Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/16/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/16/22

The Daily Faceoff Morning Report will be released on weekdays, recapping the key news and events from the day before.

We will highlight injuries that will affect today’s games, hot streaks, cold streaks, and anything relevant for everyone from the casual hockey fan to the Fantasy Hockey grinder.

Kallgren has shutout for Leafs in first career start

Erik Kallgren (G) was the story for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night as he made 35 saves and put Toronto’s goaltending troubles to rest, at least for one night. The last time the Maple Leafs recorded a shutout was on January 1st when Jack Campbell (G) made 23 saves in a 6-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. Between then and before Kallgren took to the crease on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs had allowed the third-most goals in the league (105). The Maple Leafs had allowed four or more goals in each of their last six games (2-3-1). With the victory, Kallgreen will surely get the chance to see some more action between the pipes.

Tuesday’s game also marked the first time that brothers Nick Robertson (LW) and Jason Robertson (LW) faced each other in an NHL game. Both brothers were held pointless with Nick having two shots on goal for the Maple Leafs and Jason having three shots on goal and three hits for the Stars.

The Dallas Stars hold one of the most bizarre stat lines and after being shut out tonight, prove that it may be more than just an anomaly. The Stars rank second-worst in average road goals scored (2.31) yet somehow rank ninth-best at home (3.45). They are the only team in the league to rank bottom 10 on the road and top 10 at home.

Ovechkin moves to third all time

Alex Ovechkin (LW) scored his 767th career goal and moved to third on the all-time goal-scoring list, passing Jaromir Jagr. There was a special moment on the ice as Ovechkin’s teammates cleared the bench to celebrate with him.

Ovechkin now has 37 goals on the season and has nine points (5G / 4A) in his last seven games. Jagr got in on the congratulations and had some fun while congratulating Ovechkin for his achievement.

Predators move to third in Central

The Nashville Predators won for the fifth time in their last six games (5-1-0) and moved into third place in the Central Division, ahead of the Minnesota Wild. Roman Josi (D) had two assists in the victory and now has 15 points (3G / 12A) during a seven-game point streak. Juuse Saros (G) saved 35 of 36 shots and has now allowed one goal or less for the 12th time in 50 starts this season.

Coyotes continue to score goals

A day removed from his first career hat-trick, Lawson Crouse (LW) had two points (1G / 1A) as the Arizona Coyotes topped the Montreal Canadiens 6-3. Clayton Keller (LW, RW) also had two points (1G / 1A) to give him 14 points (5G / 9A) during a seven-game point streak. Nick Schmaltz (C, RW) scored a goal to extend his point streak to seven games as well (7G / 11A / 17PTS). The Coyotes have scored 35 goals in their last six games (5-1-0). To put this in perspective, they had only scored 35 goals total in their previous 14 games combined (5-9-0). In fact, before their current six-game run, in which they have scored five or more goals in five games, they had only scored five or more goals five times in their first 54 games of the season.

Golden Knights continue to fall in 7-3 loss to Jets

Kyle Connor (LW) led the way for the Winnipeg Jets with three points (1G / 2A) and tied his career-high of 38 goals in only 61 games this season. Connor has scored in five consecutive games (5G / 5A / 10PTS). Blake Wheeler (C, RW – 1G / 1A) and Mark Scheifele (C – 1G / 1A) both had two points in the victory. Wheeler has 24 points (7G / 17A) in his last 17 games while Scheifele has 24 points (13G / 11A) in his last 19 games.

Jack Eichel (C) was held pointless for the sixth time in 14 games since he made his debut for the Vegas Golden Knights but the team has fallen to 4-9-1 in those games. The Golden Knights have dealt with a myriad of injuries during that stretch so it’s unfair to shed the blame on Eichel as he has a respectable nine points (5G / 4A). Vegas was in first place in the Pacific Division at the beginning of February but are falling rapidly and currently find themselves in the second Wild Card position, only one point ahead of the Dallas Stars who have played four fewer games.

