Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/23/22
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.
Oilers defeat Avalanche, clinch playoff spot
The Edmonton Oilers won for the fourth straight game and for the 10th time in their last 12 (10-1-1) with a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Mike Smith (G) saved 34 of 37 shots in the victory and has become Mr. Reliable lately, posting a .949 SV% and two shutouts in his last eight games (8-0-0). Before that, Smith had a .885 SV% in his previous 17 games (5-9-2). Evander Kane (LW, RW) led the way for the Oilers with four points (3G / 1A) and, despite having played only 39 games this season, has the best point-per-game pace of his career (0.92). Connor McDavid (C) had a three-assists to give him sole possession of first place in the scoring race with 116 points (43G / 73A).
Congrats to Evander Kane who just netted his fourth career @enterprise hat trick! pic.twitter.com/AoMtAvpBb5
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2022The Avalance have not been their usual dominant selves lately and, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, to not appear as though they will win the Presidents Trophy. The Avalanche will likely finish runner-ups to the Florida Panthers as they have two more points and have played one fewer game. The Avalanche are now on a three-game losing streak (0-3-0) for the first time since the opening week of the season. Darcy Kuemper (G) has also come back down to earth with a .873 SV% in his last four games (2-2-0) after posting a gaudy .956 SV% in his previous 10 (7-2-1).
Senators defeat Blue Jackets 2-1 (SO)
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost for the 12th time in their last 15 games (3-8-4) with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators. Jack Roslovic (C, RW) scored the lone goal in the loss for the Blue Jackets to hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career. Roslovic has 10 points (8G / 2A) in his last six games. Filip Gustavsson (G) saved 33 of 34 shots in the victory to record consecutive wins and consecutive quality starts for the first time this season. Brady Tkachuk (LW) sent the game to overtime with the tying goal midway through the third period on a beautiful tic-tac-toe goal. Tkachuk has 61 points (29G / 32A) in 75 games this season for a 0.81 point per game pace, significantly greater than his previous high of 0.64.
Brady Tkachuk scores against the Columbus Blue Jackets to make it 1-1 #CBJvsOTT #CBJ #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/AjN7xgyT5p
— nopClips (@nopClips) April 23, 2022Wild win; Kaprizov joins 100-point club
The Seattle Kraken entered the game against the Minnesota Wild riding their first-ever three-game winning streak and looked to extend it to four games as they jumped out to a two-goal lead. However, their lead didn’t last long as the Minnesota Wild exploded for a five-goal second period on route to an eventual 6-3 victory. Kiril Kaprizov (LW, RW) scored four points (1G / 3A) to give him 101 points (45G / 56A) and became the seventh player this season to reach the 100-point mark. Kaprizov has 16 points (6G / 10A) in his last 10 games and, even so, is not the hottest Wild player of late. Kevin Fiala (LW, RW) had a monstrous five-point night (0G / 5A) to continue his torrid pace in which he has 21 points (9G / 12A) during a nine-game point streak. No player in the league has more points than Fiala during that stretch. Matthew Beniers (C) scored in the loss for the Kraken and has now recorded a single point in the first five games of his NHL career (3G / 2A).
WILD FIVE-GOAL PERIOD 😳
It saw both Kirill Kaprizov reach the 100-point mark AND Kevin Fiala tally four of his five assists tonight to set franchise records. pic.twitter.com/YmUZqTriOZ
Capitals keep rolling
The Washington Capitals won for the seventh time in their last nine games (7-1-1) with a 2-0 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Vitek Vanecek (G) stopped all 19 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season. Conor Sheary (LW, RW) had two points (1G / 1A) to give him 41 points on the season (18G / 23A) and surpass the 40-point mark for the first time since his sophmore season in 2016-17 as a Pittsburgh Penguin. Dating back to when Clayton Keller (C, LW) was injured, the Coyotes have gone 1-9-1 and have been held to one goal or fewer in seven of those games.
What to watch this weekend
The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights both have winnable games that could set things up nicely for a colossal matchup between the two teams on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Stars will host the Seattle Kraken while the Golden Knights will host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. If both the Stars and Golden Knights win those games, their meeting on Tuesday could potentially decide their seasons.
Lost in the race for the final Wild Card spot are the Nashville Predators, who play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild. With a good weekend, the Predators can potentially secure their top Wild Card position and book a trip to a first-round matchup against the Calgary Flames. A bad weekend can leave them back in the mix with the Stars and Golden Knights. Come Monday morning, the Predators, Stars, and Golden Knights will all have only three games remaining.
