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Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/18/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Mar 18, 2022, 02:05 EDTUpdated: Mar 18, 2022, 10:54 EDT
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/18/22

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.

Flyers win late in Giroux’s 1000th career game

Joel Farabee (LW, RW) scored the game-winning goal for the Philadelphia Flyers with under 80 seconds remaining, winning 6-5 and taking two valuable points away from the Nashville Predators. Roman Josi (D) had three assists in the loss to give him 19 points (3G / 16A) in his last eight games, more than any player in the league during that span. Josi has 72 points (17G / 55A) for the Predators and now holds the franchise record for most assists in a season.

Claude Giroux (C, LW) was held pointless but was given a beautiful tribute before the game and then saluted the crowd at the end of the night in what many believe could be the final game for Giroux in a Flyers jersey.

Klingberg helps snap Stars’ three-game losing skid

Jake Allen (G) made his return from injury for the Montreal Canadiens and played his first game since January 12th, making 31 saves on 35 shots in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. Cole Caufield (LW, RW – 1G / 1A) and Nick Suzuki (C, RW – 1G / 1A) both had two points in the loss for the Montreal Canadiens. In both of their last seven games, Suzuki has 11 points (6G / 5A) and Caufield has 10 (5G / 5A).

John Klingberg (D) had three points (2G / 1A), tied the game at 3-3 with under five minutes remaining in regulation and then won the game in overtime with only 10 seconds left. Klingberg has eight points (3G / 5A) in his last five games and three goals in his last four after having only one goal in his first 48 games of the season. The Dallas Stars improved to a league-best 12-3 in games that have gone past regulation and are currently sitting in the second Wild Card spot by points percentage. Last season the Stars were terrible beyond 60 minutes, going 6-14 and eventually missing the playoffs by four points.

Lee and Palmieri stay hot for Islanders; beat Rangers 2-1

Chris Kreider (LW, RW) scored his league-leading 21st powerplay goal in the loss for the New York Rangers and became the second player to reach 40 goals this season. In only 61 games this season, Kreider already has a career-high in goals and points (40G / 15A / 55PTS). In addition to seeing more ice-time than he has in any previous season, Kreider is also shooting more than ever and has 198 shots, only three less than his career-high of 201 in the 2018-19 season in 79 games.

Anders Lee (LW) and Kyle Palmieri (LW, RW) scored the lone goals for the New York Islanders and continued their point-per-game paces of late. Lee extended his point streak to a season-high six games (9G / 1A / 10PTS). Palmieri scored the game-winning goal late to give him points in all but one of his last 10 games (6G / 4A / 10PTS) and has now scored the game-winning goal in two of the last three games for the Islanders. Ilya Sorokin (G) made 29 of 30 saves in the victory to improve to 5-1-0 in his last six games with a .956 SV% and two shutouts.

Kallgren does it again; Leafs defeat Hurricanes

Erik Kallgren (G) carried a shutout into the third period before allowing a goal five minutes into the frame and then again in the final minute in a 3-2 victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Before Kallgren made his debut on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs had allowed less than three goals in only one of their last 12 games (5-5-2). Kallgren has allowed on two goals in both of his starts combined and has saved 69 of 71 shots in the process. Ondrej Kase (RW) scored the game-winning goals for the Maple Leafs and now has six points (4G / 2A) in his last six games.

Oilers defeat Sabres 6-1

In a meeting of two of the elder-most goaltenders in the league, the 39-year-old Mike Smith (G) reigned supreme over the 40-year-old Craig Anderson (G). Smith saved 27 of 28 shots in his return to the lineup for his first game since March 5th. In 15 starts this season, Smith has only been to produce consecutive quality starts two times.

The Edmonton Oilers have been scoring by committee lately, scoring four or more goals in four consecutive games (4-0-0) after failing to do so in their previous five (1-3-1). Kailer Yamamoto (LW, RW) recorded a two-point game (1G / 1A) for the third consecutive game and now has seven points (4G / 3A) in his last four contests. Tyson Barrie (D) had two points (1G / 1A) and seems to have turned his season around as he now has 11 points (1G / 10A) in his last 12 games after being held pointless in his previous 12. Leon Draisaitl (C, LW) scored a goal and became the third player to reach 40 this season.

A story of two goalies; Caps defeat Blue Jackets 7-2

Vitek Vanecek (G) made 39 saves on 41 shots and improved to 6-0-0 with a .930 SV% in his six starts since returning from injury in late February. Alex Ovechkin (LW) scored his 39th goal of the season and now has 10 points (6G / 4A) in his last seven games. Anthony Mantha (LW, RW) scored two goals and has five points (4G / 1A) in his last five games.

Joonas Korpisalo (G) started the game for the Columbus Blue Jackets but was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots. Korpisalo has allowed three or more goals in nine of his last 10 starts (3-6-0) and has a league-worst .880 SV% this season among goalies that have played in at least 15 games. He is on pace to finish the season with a sub-.900 SV% for the fourth time in his last five seasons.

Golden Knights end skid, lose Eichel

The Vegas Golden Knights held on to defeat the Florida Panthers 5-3. The win snapped a five-game losing skid (0-5-0) but the Golden Knights suffered another blow in the injury department as Jack Eichel (C) left the game and did not return. The severity of his injury is unclear at the moment. Logan Thompson (G) made 33 saves on 36 shots for his second career win. The Golden Knights have been hesitant to start Thompson this season but with Lehner (G)’s injury status largely uncertain and Laurent Brossoit (G) struggling immensely, it will be interesting to see how the goaltending situation plays out going forward. The Golden Knights play next on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Streaks and more:

  • Aaron Ekblad (D) recorded three assists in the loss for the Panthers to give him seven points (0G / 7A) in his last four games.
  • Sidney Crosby (C) was held pointless for the Pittsburgh Penguins and saw his 10-game point streak come to an end (6G / 7A / 13PTS).
  • J.T. Miller (C, LW) was held pointless and saw his 13 game point streak (8G / 19A / 27PTS) end. Even with the pointless game on Thursday, no player has more than Miller’s 27 points since February 12th.
  • Alex Nedeljkovic (G) made a season-high 43 saves to record his second shutout of the season. Going into the game, Nedeljkovic had a 3-8-2 record and .862 SV% in his previous 15 appearances.
  • Cal Petersen (G) made 29 saves for the Los Angeles Kings and registered a shutout for the second time in his last four games (3-1-0).

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

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