Kuemper records consecutive shutouts as Avs top Kings 3-0

Darcy Kuemper (G) made 23 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and second in his last two games. Kuemper has now saved 104 of 105 shots he has faced in his last three contests (2-1-0). After alternating starts with Pavel Francouz (G) for much of the three weeks prior, Kuemper has now started in four consecutive games (2-2-0).

In Gabriel Landeskog (C, LW)’s absence, Valeri Nichushkin (LW, RW) has been moved up to the top line and top powerplay unit for the Colorado Avalanche. Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal and added an assist, both powerplay points. In 43 games this season, Nichushkin has 33 points (15G / 18A) and is just one point shy of the career-high 34 points he set in 2013-14 as a rookie with the Dallas Stars in 79 games.

Oilers win rollercoaster vs. Red Wings

Mikko Koskinen allowed five goals on 35 shots but his teammates came through for him as the Edmonton Oilers scored a goal late in the third period to break a 5-5 tie and eventually win 7-5. Koskinen allowed more than three goals for the second time in 14 games (10-1-2), a stark difference from the seven games prior (0-6-1) in which he allowed four or more goals five times. The Oilers now sit third in the Pacific Division and are only two points behind the second-place Los Angeles Kings with two games in hand.

Dating back to February 14th, the Detroit Red Wings are 2-8-1 and are allowing a whopping 5.45 goals per game, undisputedly the most during that time. The next closest to them is the Minnesota Wild with 4.53.

Evander Kane (LW, RW – 2G / 0A), Connor McDavid (C – 1G / 1A), Kailer Yamamoto (RW – 1G / 1A), and Leon Draisaitl (C, LW – 0G / 2A) all had two-point games in the victory for the Oilers. Kane now has 17 points (10G / 8A), is averaging 3.3 shots, and 2.9 hits per game in the 21 games since he has joined the Oilers.

Streaks and more from Tuesday night:

  • Joe Thornton (C) returned to the lineup for the Florida Panthers and played in San Jose for the first time since parting ways with the Sharks in 2020.
  • Adam Fox (D) had three points (1G / 2A) for the New York Rangers and has points in all but one of his last eight games (2G / 10A / 12PTS).
  • Anders Lee (LW) scored in the loss for the New Islanders and extended his point streak to five games (8G / 1A / 9PTS). Noah Dobson (D) had two assists and has 16 points (4G / 12A) in his last 16 games since February 12th, third-most among all defensemen in that span.
  • Sidney Crosby (C) recorded an assist for the Pittsburgh Penguins and extended his season-best point streak to 10 games (6G / 7A / 13PTS).
  • Cole Caufield (LW, RW) scored two goals in the loss for the Montreal Canadiens to give him 19 points (10G / 9A) in his last 15 games. Jeff Petry (D) also had two assists to give him 10 points (3G / 7A) in his last 13 games after having had only six points (1G / 5A) in his first 40 games.
  • Linus Ullmark (G) recorded only his second win in his last six starts (2-3-1) and allowed less than two goals in a game for the first time since January 28th. Ullmark saved 19 of 20 shots in a 2-1 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Marc-Andre Fleury (G) made a season-high 46 saves on 48 shots but was beaten in overtime by the Boston Bruins.
  • Brandon Hagel (LW, RW) scored the lone goal for the Chicago Blackhawks and extended his point streak to five games (4G / 3A / 7PTS).
  • J.T Miller (C, LW) had another monster night and recorded three assists to give him 73 points (24G / 49A) in 59 games on the season and eclipsed his previous career-high of 72 points in 69 games in the 2019-20 season. Miller is on a 13 game point streak (8G / 19A / 27PTS). Bo Horvat (C) also had three points (2G / 1A) and now has 20 points (11G / 9A) in his last 20 games after having recorded 20 points in his 36 games prior.
  • Frank Vatrano (LW, RW) scored two goals for the Florida Panthers, including the overtime winner. It was the first time he had found the back of the net in 18 games.

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

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