Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA

Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/09/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Mar 9, 2022, 08:32 ESTUpdated: Mar 9, 2022, 13:32 EST
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/09/22

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.

Wild win; Rangers struggle without Shesterkin

The Minnesota Wild defeated the New York Rangers 5-2 and got a much-needed two points in only their third win in their past 11 games (3-8-0). Marcus Foligno (LW, RW) had three points (1G / 2A) and improved his totals on an already career-best season (19G / 12A / 31PTS). Cam Talbot (G) made 23 of 25 saves and allowed fewer than four goals for the first time in six starts (2-4-0).

The Rangers continue to struggle when Igor Shesterkin (G) is not in the net. Alexandar Georgiev (G) allowed five goals on 28 shots and fell to 7-9-2 on the season. It was the ninth time Georgiev has allowed four or more goals this season. Meanwhile, Shesterkin is 28-6-3 and has allowed four or more goals only three times. The juxtaposition between the two Rangers goalies should be reason enough to catapult Shesterkin into a leading candidate for the Hart trophy.

Weird things happening for Coyotes, Red Wings

The Arizona Coyotes have scored 17 goals in their last two games. Nick Schmaltz (C, RW) has 11 points (4G / 7A) in those two games, and the Detroit Red Wings have allowed nine or more goals in two of their last five games. None of those items is a typo.

Jakob Chychrun (D, 2G / 1A), Nick Ritchie (LW, 2G / 1A), and Clayton Keller (LW, RW, 1G / 2A) all had three points for the Coyotes. Even with the offensive outburst over the last two games, the Coyotes still rank second-lowest in average goals scored per game at 2.50.

Phil Kessel (RW) started the weird night by taking one shift to extend his ironman streak to 956 games and then left immediately afterward to return to Arizona for the birth of his child.

Lost in all of the chaos, Jakub Vrana (LW) made his season debut for the Red Wings after having off-season shoulder surgery and scored a goal in 15:44 time on ice.

Predators get a massive regulation win over Stars

Ryan Johansen (C) scored for the Nashville Predators with just under seven minutes remaining to tie the game 1-1 and Roman Josi (D) scored another with 82 seconds left to win the game 2-1 over the Dallas Stars. Getting two points over the Stars in regulation could prove crucial when determining the standings at the end of the season as the Predators jumped one point ahead of the Stars into the top wildcard position in the Western Conference playoff race.

The game was filled with tight checking and lots of saves, but none bigger than this save Esa Lindell (D) made in the first period.

Maple Leafs defeat Kraken 6-4

The Toronto Maple Leafs are amazingly 14-8-2 while allowing the fourth-most goals in the league since the 8th of January (89 goals). They have been scoring at will and the top line of Auston Matthews (C), Mitch Marner (RW), and Michael Bunting (LW) has been front and center. Auston Matthews completed a hat-trick with an empty-net goal and increased his lead in the goal-scoring race with 43 goals this season. He now has 34 points (18G / 16A) in his last 19 games.

Marner scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to improve to 36 points (14G / 22A) in his last 19 games. Bunting had two helpers, bringing him to 23 points (11G / 12A) in his last 18 games, and leads all rookies in the NHL this season with 47 points (20G / 27A).

Philipp Grubauer (G) allowed five goals on 21 shots in the loss for the Seattle Kraken, the 31st time in 43 games that he has allowed three goals or more. Last season with the Colorado Avalanche, Grubauer allowed three goals or more only 12 times in 40 games.

Flyers win consecutive games; fifth win in 26

The Philadelphia Flyers improved to 5-16-5 in their last 26 games with a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, who are 4-6-1 in their last 11. Scott Laughton (C, LW) had two assists for the Flyers and has 13 points (5G / 8A) in his last 14 games. He now has 28 points on the season (11G / 17A) and is only four points shy of the career-high 32 he set in the 2018-19 season. Carter Hart (G) made a career-high 47 saves and, despite the Flyers’ awful season, ranks 13th in the league among all goalies that have played 30 games or more with a .913 SV% .

