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Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/11/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Apr 11, 2022, 00:54 EDT
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/11/22

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.

Western Conference Playoff Picture

  • The Nashville Predators lost 3-2 in overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins
  • The Los Angeles Kings lost 6-3 to the Minnesota Wild
  • The Dallas Stars defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4
  • The Winnipeg Jets had a 4-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators

The Kings had a 3-0 lead over the Wild before giving up six unanswered goals and are suddenly at serious risk of missing the playoffs. They sit in third place in the Pacific Division with 86 points and only eight games remaining, two points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights who have one game in hand. The Kings have now lost three straight (0-3-0). Working to their advantage, seven of their final eight games are against non-playoff teams.

The Predators gained a crucial point but lost for both ends of their weekend back-to-back (0-1-1). They maintained their hold of the top Wild Card spot, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars.

The Stars responded after a brutal third-period collapse to the New Jersey Devils the day before and gained two crucial points in the standings. They have won five of their last eight games (5-2-1) but their two regulation losses could haunt them at the end of the season as they came from the lowly Devils and Seattle Kraken.

After having lost their previous four games (0-3-1), the Jets are clinging for life at this point but kept themselves alive with two big points on Sunday. They are seven points out of a playoff spot with only nine games remaining.

Noteworthy Nights

  • John Carlson (D) had two points (1G / 1A) to give him eight points (3G / 5A) during a current three-game point streak.
  • Sidney Crosby (C) had a three-point game (2G / 1A), including the overtime game-winner, snapping a two-game pointless skid. Crosby recorded his 1,400th career point and became the seventh-fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
  • Rickard Rakell (LW, RW) had three points (0G / 3A), snapping a four-game pointless skid. He has eight points (3G / 5A) in his 11 games as a Penguin.
  • Matt Boldy (LW, RW) returned from injury to play his first game since March 31st. He had two points (1G / 1A) for the Wild and has five points (1G / 4A) in his last three games.
  • Jared Spurgeon (D) had two points (1G / 1A) to extend his point streak to seven games (1G / 7A / 8PTS).
  • Brian Elliott (G) saved all 28 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season. Elliott is having a great season in the backup role for the Tampa Bay Lightning an 8-3-3 record and .918 SV%.
  • Jordan Staal (C) had a hat-trick for the Carolina Hurricanes and has been on an offensive tear this past week. He has seven points (5G / 2A) and 11 hits in his last four games.
  • Brady Tkachuk (LW) had a big three-point (2G / 1A) night for the Senators in their 4-3 loss to the Jets. He has nine points (3G / 6A) in his last five games. Tkachuk registered zero hits for only the second time this season.
  • Nikolaj Ehlers (LW, RW) had three points (1G / 2A) and has been on fire lately playing on a line with Paul Stastny (C, LW) and Mark Scheifele (C). Ehlers extended his point streak to six games, with 11 points (5G / 6A) and 31 shots on goal in that stretch.

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

  • Mark Scheifele (WPG) left the game with an upper-body injury and has already been ruled out for their game tomorrow.
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