Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 11/04/22

Welcome to the Daily Faceoff Morning Report brought to you by NHL Odds site Betway!

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

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

Jones perfect as Kraken blank Wild on the road

Martin Jones returned from a one-game absence for personal reasons in the most impressive way possible, stopping 22 of 22 shots for his first shutout of the season, moving to 5-3-1 as the Kraken beat the Wild 4-0. Alex Wennberg led Seattle with two goals (2,3) on three SOG while Morgan Geekie (4) and Jamie Oleksiak (3) added the other Kraken goals. Daniel Sprong picked up two assists in only 11:35 TOI, while on the other side Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in the loss allowing four goals on 23 shots (.826 SV%).

Husso stays hot as Wings top Capitals in a tight affair

Ville Husso continued his impressive start to his Red Wing tenure, stopping 33 of 34 shots (.971 SV%) to move to 4-1-1 as the Red Wings beat the Capitals 3-1 Thursday. Alex Ovechkin started the scoring with his sixth of the campaign before Detroit responded with three straight goals from Lucas Raymond (3), Andrew Copp (1), and Dylan Larkin (6). Larkin added another assist to move to 13 points (6G/7A) in his first 10 games. Darcy Kuemper took the loss to move to 4-4-1, allowing only two goals on 25 shots (.920 SV%).

Connor’s overtime goal pushes the Jets over the Canadiens

Connor Hellebuyck continued his strong start to the season, stopping 20 of 22 shots (.909 SV%) to move to 5-2-1 in a 3-2 overtime win over Montreal on Thursday. Kyle Connor scored nearly two minutes into overtime (2) and added an assist as he had his first multi-point game of the season. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a powerplay goal (4), an assist, and three SOG, while Blake Wheeler (3) added the other Jets tally. Sam Montembeault was the tough luck loser allowing three goals on 36 shots (.917 SV%) as he moved to 2-2-0. Nick Suzuki scored a goal (6) and an assist (7) to bring his team lead in points to 13 (6G/7A) in 11 games played. Cole Caufield added two assists as he also continued his strong start to 2022-23, and is now above a point per game with 12 points (7G/5A) in 11 games.

Isles win fifth Straight as Sorokin stands tall yet again

Ilya Sorokin continued his Vezina-worthy start to the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots (.941 SV%) to move to 5-3-0 as the Islanders beat the Blues 5-2 on the road. Anders Lee had a rarely-seen Gordie Howe hat-trick, filling the stat sheet with a goal (6) an assist and a fight to bring his totals to 12 points (6G/6A) in his first 11 games. Brock Nelson also scored a goal (5) and an assist to bring his team lead in points to 13 points (5G/8A). Noah Dobson picked up two assists from the back end while Josh Bailey (3), Kyle Palmieri (3) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1) had the other New York goals. Jordan Binnington struggled for his fourth straight loss stopping 25 of 29 shots (.862 SV%). Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal (4), an assist, and five SOG as he was the lone Blue with multiple points.

Soderblom wins first career game as Blackhawks down Kings

Arvid Soderblom stood in firmly for an injured Alex Stalock (concussion), winning his first career game with a 32 save (.970 SV%) performance in a 2-1 win over Los Angeles. Jason Dickinson (4) and Jonathan Toews (7) had the two Blackhawk goals, while Blake Lizotte (3) scored the opposing goal for LA. Jonathan Quick took the loss (3-5-0) after allowing two goals on 19 shots (.895 SV%).

Ullmark keeps perfect record intact as Bruins clobber Rangers on the road

Linus Ullmark moved to a remarkable 8-0-0 stopping 18 of 20 shots (.900 SV%) as Boston easily downed the New York Rangers 5-2 at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins spread out their scoring with David Pastrnak (8), Charlie Coyle (5), Trent Frederic (2) Jake DeBrusk (4) and Hampus Lindholm (4) all getting goals in the win. Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno each had a pair of assists. Igor Shesterkin recorded his first regulation loss (6-1-2), allowing four goals on 36 shots (.889 SV%), while Jimmy Vesey (1) and Adam Fox (3) had the goals for the losing side.

Goaltending showdown ends in a shootout as Hurricanes beat Lightning

Frederik Andersen stopped 23 of 26 shots (.885 SV%) to keep his season save percentage below .900 but moved his record to 5-2-0 as Carolina beat Tampa bay 4-3 in a shootout. The Hurricanes’ spread out their scoring as Seth Jarvis (3), Martin Necas (6) and Brady Skjei (2) each contributed goals in the victory. Andrei Vasilevskiy took the tough shootout loss, stopping a whopping 52 of 55 shots (.945 SV%). Ross Colton (3), Nick Paul (3) and Nikita Kucherov (5) scored the goals for Tampa Bay.

