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Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/25/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Mar 25, 2022, 01:51 EDTUpdated: Mar 25, 2022, 01:52 EDT
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 03/25/22

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.

Pastrnak keeps the Bruins hot

David Pastrnak (RW) scored all three goals for the Boston Bruins to record his second hat-trick this season and help defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2. The Bruins leapfrogged over the Lightning and are now in third place in the Atlantic Division. Erik Haula (C, LW) had three assists in the game and seems to have found a great deal of chemistry centring Patrnak. He has 13 points (3G / 10A) in his last 14 games. The Bruins improved to 13-2-1 in their last 16 contests.

Jets lose crucial points in a third-period collapse

Connor Hellebuyck (G) and the Winnipeg Jets, coming off a 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, went into the final eight minutes of the third period tied 1-1 with the Ottawa Senators but gave up three goals in the next three minutes on route to losing 5-2. The Jets surrendered crucial points with the regulation loss in a playoff race that is already getting away from them. They currently sit five points back of the Dallas Stars, who have two games in hand for the final Wild Card position. Brady Tkachuk (LW) scored two goals in the game to tie his career-high in goals and set a new career-high with 46 points (22G / 24A).

Kyle Connor (LW) scored in the final minutes for the Jets to give him 40 goals and 80 points for the first time in his career. Connor has 18 points (7G / 11A) on a nine-game point streak.

Wedgewood steals two points for Stars

The Dallas Stars were outshot 47-15 by the Carolina Hurricanes, but Scott Wedgewood (G) made 44 saves in his Stars debut to steal a 4-3 shootout victory. Wedgewood has become accustomed to facing a high volume of shots and dating back to his time with the Arizona Coyotes, has now faced 40 or more shots in six of his last 10 games (5-1-0). Roope Hintz (C, LW) scored two goals for the Stars and now six points (5G / 1A) in his last three games.

Nino Niederreiter (LW, RW) scored two goals in the loss after being held pointless in his previous six games. The Hurricanes have now lost five of their last six contests (1-3-2).

Hodgson has big debut; Flyers top Blues

The Philadelphia Flyers won 5-2 over the St. Louis Blues, who lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games (3-5-3). Hayden Hodgson (RW) had a big night in his NHL debut, scoring two points (1G / 1A) and registering four hits in over 16 minutes of ice time. Hodgson spent the last five seasons in the ECHL and just signed his first NHL contract earlier this week at age 26. Kevin Hayes (C) had two assists for the Flyers to give him nine points (4G / 5A) in his last six games.

Pathers win in Giroux’s debut

Claude Giroux (C, LW) had two assists in his Florida Panthers debut as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3. Giroux played on the top line alongside Aleksander Barkov (C) and Carter Verhaeghe (C, LW) and was also on the top powerplay unit. Ben Chiarot (D) also made his debut for the Panthers and recorded an assist. Spencer Knight (G) got the start in net for the fifth consecutive game and made 28 saves on 31 shots in the victory.

Sorokin, Lee, Nelson leading the way for Islanders

Ilya Sorokin (G) made 37 saves on 39 shots to give the Islanders their seventh win in their last nine games (7-1-1) in a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. No goalie has performed better than Sorokin’s .954 SV% since February 27th (6-2-0). Anders Lee (LW) stayed hot and recorded three assists to give him 16 points (10G / 6A) in his last 10 games. Brock Nelson (C) also kept up his scoring pace by chipping in two goals for 16 points (10G / 6A) in his last 12 games. No player in the league has more than the 10 goals Lee and Nelson have scored since March 3rd.

Wild win fourth straight, defeat Canucks

A night after Jaroslav Halak (G) provided a heroic effort in net for the Vancouver Canucks to defeat the first-place Colorado Avalanche, Thatcher Demko (G) made 33 of 36 saves but it wasn’t enough as the Minnesota Wild won 3-2 in overtime. Joel Eriksson Ek scored his first goal in six games on a beautiful breakaway move to seal the game in overtime.

Matt Boldy (LW, RW) was held pointless for the Wild again and after an incredible start to his career with 23 points (11G / 12A) in his first 25 games, has run into a bit of a slump and only has one point (1G / 0A) in his last six outings. Cam Talbot (G), who was coming off a shutout on Monday, made 26 of 28 saves to win his sixth consecutive game. Marc-Andre Fleury (G) is scheduled to see his first start as a member of the Wild on Saturday.

Dadonov a hero for Vegas

It would appear the Vegas Golden Knights are happy their trade involving Evgenii Dadonov (LW, RW) was voided. Dadonov had three points (1G / 1A) as the Golden Knight got an important two points in a 6-1 win over the Nashville Predators. Dadonov has six points (4G / 2A) in his last three games. Jack Eichel (C) had a multi-point effort (1G / 1A) for only the second time in 19 games as a Golden Knight and has 13 points (6G / 7A) on the season. Logan Thompson (G) started for the fifth consecutive game, making 35 of 36 saves and improved to 4-4-0 with a .918 SV%, the highest among all Knights’ goalies. Roman Josi (D) recorded an assist in the loss for the Predators to extend his point streak to 12 games (4G / 22A / 26PTS). The Predators have been outscored 12-2 in their last two games (0-2-0).

There was a scary moment in the game where Vegas forward, Brett Howden (C, LW) went face-first into the boards in an awkward collision with Filip Forsberg (LW). Howden was taken off the ice in a stretcher. After the game, he was reported to have full movement but further details will not be available until later.

Oilers defeat Sharks

The Edmonton Oilers rebounded after a disappointing loss on Tuesday with a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Mike Smith (G) made 28 saves on 30 shots to give him three consecutive games with an above-.900 SV% for the first time this season (2-0-1). Leon Draisaitl (C, LW) scored two goals in the game to give him 44 on the season and 11 points (6G / 5A) in his last seven games. Kailer Yamamoto (RW) had another two-point game (1G / 1A) to give him 12 points (7G / 5A) in his last eight games. The Oilers sit third in the Pacific Division, two points behind the Los Angeles Kings, and three points ahead of the Golden Knights with two games in hand.

Kaapo Kahkonen (G) made his debut for the Sharks, saving 36 of 40 shots in the loss. Erik Karlsson (D) had two points (1G / 1A) in the game to give him a 10-goal season for the first time since 2016-17 when he scored 17 with the Ottawa Senators.

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

  • Torey Krug (STL) is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
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