Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/10/22
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.
Backstrom hits milestone in 4-3 (OT) loss to Oilers
T.J. Oshie (C, RW) has been remarkably consistent throughout his career and in his 14th NHL season, now at age 35, he is once again going par for the course. Oshie’s point totals have become predictable as his 82-game pace has been between 52 and 67 points in each of 14 seasons. He has missed 13 or more games in four of his last six seasons and has already missed 34 games this season but is about as reliable as a player can be when he is in the lineup.
Oshie had a huge game against the Edmonton Oilers and scored a goal with less than two seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime. He had three points (2G / 1A) in the loss.
GAME TYING HERO pic.twitter.com/kTSIWuT7XS
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 10, 2022Nicklas Backstrom (C) had a two-point night (1G / 1A), which included his 1,000th career point (263G / 737A) in 1036 games. Backstrom has also missed a significant amount of time due to injury this season (33 games) but, unlike Oshie, has the lowest point-per-game pace of his career (0.77) in his 15th NHL season at age 34. Backstrom is also averaging the lowest time on ice in his career (17:48). His production is still terrific, just not quite what we have become accustomed to over the years.
Mikko Koskinen (G) made 29 saves on 32 shots and improved to 8-1-2 with a .918 SV% in his last 12 appearances. Koskinen seems to have found his game and is providing stable goaltending for the Oilers, which will make things very interesting as the trade deadline continues to approach.
mikko koskinen with highway robbery on an alex ovechkin shot in tight. pic.twitter.com/psV8Rg4z4G
— zach laing (@zjlaing) March 10, 2022Connor McDavid (C) had two points in the victory (1G / 1A) and scored the game-winning goal in overtime. McDavid has 81 points (30G / 51A) on the season and now has 30 or more goals in six consecutive seasons. He ranks fourth among all players during that time with 209 goals, only behind Leon Draisaitl (C, LW), Alex Ovechkin (LW), and Auston Matthews (C).
Leave it to @cmcdavid97 to notch the @TwistedTea OT winner. 👀 pic.twitter.com/N8joPjuEIC
— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2022Miller’s four-point night keeps Canucks within reach of playoffs
The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and improved to 6-1-0 in their last seven games, keeping pace with the tight playoff race in the Western Conference. They sit three points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wildcard spot.
J.T Miller (C, LW) continued his fabulous season and had a monster four-point night (1G / 3A), bringing his total to 67 points (23G / 44A) on the season. He is currently on a 10-game point streak with 21 points (7G / 14A). Miller is a player sparking a lot of intrigue with the trade deadline approaching and is on Frank Seravalli’s latest list of trade targets.
J.T. Miller goes 🔝🧀.
📺: @NHL_On_TNT ➡️ https://t.co/LaJpv7c3yx #NHLonTNT pic.twitter.com/1pWfY8Nq2f
Artturi Lehkonen (LW – 2G / 1A) and Rem Pitlick (LW, RW – 1G / 2A) both had three-point nights in the loss for the Canadiens. Lehkonen has eight points (6G / 2A) during a season-best five-game point streak.