Facing a Predator

What more can you ask of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Trick question, really. Team president Brendan Shanahan has said that, even if this franchise ever wins another Stanley Cup, the noise surrounding it — the cacophonous, sometimes silly, and essentially endless noise — will stop for a day, at most. And then, because it’s the Leafs, you can always ask for more.
Halfway through their most anticipated season in decades, the Leafs are something close to elite. They entered their 41st game Saturday night against Vancouver tied for the third-best record in the NHL. They were second in goals per game, second in goal differential, and had the league’s best scoring differential at 5-on-5.


They’re really good. That’s just not enough.
“I mean, it’s like anything: there’s good and bad,” says defenceman Morgan Rielly, in the middle of a career season by leagues. “There’s been periods of time where we’ve played really well, and you’re on the bench and you’re watching the game unfold, and you can’t help but think there’s a lot of potential to go a long way here in the playoffs. And there’s nights where you watch the game unfold and you think to yourself, we have a long way to go.”


“I mean, it’s like anything: there’s good and bad,” says defenceman Morgan Rielly, in the middle of a career season by leagues. “There’s been periods of time where we’ve played really well, and you’re on the bench and you’re watching the game unfold, and you can’t help but think there’s a lot of potential to go a long way here in the playoffs. And there’s nights where you watch the game unfold and you think to yourself, we have a long way to go.”
In fairness, they haven’t been themselves for very long. John Tavares has been better than advertised. Mitch Marner has exploded. But Auston Matthews, who has led the NHL in goals per minute played, has missed 14 games. William Nylander missed 28, Zach Hyman has been out eight, and Frederik Andersen, through injury or simply rest, has missed 10. His workload and health are probably Toronto’s biggest potential worries, actually.There are flaws, obviously. Ron Hainsey is too often miscast as a top-pair defenceman, and Nikita Zaitsev can seem miscast as a second. Nazem Kadri can’t stop hitting posts, and Patrick Marleau is fading, just enough to see. The now-concussed Garret Sparks hasn’t found consistency as the backup goaltender, and Andersen has missed four straight, though he is close to a return.

The Leafs are 6-5 against teams that started Saturday in the Eastern playoff picture; they are 3-3 against Tampa Bay, Boston, Buffalo and Montreal, and will likely face one of the latter three in the first round.

And still, there’s a lot here.

“Well, I like lots of things about us,” head coach Mike Babcock says. “I like our people, I like how bad we want to be good, I like our leadership, I like our depth. Sometimes I don’t like our details. I think we got to to be a way heavier team. Being heavy isn’t getting on a scale and measuring yourself: it’s a state of mind.
“It’s heavy on offence. It’s having the puck, it’s getting the puck back all the time, it’s checking the puck, it’s putting your work in front of your skill, it’s being determined offensively, instead of coming down and having a rush and being one and done. It’s multiple-shot shifts, it’s having some jam … And so I think we can do a better job there, and I think we can continually get better defensively so we are way better offensively. So we have a lot of work to do.”

This Leafs team is more about speed and skill than that kind of heavy, but that’s the push and pull. It might actually help that Toronto is jammed in a division with the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. There’s no better regular-season pacesetter in hockey.
“I mean, you always measure yourself against the best team because that’s where we want to be,” says Rielly. “So I think that if we’re able to go on a run and really be able to be consistent, and prove night in and night out that we’re able to be that good, that’s important for us.”

Rielly talks about how much better the Leafs protect leads now, and how their defensive positioning has improved. Tavares talks about how he’s impressed how well the players focus despite that Toronto cacophony. Babcock talks about how “we still think there’s lots of growth from within, because we’re a young group.”


They think no matter how tight or mucked up the games get, no matter how many posts they hit, no matter the opponent, they can be the best team on the ice any night. That’s what’s on the table.
“I think … that feeling going into games that you can just kill another team’s will to win,” says Tavares, when asked what he wants to see between now and season’s end. “And just knowing that you just feel that when (the Leafs) come into your building, you just know what a tough night it’s going to be. Even if you play your best, you know the odds are still probably against you, where we just have the ability to kind of take games over that way, and generate that momentum. It’s hard to do that on a consistent basis.”
Is that possible?
“I think so,” says Tavares. “There’s certainly probably times when we’ve had it already, where we’ve had two, three games, but it’s the ability to carry that over for long stretches.”

