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Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/17/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Mar 17, 2022, 01:22 EDTUpdated: Mar 17, 2022, 08:44 EDT
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/17/22

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.

Let the trades begin

With the trade deadline right around the corner on March 21st, there were a couple of significant moves around the NHL on Tuesday.

The New York Rangers acquired Frank Vatrano (LW, RW) from the Florida Panthers.

The Calgary Flames acquired Calle Jarnkrok (LW, RW) from the Seattle Kraken.

The Florida Panthers acquired Ben Chiarot (D) from the Montreal Canadiens.

Take a look where these players, and others, rank on Frank Seravalli’s latest list of trade targets.

Blue Jackets win third straight; Werenski producing at elite rate

The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up their third straight win in a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Blue Jackets are nine points out of the second Wild Card position. Zach Werenski (D) collected two assists in the game and now has 17 points (4G / 13A) in his last 17 games. Roman Josi (D), Cale Makar (D), and Adam Fox (D) are the only defensemen that have recorded more points in their last 17 games.

Anton Forsberg made 35 of 38 saves in the loss and, despite coming off his worst performance of the season (6.00 GAA), has the fifth-highest save percentage (.927 SV%) among goalies that have played at least 10 games since February 8th (6-4-1).

Thomas Chabot (D) had a beautiful assist on the lone goal for the Senators by Tyler Ennis. Chabot left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return.

Wild, Talbot trying to turn a corner

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 to win for only the fifth time in their last 15 games (5-9-1). This was only the second time the Wild have allowed fewer than three goals in that stretch. Cam Talbot (G) made 24 of 26 saves and has now won four consecutive starts after having dropped four in a row (0-4-0).

Kiril Kaprizov (LW, RW) scored two goals for the Wild and has only been held pointless once in his last 10 games (9G / 4A / 13PTS).

Ryan Hartman (C, RW) had two points in the game (1G / 1A) and seems to have re-found his early-season touch as he has eight points (5G / 3A) in his last eight games. Jared Spurgeon (D) had two assists and has seven points (0G / 7A) in his last seven games.

Jeremy Swayman (G) made 30 of 33 in the loss for the Bruins and allowed three or more goals for the third time in his last four starts (3-1-0) after having allowed three goals only once in his previous eight (6-1-1). Swayman’s loss on Wednesday was his first in his last nine games (8-1-0). Craig Smith scored the opening goal for the Bruins and continued his trend of scoring in bunches. He has eight of his 14 goals on the season in his last seven games (8G / 1A / 9PTS).

Lightning beat Kraken 4-1; Stamkos shines in 900th game

In what might end up being the most bizarre moment leading up to the trade deadline, the Seattle Kraken honoured captain Mark Giordano (D) for playing 1000 games before puck-drop and then proceeded to be a healthy scratch in anticipation of being a high-commodity player at the deadline. Nevertheless, it was a touching tribute and potential send-off for the only captain the expansion-Kraken have ever known.

Playing in his 900th career game, Steven Stamkos (C, RW) recorded three assists and snapped a three-game pointless skid, his longest of the season. Nikita Kucherov (RW) also snapped a three-game pointless skid by scoring two points (1G / 1A). Victor Hedman (D) scored two goals and now has six goals in his last six games.

Markstrom sets career-high in wins; Flames top Devils 6-3

Matthew Tkachuk (LW, RW) led the way with three points (1G / 2A) and 12 other players on the Calgary Flames recorded at least a point in the victory. Jacob Markstrom (G) made 30 saves on 33 shots and recorded his 29th win of the season, a new career-high. He had recorded 28 wins twice before. With the win, the Flames increased their lead atop the Pacific Division and are seven points ahead of the second-place Los Angeles Kings with two games in hand.

Nico Daws (G) got the start again for the New Jersey Devils after being pulled the night before but fared no better on Wednesday as he allowed four goals on 19 shots and was pulled again. Before these last two games, Daws had won three of his last four starts (3-1-0) and posted a .928 SV%. The line of Jesper Bratt (LW, RW), Jack Hughes (C, LW), and Yegor Sharangovich (C, LW, RW) was reunited and connected for a pretty tic-tac-toe goal in the third period.

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

  • Patrice Bergeron (BOS) did not play Wednesday and will miss at least one more game with an arm infection.
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