Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/02/22
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.
Death, taxes, and Varlamov shutout’s at MSG
Semyon Varlamov (G) saved all 27 shots he faced for the New York Islanders and, dating back to last season, now has four consecutive shutouts when playing the New York Rangers on the road at Madison Square Garden. Since March 11th, Varlamov has a 6-1-1 record and .930 SV% with two shutouts. No team in the league has performed better than the Islanders since March 4th (11-4-1) yet they are still 13 points out of the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Mathew Barzal (C) had two points (1G / 1A) to give him eight points (2G / 6A) in his last six games. Igor Shesterkin (G) allowed three goals on 18 shots and only has six quality starts in his last 11 games (7-4-0) after having 13 quality starts in his previous 14 (11-2-1).
Sabres hold off Predators
Tage Thompson (C, LW, RW) continued his tremendous breakout season by scoring two goals for the Buffalo Sabres as they defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Friday night. Thompson now has 53 points (30G / 23A) and becomes the first player to score 30 in a season for the Sabres since Jack Eichel (C) scored 36 in 2020. Filip Forsberg (LW) scored his 38th goal of the season for the Predators and now has 21 points (11G / 10A) in his last 12 games. The Predators have lost three of their last five (2-3-0) and sit in the top Wild Card position, only three points ahead of the Dallas Stars who have two games in hand.
After the game, the Sabres faithful continued their day-long celebration of legendary broadcaster Rick Jeanneret by inviting him onto the ice to take a team photo and salute him further.
Alex Tuck and Cody Eakin help RJ come out on the ice and everyone takes a picture with him. #LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/roqBEboAqd
— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) April 2, 2022Newcomers lead Senators over Red Wings
In his fifth game as an Ottawa Senator, Mathieu Joseph (C, LW, RW) scored three goals in the third period for his first career hat-trick on route to a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Mads Sogaard (G) made his NHL debut for the Senators and made 27 saves on 29 shots. The win for the Senators was only their fifth in their last 17 games (5-11-1). The Red Wings lost for the 12th time in their last 14 games (2-9-3) and have allowed a league-worst 4.9 goals per game during that stretch.
It was a big night for Mathieu Joseph (@MathJoseph7), who notched his first career @Enterprise hat trick. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/uN5n1E5qGY
— NHL (@NHL) April 2, 2022Blues can’t complete comeback against Oilers
The St. Louis Blues trailed 4-1 at the first intermission but clawed back to tie the game 5-5 and send it to overtime, eventually falling short as Connor McDavid (C) scored the second of his two goals in the game to give the Edmonton Oilers their third straight win. McDavid has a season-high 11 shots on goal and has 23 points (10G / 13A) in his last 12 games. Zach Hyman (LW, RW) also scored two goals for the Oilers and extended his point streak to five games (3G / 3A / 6PTS). Jordan Binnington (G) allowed four goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Ville Husso (G) and though he will not go down as the goalie of record, he has an 0-3-1 record in his last five appearances with a .862 SV%. Robert Thomas (C, RW) had two points (1G / 1A) in the loss for the Blues and extended his point streak to four games (2G / 5A / 7PTS).
No better player to put an end to a WILD hockey game than #97, as he tips home the @BevyLongDrink OT winner. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/BFuYYak09o
— NHL (@NHL) April 2, 2022Golden Knights win fourth straight, jump back into playoff spot
Jack Eichel (C) led the way for the Vegas Golden Knights, scoring the opening two goals in part of a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken. Eichel has five points (4G / 1A) in his last four games. Shea Theodore (D) also scored for the Golden Knights, giving him goals in back-to-back games after having been held to zero goals in his previous 27 games. Evgenii Dadonov (LW, RW) had two assists in the win to give him 10 points (5G / 5A) in his last six games. Logan Thompson (G) got his eighth consecutive start and made 26 saves on 28 shots to improve to 6-2-0 with a .934 SV%.
Zegras does it again; Ducks snap 11-game losing skid
The Anaheim Ducks got their first win in 12 games (1-8-3) and did so in a big way with a 5-0 win over the injury-depleted Arizona Coyotes. Trevor Zegras (C, LW) scored his first goal in 10 games but it was one for the highlight-reel as he pulled off yet another lacrosse-style goal.
Trevor Zegras is a wizard pic.twitter.com/MiuLp0fG03
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) April 2, 2022Anthony Stolarz (G) got the start for the Ducks and saved all 22 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season. Stolarz improved to 10-6-2 with a .921 SV% compared to starting goalie John Gibson (G) who has a 17-22-10 record on the season with a .905 SV%.