Listen to them, and you hear how good they think they can be. Sometimes it’s better to zoom out a little. They’ve gotten this far without a full team for all but eight games, and most of those were with Nylander trying to get up to speed. Before Nylander and Matthews were both back, their adjusted puck possession was 12th: not bad, not great. With everyone, it’s sixth.
So now it’s about figuring out how not to get rolled by a Boston, how not to blow one against Tampa, how to show up and be the baddest team on the ice every night. Half a season left until the real stuff, and we’ll see if they’re ready when it starts.
Now they face the Nashville Predators in a Monday night tilt at home.

PK and Rinne and a slew of good checkers, risk free D - men, and Ryan Johanson.

A tough opponent, to be sure.

Wild Loss

After the ‘Next Generation Game,’ Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock is wondering who his next goaltender will be Saturday.

While Michael Hutchinson did an admirable job with 30 saves in his Toronto debut, a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday afternoon, the circumstances that required two goalies to be recalled on an emergency basis might not be settled by the next match against the Vancouver Canucks, the halfway mark of Toronto’s schedule.

In the morning, No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen was moved to injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 23, while backup Garret Sparks was given time off to go through concussion protocol after taking a shot to the mask at Wednesday’s practice. Andersen, out with a groin issue, worked out for a fourth straight day despite the IR designation.

“Everything is moving along according to the medical people,” coach Babcock said.

But as for Sparks, Babcock said his availability for duty the next couple of days is undetermined.

 

“I don’t have any expectation, I don’t know what’s going on. We were just talking about finding another goalie (the quick promotion of Hutchinson and Kasimir Kaskisuo leaves the Marlies with Eamon McAdam for three AHL games in three days this weekend). We’d like Kaz to get going, we don’t like him sitting around.”

Hutchinson had just joined the Marlies after Andersen began ailing before Christmas. The Barrie-born former Winnipeg Jets regular had most recently been in Florida’s organization before the trade and still wore his Panther pads Thursday with a plain white mask. He did have his parents and many friends make it down to Scotiabank Arena to see him emulate childhood favourite Felix Potvin.

“I found out last night, so things moved pretty fast,” Hutchinson said of the start. “There were a few more nerves with not having had the chance to practice. A lot of outside obstacles you try and push aside and go through your routine. It was a fun game. You wanted the two points, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It’s exciting to get the first game and it kind of makes you hungry for more.”

Hutchinson was at his best in the first period, with 18 saves and a 2-0 lead to work with before an 0-for-4 Toronto power play, some slow breakouts and 38 stops from Devan Dubnyk slowly did in his team.

“I thought he gave us a chance and that’s all you can ask for from a guy,” Babcock said of Hutchinson.

A bright spot for the Leafs was William Nylander’s first goal in 12 games since signing his big contract.

When he swept around the net and put one under the bar, it was his first celly since April 5 in New Jersey. He practically leapt into the arms of the assisting Travis Dermott and pretended to peel a huge monkey off his back.

“For sure, there have been chances,” said Nylander, who had been put back with his most compatible centre, Auston Matthews, in recent days. “It’s at least nice you’re able to get chances when you’re not playing at 100 per cent, because when you’re at 100 you’ll be good.”

As the crowd roared, Nylander said his first thought was “Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Finally.”

Babcock thought the rejuvenated Nylander was going so well he’d eventually get the winner on Thursday, while Matthews was just happy for his friend to get one.

“He can get back to feeling good and confident,” Matthews said. “Everyone has gone through that before. I have in my first year, 13 or 14 games. It felt the weight of the world was coming down on me. People were (thinking) to trade me and all that stuff. It can weigh on you as a player and a person, but once that one comes, you feel like there is an extra jump in your step.”

Thursday’s game could have turned on a better Leafs power play. They went 0-for-4 and are now 5-for-40 the past month, despite all the weaponry they boast — Matthews, John Tavares and Nazem Kadri, the club’s three prime centres, team points’ leader Mitch Marner and NHL co-leader among defence scorers, Morgan Rielly. Two duds came in the third period.

“Tons of chances,” Matthews sighed. “It felt like I had 10 shots tonight and it just was just ricocheting, going off posts, the goalie making a save and rebounds coming back out that they were able to clear. We can be better.”

Babcock credited Dubnyk with foiling many of Toronto’s man advantages.

“We stayed in their zone the whole time,” Babcock noted. “It didn’t go our way, but I liked the opportunities.

“You have to learn how to win all kinds of games. They have good faceoff guys, they’re a veteran team, they make it hard on you physically and they’re physical on offence. We had 17 D-zone

Following last year’s inaugural Next Generation Game, a loud 8-1 win over Carolina, Toronto took the opening faceoff and scored seven seconds in. Marner made a nice move around Jared Spurgeon and buried a backhand to tie Charlie Conacher’s team record for fastest goal to start a game.