Kane has six points in Blackhawks victory

Patrick Kane (RW) led the way with a career-best six points (1G / 5A) as the Chicago Blackhawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back on their way to defeating the Anaheim Ducks 8-3. Kane started the season with very pedestrian numbers by his standards with 25 points (7G / 18A) in his first 27 games but has looked like the Kane of old in his last 27 games with 39 points (12G / 27A). Dylan Strome (C, RW, 3G / 1A) and Alex DeBrincat (LW, RW, 1G / 3A) both had four points and continued hot spells for themselves as well. Strome has nine points (6G / 3A) during a current four-game point streak and DeBrincat has 17 points (7G / 10A) in his last 12 games.

John Gibson (G) allowed four or more goals for the seventh time in his last eight games (2-6-0) as the Ducks are now three points out of the final Wild Card spot.

Panthers win 4-3 over Penguins

Carter Verhaeghe (C/LW) scored the game-winning goal and added an assist to give him four points (2G / 2A) over a three-game points streak. Sidney Crosby (C) had two points in the loss (1G / 1A) and has points in all but one of his last 15 games (8G / 14A / 22PTS). Tristan Jarry (G) has allowed four goals or more in six of his last 10 games (4-5-1) after having allowed four or more only six times in his first 35 games (23-7-5).

Makar scores again as Avs fall to Devils

The Colorado Avalanche have now lost three times in their last four games (1-2-1) after having lost only four times in their previous 27 (23-2-2). Cale Makar (D) had an assist and scored his 21st goal of the season. Makar becomes the first defenseman to score more than 20 goals since Brent Burns (D) scored 29 in the 2016-17 season. Nathan MacKinnon (C) had three points (1G / 2A) for the second consecutive game and is currently on a 12 game point streak (10G / 7A / 17PTS).

Jesper Bratt (LW, RW) had three assists and is on a torrid pace in his last 23 games with 30 points (11G / 19A). Damon Severson (D) scored a powerplay goal and has continued to produce and keep top power-play deployment since the return of Dougie Hamilton, with five points (2G / 3A) in those seven games.

Norris, Stutzle hand Blues fourth straight loss

Josh Norris (C, 1G / 2A) and Tim Stutzle (C, LW, 1G / 2A) had three-point nights as the Ottawa Senators defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Stutzle is on a three-game point streak (1G / 5A / 6PTS). Anton Forsberg (G) continues to give the Ottawa Senators excellent goaltending almost every night. He made 22 of 23 saves on Tuesday and has a .943 SV% across eight consecutive quality starts (5-2-1).

Four-point night for Scheifele leads Jets over Lightning

Mark Scheifele (C, 1G / 4A) helped the Winnipeg Jets secure a 7-4 win, only their third in their last nine games (3-4-2), and move to seven points back of the final Wild Card spot. The Jets have allowed three or more goals in each of those nine games. Scheifele has points in only four of his last 11 games but has managed 13 points (7G / 6A) in that span.

Capitals have big third period to beat Flames

Anthony Mantha (LW, RW) scored the first of three goals in the third period for the Washington Capitals as they came from behind to defeat the Calgary Flames 5-4. The goal was Mantha’s first in his three games since returning from shoulder surgery in November. The Flames lost for only the third time in their past 17 contests (14-2-1). Elias Lindholm (C, RW) had two goals in the loss and has been held pointless only once in his last 17 games (15G / 12A / 27PTS).

Alex Ovechkin (LW) scored two goals and tied Jaromir Jagr with 766 goals, the third-most all-time in the NHL. Ovechkin is currently on a four-game point streak (4G / 3A / 7PTS).

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

  • Anton Lundell (FLA) did not play on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury.
MORE FACEOFF.IN YOUR INBOX.
CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER
Keep scrolling for more content!