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DailyFaceoff Morning Report — 02/18/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
Feb 18, 2022, 08:47 ESTUpdated: Feb 18, 2022, 11:41 EST
DailyFaceoff Morning Report — 02/18/22

The DailyFaceoff 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.

Habs snap 10-game losing streak; defeat Blues in OT

Cole Caufield and Jeff Petry both came into the season with huge expectations. Caulfield was widely accepted as the front-runner for the Calder trophy, and Petry came off of a season where he received Norris consideration. The two have struggled mightily this season, and going into action on Thursday had combined for only 17 points in 74 games between them. On Thursday, Caufield scored a goal with under 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime and then scored again in overtime off a pretty feed from Petry to give Martin St. Louis his first victory as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Caufield has now scored four goals in the four games since St. Louis took over as coach.

Jets top Kraken 5-3

It was a historic night off the ice in Seattle as Everett Fitzhugh and JT Brown became the first all-Black broadcast crew to call an NHL Game.

Blake Wheeler had his third multi-point effort in his last four games with a goal and an assist. He has three goals and eight assists over that span.

Flyers fall to 2-13-4 in last 19

The Philadelphia Flyers had a 3-2 lead with under three minutes remaining and looked poised to win for only the third time in their last 19 games. Garnet Hathaway had different plans as he scored twice in under two minutes, leading the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 victory.

Maple Leafs snap Penguins four-game winning streak

Auston Matthews opened the scoring 21 seconds into the game, and the Maple Leafs never looked back. Jack Campbell made a season-high 45 saves in the 4-1 victory and was credited with an assist on an end-to-end highlight-reel goal by Morgan Rielly.

Barzal leads the way for Islanders

The New York Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins in a must-win game, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive. Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist in the victory, giving him 25 points (8G / 17A) in his last 24 games after starting the season with only eight points (4 G / 4A) in his first 17. With the win, the Islanders are still long shots to make the playoffs but cut the gap to 16 points back of the Bruins with four games in hand.

Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark allowed three goals on 28 shots in the loss. Ullmark has allowed three or more goals in five of his last seven starts and has been outplayed of late by rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins have some room for error in the standings, but it will be interesting to see if they continue to rotate netminders or choose to go with the hot hand.

Larkin scores in 3-2 SO win over Rangers

Dylan Larkin scored a goal and continued his hot streak, posting 20 points (10G / 10A) in his last 13 games. Mika Zibanejad scored in the loss for the Rangers to continue his own strong run of 29 points (13G / 15A) in his last 21 games.

The Wings pulled to within six points of the Boston Bruins in the final Wild Card spot.

Laine back to his goal-scoring ways

Laine scored his ninth career hat-trick in a 7-4 victory over the Blackhawks and has been playing as a man possessed over his last eight games, scoring 16 points (10G / 6A). The Blue Jackets are trying to stay playoff-relevant as well and are now nine points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Draisaitl is alone at the top

Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 34th and 35th tallies to help the Edmonton Oilers defeat the Ducks 7-3 and stay undefeated in the Jay Woodcroft era (4-0-0). Evander Kane had a goal and an assist in the victory and appears to be in prime form, adding three shots on goal and six hits.

John Gibson was in net for all seven goals and has now allowed 15 goals in his last three starts as the Ducks fall to 6-10-4 in their last 20.

Canucks beat Sharks 5-4 in overtime

Timo Meier is having an incredible season but had only scored once in the seven games since his five-goal performance on January 17th. Thursday night, Meier scored two goals and added an assist to give him 50 points (23G / 27A) in 43 games. Alexander Barabanov had his first career three-point game (1G / 2A), scoring an improbable buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime.

JT Miller won the game in overtime and continued to raise his stock as a potential target at the trade deadline. He has 50 points (18G / 32A) in 48 games and is on pace to set career-high point totals.

Other News and Notes

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