Marner, with Tavares’ second assist of the night, made it 2-0, but as Hutchinson approached 20 saves, Charlie Coyle scored on a scramble. Mikko Koivu then tied it, setting the stage for Nylander. But that Leafs lead could not hold up, as Spurgeon collected his third point of the game with a deceptive flick through Hutchinson’s legs. Zach Parise, who was stopped on a partial breakaway by Hutchinson in the first, had the winner.

The Leafs’ overall success on faceoffs 43-28, with Tavares winning 19, was undone by poor puck control, resulting in 16 giveaways, twice as many as the Wild, with Matthews culpable on the Parise winner.

“We weren’t taking care of the puck enough and they were in our zone a lot,” Matthews said. “Obviously, 50-50 battles they were winning and that’s frustrating for guys such as myself.

“They had way too many shots in the first period and (Hutchinson) made key saves to keep our lead. We made some bad mistakes, but it’s things we can clean up watching the video.”

The Leafs are on the verge of falling back among the worst five teams in overall giveaways.

The kid-friendly additions to the game included two youth teams who came out for the anthems, plus some mini-zebras and younger generation coaching staffs, including a 15-year-old Babcock look-a-like who gave the Leafs a pre-game pep talk and stood with other young assistants behind the bench for the anthems … Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen was walking tall on Thursday after Finland beat Canada at the world juniors and his father’s team, Kalpa, had beaten Canada in the Spengler cup final earlier in the week … Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey had some intermission fun with Christine Simpson of Sportsnet when asked live about the Leafs good start Thursday compared to the 4-0 loss to the Islanders. “What happened last game? That was a long time ago” … There are three former Leafs who are now NHL GMs and five now coaching. The Wild and Vancouver Canucks, Toronto’s next opponent, feature one of each, Paul Fenton and Bruce Boudreau on Thursday, Jim Benning and Travis Green on Saturday … Leafs veteran Patrick Marleau stepped on the ice and tied Larry Murphy for ninth place in NHL career games (1,615) … The AHL announced Thursday that Trevor Moore, currently on the Leafs fourth line, and defenceman Calle Rosen would represent the Marlies at the AHL all-star game in Springfield later this month. Dermott was also picked last year after being promoted to the Leafs.

Hutch is a gamer
Having gone off the NHL radar, Michael Hutchinson showed he still has something to offer. Given more practice in the next couple of days, pending Garret Sparks’ condition, he should merit another start if there’s any doubt the current back-up is less than 100 per cent.
A kid among kids
Mitch Marner’s joie de vivre for the game in his memorable first half of the season with 55 points was evident again in the warmup in front of thousands of young fans, before he scored twice in the game’s first 5:38 and came close to a hat trick.

4 Friends Get Together

Some of my best friends got together and conducted a fictitious argument.

Ryan Jones :
  Some offense out of William Nylander would be nice.  I know I was rather pessimistic about him in a previous round-table, but that was after he missed months as a contract holdout.  Back when I drafted him, it seemed plausible that he would be signed before the end of training camp or early in the season (after all, we hadn't really seen this kind of holdout pre-Nylander).  Instead I ended up holding onto him as a dead weight for the first quarter of the season and now that he is playing, he has no goals and two assists in eight games.  Just from the perspective of a guy that has him in a fantasy league, I'd like to get something out of him.
              
Brian Wallace: I played around with a few different strategies on Draft Day, and one of them was to leave myself a bit thin among defenseman. One rearguard I had high hopes for was Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his initial season he posted 47 points with a plus-17 rating, but fell back a bit. I was hopeful of taking advantage of the sophomore jinx, as he tumbled a bit as far as ADP. I own quite a bit of Werenski stock, but so far it's about as valuable as shares of Arconic, Goodyear or Unum Group in 2018. It isn't so much that his offense is THAT far down, but he has a dismal minus-9 rating, and he is on pace to finish in the negative in double digits unless they turn things around in C-Bus. (Sing along...) On the fifth day of Christmas...my true love gave to me...a plus-5 rating! OK, that was a stretch.

Dave Picot: Health and production immediately comes mind as the best presents, but if we are talking about individual players then I'd like to see more from Shayne Gostisbehere.  He is a far away from the scoring pace he established last season when he generated 13 goals and 65 points in 78 games.  Gostisbehere's 0.44 points per game this year is the worst of his career.  He currently has four goals and 15 points through 34 contests, which includes just one goal and five helpers in the last 18 games. 

