Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/29/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Apr 29, 2022, 01:01 EDT
Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 04/29/22
Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

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.

The East remains a mystery

The Tampa Bay Lightning saw their four-game winning streak end in a 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Boston Bruins won their fourth straight game by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 5-0. The Washington Capitals lost their third straight game in a 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders. And thus, each team in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference will have to wait until the final day of the NHL season to determine who their first-round opponent will be.

Patrice Bergeron (C) had a four-point game (3G / 1A) for the Bruins, including his 400th career goal to give him nine points (5G / 4A) in his last three games.

David Pastrnak (RW) had two points (1G / 1A) for the Bruins to notch 40 goals for the second time in his career.

In his 39th start this season, Linus Ullmark (G) saved all 37 shots he faced against his former team to record his first shutout as a member of the Bruins. After having very pedestrian numbers to start the season, Ullmark should be rocking a lot of confidence heading into the playoffs as he has a .945 SV% in his last 12 games (9-1-0).

Steven Stamkos (C, RW) had two points (0G / 2A) in the loss for the Lightning, adding to his career-best point totals with 103 points (39G / 64A). He also extended his point streak to eight games, in which he has a monstrous 23 points (7G / 16A).

The Presidents Trophy race

The Colorado Avalanche set a franchise record with 119 points in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators. However, by failing to get a win, the Avalanche will finish second to the Florida Panthers in the race for the Presidents’ trophy. This marks the first time in franchise history that the Florida Panthers will finish a season with the most points in the league. In eight of the last 34 seasons, the winner of the Presidents’ Trophy has gone on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Panthers rested the majority of their star players on Thursday, including Jonathan Huberdeau (LW), Aleksander Barkov (C), and Claude Giroux (C, LW, RW), but still managed a 4-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Spencer Knight (G) saved all 27 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. Carter Verhaeghe (C, LW) scored two goals in the Panthers’ victory and, despite having only eight points (3G / 5A) in his last 17 games, improved on his career-best totals with 55 points (24G / 31A) in 77 games.

Elsewhere around the league

  • David Rittich (G) saved 42 of 46 shots in the victory for the Predators. Connor Ingram (G), who has two career NHL games under his belt, is expected to get the start for the Predators in their final game of the season on Friday night against the Arizona Coyotes. With the health of Juuse Saros (G) being uncertain after suffering an injury earlier in the week, the Predators will likely have to turn to one of these two netminders in the first round of the playoffs. With their win on Thursday against the Avalanche, the Predators control their destiny for Wild Card seeding in the Western Conference. If the Dallas Stars lose in any fashion or the Predators gain a single point, the Predators will play the Calgary Flames in the first round. Otherwise, they will face off against the Avalanche.
  • Johnny Gaudreau (LW, RW) scored two points (1G / 1A) to give him 40 goals for the first time in his career. There are 15 players with 40 or more goals this season, the most since 1995-96 when 18 players hit the 40-goal mark.
  • Jesperi Kotkaniemi (C, RW) returned to the lineup for the Carolina Hurricanes after missing five games with a lower-body injury and led the way with a three-point night (1G / 2A) in a 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils. Kotkaniemi finishes the season with six points (1G / 5A) in his last six games as he and the Hurricanes are one of two teams to have completed the regular season schedule.
  • Oliver Bjorkstrand (LW, RW) had two points (1G / 1A) for the Blue Jackets to give him six points (3G / 3A) in his last three games after being held pointless in his previous 11.
  • Mathew Barzal (C) had three assists in the win for the Islanders to give him 58 points (15G / 43A) on the season. He has 10 points (1G / 9A) in his last 10 games.
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