Vegas holds off a late surge from Ottawa in a nail biter

Logan Thompson’s strong Calder campaign continued Thursday as he moved to 6-2-0 after stopping 38 of 42 shots as Vegas beat Ottawa 5-4 on the road. Mark Stone was the lone Golden Knight to finish with multiple points as his goal (4) and assist brought him to double-digit points (4G/6A) after 12 games. Riley Smith (3), Zach Whitecloud (1), Chandler Stephenson (5) and William Carrier (3) had the Vegas goals in the victory. Cam Talbot returned to the Senators bench for the first time since the preseason (injury), backing up Anton Forsberg who struggled all night, allowing five goals on 19 shots (.737 SV%) as he moved to 3-6-0. Claude Giroux (4,5) and Tim Stutzle (2,3) did their best to claw Ottawa back into the game, each scoring two goals in the loss, while Brady Tkachuk added to his team lead in points by getting three assists to move his season totals to 15 points (6G/9A) in 10 games played.

Lankinen shuts down Flames as Nashville shocks Calgary

Kevin Lankinen was superb Thursday, stopping 29 of 30 Calgary shots (.967 SV%) as he moved to 2-1-1 with the Predators beating the Flames 4-1 on the road. Filip Forsberg had a goal (4), an assist, and a team-high six SOG as he brought his season totals to 12 points (4G/8A) in 11 games. Matt Duchene joined him as the other Predator player with multiple points, adding a goal (3) and an assist to get to a point per game with 11 points (3G/8A) in 11 games. Mark Jankowski scored in his first game after being called up from the AHL Thursday afternoon, while Roman Josi added the Predators’ fourth marker with his second of the year. Jacob Markstrom was lacklustre in the loss, stopping 28 of 31 shots (.903 SV%), and Blake Coleman had the lone Flame goal with his first of the season.

Devils stay atop Metro with a fifth straight win as they edge the Oilers

Vitek Vanecek replaced Mackenzie Blackwood after he got hurt and won his fourth game in many tries stopping 18 of 19 Edmonton shots as the Devils beat the Oilers 4-3. Miles Wood made a massive impact while only playing 16:06 TOI, adding two goals (3,4) and an assist along with a plus-3 rating and a team-high eight SOG. Jesper Bratt continued his torrid pace, scoring the game-winner in the third to get to 17 points (5G/12A) in his first 11 games. Connor McDavid continued his otherworldly start to 2022-23, adding a goal (12) and an assist to his league-leading 24 points (12G/12A) through 11 games. Leon Draisaitl scored a power-play goal (6) to extend his point to six games, where he has four goals and eight assists during that span. Stuart Skinner brought his record to 2-2-0 after allowing four goals on 39 shots (.907 SV%) in the losing effort.

Stars score a touchdown on Coyotes in easy win

Scott Wedgewood won his second straight start since taking over for the injured Jake Oettinger, stopping 28 of 30 shots as Dallas easily handled Arizona 7-2 . The Stars’ offence was led by Jason Robertson’s two goals (6,7), Jamie Benn’s goal (1) and two assists and Roope Hintz’s two assists. Connor Ingram was pulled after allowing three goals on 10 shots (.700 SV%). Lawson Crouse (5) and Juuso Valimaki had the two Coyote goals.

Bobrovsky battles Reimer to take shootout win for Florida

Sergei Bobrovsky got back in the win column after three straight losses, stopping 36 of 39 shots (.923 SV%) as Florida topped San Jose 4-3 in a tight shootout. Aleksander Barkov (2), Radko Gudas (1) and Carter Verhaeghe (5) had the Panthers’ goals, while Matthew Tkachuk assisted on all three tallies and added 10 SOG to bring his early season totals to 16 points (5G/11A) in 11 games. James Reimer took the tough loss, stopping 41 of 44 shots (.932 SV%) and is now 2-5-1. Erik Karlsson added to his NHL defenseman-leading point totals by adding a goal (10) and two assists to give him 18 points (10G/8A) on the season.

Kuzmenko’s hat-trick helps Canucks put up eight on Ducks

Spencer Martin struggled to stop pucks Thursday, but it did not matter as he allowed five goals on 31 shots (.839 SV%) while still easily winning his second game of the year in an 8-5 victory over Anaheim. Andrei Kuzmenko enjoyed his first superstar moment since joining the NHL, posting his first career hat-trick (4,5,6) while also adding an assist. His massive performance was overshadowed only by Elias Pettersson’s five-point showing (1G/4A) as he has silenced his critics this season, picking up 15 points (5G/10A) in his first 11 games. Bo Horvat added to his team lead in goals as he potted his ninth and 10th goals of the season while also adding an assist. Quinn Hughes also picked up a pair of assists to bring his totals above a point per game, with eight assists in seven games. John Gibson was hung out to dry all night allowing seven goals on 46 shots (.848 SV%) to move to 2-6-1 on the year. Despite the loss, Troy Terry had a goal (5) and two assists to increase his team lead in points to 15 (5G/10) through 11 games, and Trevor Zegras picked up a goal (7) and an assist for his second multi-point effort in the last three games.