howe told Ansar Khan of MLive.com on Sunday. "Right now it's a lot for Dad to handle."

Mark said there is "still fight" in his father. The hockey world continues to send its best wishes to one of the greatest and most enduring players ever to lace up skates.