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28
Mar

NHL Review March 28, 2022

JOSI JOINS THE LIKES OF ORR AND COFFEY IN PREDATORS’ COMEBACK WIN

Roman Josi registered two assists, including the primarily helper on the winning goal by Tanner Jeannot (1-2—3) – scored with 79 seconds remaining in regulation – as Nashville rallied to win after facing deficits of 2-0 and 3-1. The victory allowed the Predators (38-24-4, 80 points) to leapfrog the idle Blues (35-20-9, 79 points) for third place in the Central Division.

  • Josi, who extended his career-high point streak to 13 games (4-24—28), boosted his season totals to 18-63—81 (64 GP) and became just the fifth defenseman in NHL history to reach the 80-point mark in fewer than 65 games. The last blueliner to achieve the feat as fast as Josi was Al MacInnis, who did so more than 30 years ago (62 GP in 1990-91).
  • With Sunday’s performance, Josi also placed his name on a list that previously included only Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey. Sitting at 28 points through 13 games in March, Josi can match or surpass the Hall of Fame members when the Predators play their next and final game of the month, Tuesday at home against Ottawa.

PENGUINS THROW IT BACK WITH 11-GOAL SHOWING LED BY MALKIN HAT TRICK

Evgeni Malkin (3-1—4) netted his 13th career hat trick and factored on four of 11 goals for Pittsburgh, which saw 16 of its 18 skaters find the scoresheet, as the club posted the highest goal total by any team since 2003. With their win, the Penguins (40-17-10, 90 points) remained ahead of the Rangers (42-19-5, 89 points) for second in the Metropolitan Division and third in the Eastern Conference.

  • The Penguins scored at least 11 goals in a game for the fifth time in franchise history and first time since Jaromir Jagr (1-5—6) led the club to an 11-5 victory against the Flyers on Nov. 16, 1993. Only two other teams in the past 26 years have scored 11 times in a single contest: the Capitals (12-2 W vs. FLA on Jan. 11, 2003) and Senators (11-5 W at WSH on Nov. 13, 2001).
  • Malkin (13) surpassed Sidney Crosby (12) for the second-most hat tricks in Penguins history, behind only Mario Lemieux (40).

WILD, MAPLE LEAFS TAKE DOWN DIVISION LEADERS

The Wild and Maple Leafs each defeated the No. 1 seed in their respective division to improve their position in the rush to the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The victory allowed Minnesota to open a four-point cushion on second place in the Central Division, while Toronto ended a one-day stay in a Wild Card slot by jumping into third place in the Atlantic Division

  • Kirill Kaprizov scored for a third straight game and moved within two points of equaling the single-season franchise record and Kevin Fiala (OTG) later thwarted an Avalanche comeback as the Wild claimed their sixth straight win. At 40-20-4 (84 points), the Wild added one point to their lead on second place in the division, now ahead of the Predators (38-24-4, 80 points) who climbed the standings Sunday.
  • Mitchell Marner reached the 300-career assist milestone with his first of three helpers Sunday to power the Maple Leafs (41-19-5, 87 points) past the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers (44-15-6, 94 points) in the opener of their season series. Marner became the fastest in franchise history to reach the benchmark, while Auston Matthews regained sole possession of the League lead with his 48th goal of the season.

KEY POINTS CLAIMED AS EASTERN CONFERENCE JOCKEYING CONTINUES
Entering Sunday as the No. 3 seeds in the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions, respectively, the Lightning and Rangers each won to improve their position in the tightly-packed Eastern Conference standings:

  • Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 of 24 shots and also factored on Victor Hedman’s seventh goal of March – tops among defensemen – to help Tampa Bay (41-18-6, 88 points) overtake idle Boston (41-19-5, 87 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division.
  • Frank Vatrano kickstarted the game with two goals in an 18-second span – the fastest by a Rangers player since Jaromir Jagr in 2005 – and K’Andre Miller ended it with the overtime winner to help the Rangers (42-19-5, 89 points) stay within a point of the second-place Penguins (40-17-10, 90 points) in a tight Metropolitan Division where Nos. 1-3 are separated by just four points.

PACIFIC DIVISION PLAYOFF PUSH TAKES SPOTLIGHT MONDAY
Pivotal Pacific Division games make up the majority of Monday’s slate, with the Kings (36-22-9, 81 points) looking to strength their grip on second place ahead of the third-place Oilers (36-25-5, 77 points) and fifth-place Canucks (32-26-9, 73 points). Vancouver ranks fifth in the Wild Card race, with the Golden Knights (36-28-4, 76 points), another Pacific foe, currently holding the final playoff spot.

