Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 12/08/22
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The Daily Faceoff Morning Report will be released on weekdays, recapping the key news and events from the day before.
We will highlight injuries affecting today’s games, hot streaks, cold streaks, and anything relevant for everyone from the casual hockey fan to the Fantasy Hockey grinder.
Capitals get to .500 with win over Flyers
The Capitals finished a six-game road trip in Philadelphia on Wednesday, beating the Flyers 4-1 to move to 12-12-4 and sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division. Kevin Hayes stayed hot in the loss with a first-period goal, his ninth tally and his 28th point in 27 games. Hayes has at least one point in 20 of his 27 games (74.1%). However, that would be all the Flyers would get, as Charlie Lindgren stopped 26 of 27 shots for his fourth win of the season. The Capitals got goals from T.J. Oshie in the second period and Dylan Strome midway through the third to take a 2-1 lead. Alex Ovechkin capped the game with back-to-back empty net goals. He now has 15 goals on the season, 795 for his career, and 51 career empty net goals.
Thompson scores five goals in Sabres’ blowout win
It’s Tage Thompson’s world; we’re just living in it. Thompson did not waste any time on Wednesday, scoring a hat-trick in just 7:50 and adding a fourth first-period goal. He would later score his fifth and 21st of the season in the second period. He finished with five goals, one assist, and nine shots in the Sabres’ 9-4 win. Buffalo’s power play went 3-for-5, and Alex Tuch (1G / 3A), Jeff Skinner (4A), Rasmus Dahlin (1G / 2A), and Dylan Cozens (1G / 2A) joined Thompson on the fun. For Columbus, they got meaningless goals from Patrik Laine and Gustav Nyquist, who each had two apiece. Jones Korpisalo was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots (.667 SV%), but Elvis Merzlikins allowed six on 21 shots (.714 SV%) in relief.
Flames erase early deficit to beat Wild
The Wild opened Wednesday’s game with two goals in the first 2:25 of the game. However, the Flames would answer with three second-period goals, including two on the power play. Jon Merrill scored his first of the season to tie the game late, but Rasmus Andersson scored on the next shot to regain the lead. Tyler Toffoli would add his second on the night and 10th of the season on an empty net to seal the victory.
Bruins easily defeat the shorthanded Avalanche
Linus Ullmark stopped all 23 shots he faced in the Bruins’ 4-0 win in Colorado. The win was Ullmark’s league-leading 15th. He also leads the NHL in GAA (1.82) and SV% (.939) through 18 appearances. The Avalanche had to lean on their farm system to field a lineup on Wednesday, as nine regulars were unavailable due to injury, including Nathan MacKinnon, who is expected to miss one month with an upper-body injury.
David Pastrnak opened the scoring with his 18th of the season, but the Bruins’ third line was the story in this game. Taylor Hall (2G / 1A), Trent Frederic (1G / 1A) and Charlie Coyle (2A) combined for three goals and four assists.
Oilers score a touchdown and 2pt conversion vs. Arizona
The Oilers thoroughly dominated the Coyotes on Wednesday, winning 8-2 and outshooting them 35-to-18. It’s difficult to fault the Coyotes, though. They were in the final game of a gruelling 14-game road stretch which began on November 5th. That stretch began 3-0, but Arizona has lost 10 of their last 11. The Oilers got multi-point production from Connor McDavid (2G / 2A), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2G / 1A), Leon Draisaitl (1G / 1A), Derek Ryan (1G / 1A), Klim Kostin (1G / 1A), Kailer Yamamoto (2A), and Tyson Barrie (2A).
Rangers’ new lines click in 5-1 win
The Rangers shuffled their lines up before Wednesday’s game in Vegas, and it worked. New York pushed five goals passed Logan Thompson, including two from Mika Zibanejad. He was joined on the top line by Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko, and the trio combined for four goals in the game. Jonathan Marchessault had the lone goal for the Golden Knights, as Igor Shesterkin stood tall, stopping 25 of 26 shots.
Canucks outlast Sharks in a back-and-fourth affair
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead just 18 seconds into Wednesday’s game, but the Canucks battled back to win their third straight overtime decision. Dakota Joshua scored two first-period goals and eventually had a would-be hat trick waved off due to goaltending interference. The Sharks’ top line had another strong performance in defeat, with Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Kevin Labanc combining for two goals and two assists. The Canucks got goals from all four lines, but it was Elias Pettersson who scored in overtime again after doing the same in Monday’s come-from-behind win over the Canadiens.
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