  • Todd McLellan of the Kings is set to serve his 1,000th regular-season game as a head coach, which would make him the 31st in League history to do so, seventh active and second in five days (after Peter DeBoer, Thursday w/ VGK).
  • Both the Oilers and Canucks are looking to make the playoffs after an in-season coaching change, something each club has done before (EDM: 1980-81; VAN: 1981-82, 1983-84, 1990-91 and 1995-96).

MARQUEE METROPOLITAN MATCHUP SET FOR MONDAY

A potential playoff preview is one of five matchups on the docket Monday, with the Hurricanes (43-15-7, 93 points) and Capitals (37-20-10, 84 points) set for their fourth and final regular-season meeting in 2021-22 (WSH: 3-0-0; CAR: 0-2-1). Washington has swept its season series with Carolina/Hartford on three occasions, most recently ahead of their only playoff meeting in 2018-19 (4-0-0).

  • A second playoff series in four seasons could be in the cards for the Metropolitan Division rivals as Carolina has held the No. 1 seed in the division for 65% of the season 2021-22 – including every day for the last five and a half weeks – while Washington has occupied a Wild Card position every day since Jan. 20. In the 2019 First Round, the Hurricanes overcame series deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to eliminate the defending Stanley Cup champions – claiming their first series win a decade.
  • Monday will be the first of a back-to-back set for Carolina, as they travel to Tampa to face the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning on Tuesday. After Tuesday, the Hurricanes play only two of their remaining 15 games against Eastern Conference clubs currently holding a playoff position (April 12 & April 26, both at NYR).

RED WINGS ASSIGN CHASE PEARSON TO GRIFFINS
The Detroit Red Wings have assigned center Chase Pearson to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

TALBOT, GAUDREAU AND DRAISAITL NAMED NHL ‘THREE STARS’ OF THE WEEK

Minnesota Wild goaltender Cam Talbot, Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 27, 2022.

FIRST STAR – CAM TALBOT, G, MINNESOTA WILD

Talbot went 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average, .959 save percentage and one shutout to help the Wild (40-20-4, 84 points) move into second place in the Central Division on the strength of a six-game winning streak dating to March 16. He stopped all 28 shots he faced, including 13 in the second period, to earn his 26th career shutout in a 3-0 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights March 21. Talbot then made 26 saves in a 3-2 overtime win versus the Vancouver Canucks March 24. He capped the week with 40 stops on 42 shots – his 14th career 40-save performance and second of the season (also Nov. 24 at NJD: 40 SV) – in a 3-2 overtime victory against the League-leading Colorado Avalanche March 27. The 34-year-old Caledonia, Ont., native – who is 8-0-0 with a 2.13 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in his last nine appearances dating to March 3 – ranks 10th in the NHL with 27 wins in 41 total games this season (27-12-1), compiling a 2.80 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and two shutouts.

SECOND STAR – JOHNNY GAUDREAU, LW, CALGARY FLAMES

Gaudreau registered multiple points in all three of his outings, topping the NHL with eight assists and 10 points (2-8—10) to power the Pacific Division-leading Flames (40-17-8, 88 points) to a pair of wins. He collected 1-1—2 in a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks March 22. Gaudreau then notched 1-2—3, highlighted by his 200th career goal and 40th career game-winning goal, in a 4-2 triumph against the Arizona Coyotes March 25. He closed the week with his first career five-assist game – and second career five-point performance (also March 12, 2019 vs. NJD: 3-3—6) – in a 9-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers March 26. The 28-year-old Salem, N.J., native has skated in 65 total contests this season, placing among the League leaders in plus/minus (t-1st; +49), points (3rd; 90), assists (4th; 60) and game-winning goals (t-4th; 8).

THIRD STAR – LEON DRAISAITL, C, EDMONTON OILERS

Draisaitl paced the NHL with six goals in four games (6-2—8) as the Oilers (36-25-5, 77 points) went 1-2-1 to maintain third place in the Pacific Division. He posted one assist in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche March 21, followed by one goal in a 5-3 defeat versus the Dallas Stars March 22. Draisaitl then scored twice in a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks March 24 and added 3-1—4 – his fifth career hat trick and 18th career four-point performance – in a 9-5 loss to the Calgary Flames March 26. The 26-year-old Cologne, Germany, native – who has points in eight straight games dating to March 12 (9-6—15) – has played in 66 total contests this season, leading the League with 10 game-winning goals while ranking second in goals (47), points (94), power-play goals (20) and power-play points (36).

COMMISSIONER BETTMAN UPHOLDS ONE-GAME SUSPENSION ASSESSED TO HURRICANES’ NIEDERREITER

National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman today upheld the one-game suspension that was assessed to Carolina Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter for slashing Washington Capitals forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby during NHL Game No. 978 in Carolina on March 18.

Commissioner Bettman heard Niederreiter’s appeal of the original decision, assessed March 19, at a hearing on March 23.

The incident occurred at 13:43 of the first period. Niederreiter was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.

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Guest Writer