Brian Wallace: I'm hoping that the person impersonating Vladimir Tarasenko leaves the building and the real Tarasenko returns. In 34 games so far this season, the Russian sniper has a mere 11 goals and 22 points. Compare that to the 37 goals the real Tarasenko has averaged for the past four seasons, and you see why I'm hoping Santa makes the exchange.

Jim McCullough: It would be nice to get Alex Pietrangelo and PK Subban back at full health sooner than later. Finding quality defenders that can chip in offensively isn’t easy, so when two players are out due to injury, it really affects the fantasy squad. Hopefully, I haven’t been too naughty this year so Santa could grant me that wish.

Michael DeCiantis:  I took Jesse Puljujarvi last season for a dollar in my keeper pool and I would love it if he would remain on a line with Connor McDavid. As far as the NHL is concerned, it would be great if Santa could finally give Cory Schneider a win or Corey Crawford some good health.

Santa delivers in the clutch for Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs hit a bit of a rough patch with a 1-2-2 record from Dec. 6-15, but they’re going into the Christmas break on a four-game winning streak.  That nearly wasn’t the case.  On Sunday, Toronto had to rally back from a 3-1 deficit to Detroit.  Even after doing that, the Red Wings retook the lead at 12:03 of the third period and it wasn’t until John Tavares scored with 7.6 seconds left in regulation that the game was evened.

Kasperi Kapanen netted the overtime winner to elevate Toronto to 25-10-2.  In any other division, that would be good enough for the lead, but because the Maple Leafs are in the Atlantic, they’re second to the Tampa Bay Lightning (28-7-2).  Either way, with the halfway point of the campaign approaching, Toronto couldn’t have asked for much more.  There have been issues along the way like Auston Matthews getting hurt and William Nylander first being a contract holdout and more recently slumping in his return.  However, Toronto has shown that this strong group is strong enough to overcome issues like that.

Kasperi nets OT winner

Before we get into yesterday’s games, keep in mind that there are no contests on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday next week.

COLUMBUS 3 NEW JERSEY 0

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 39 shots to earn his second shutout of the season.  He improved to 16-10-1 with a 2.68 GAA and .913 save percentage in 27 games.

Ben Lovejoy led the Devils with six shots against Bobrovsky.  Lovejoy’s up to 45 shots this season, but he still doesn’t have a goal.  He ranks sixth for the most SOG among players with no markers.

Artemi Panarin scored a goal and registered an assist.  That gives him 11 goals and 39 points in 34 games.

Cam Atkinson netted the first and therefore game-winning goal.  It was his 23rd marker and 38th point in 35 games.

Keith Kinkaid stopped just eight of 11 shots before being yanked midway through the game.  Mackenzie Blackwood came into the contest and saved the nine shots he faced.



CAROLINA 5 BOSTON 3

Sebastian Aho came up big for the Hurricanes with two goals and two assists.  That gives him 14 goals and 38 points in 35 games.

Teuvo Teravainen also had two goals and two assists for Carolina.  He has eight goals and 29 points in 35 contests.

Petr Mrazek stopped 27 of 30 Bruins shots.  He’s 6-7-2 with a 2.63 GAA and .898 save percentage in 15 starts.

At the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask saved 32 of 37 shots.  He has an 8-8-2 record, 2.72 GAA, and .911 save percentage in 18 contests.

Ryan Donato scored twice for the Bruins.  He’s up to five goals and seven points in 24 games.

FLORIDA 6 CHICAGO 3

Jared McCann scored the game-winning goal and registered an assist.  He has six goals and 15 points in 34 contests.

Florida got another two goals from Jayce Hawryluk.  Those were the first two markers of the 22-year-old’s career.

James Reimer saved 26 of 29 shots last night.  He has a 6-7-3 record, 3.45 GAA, and .888 save percentage in 20 contests.

Dylan Strome found the back of the net and registered two assists for Chicago.  He’s up to nine goals and 15 points in 35 games.

Cam Ward turned aside 21 of 26 Panthers shots.  He has a 6-6-4 record, 3.90 GAA, and .886 save percentage in 17 contests.

PHILADELPHIA 3 NY RANGERS 2 (SO)

Michal Neuvirth saved 32 of 34 shots prior to the shootout.  He completed the win by successfully protecting the net through four shootout rounds.

Henrik Lundqvist had stopped 29 of 31 shots going into the skills competition.  He allowed a goal in four shootout rounds, which wasn’t good enough this time.

Chris Kreider scored a goal for the Rangers.  It was his 17th marker and 25th point in 35 games.

Michael Raffl found the back of the net.  It was the Flyers forward’s first goal and sixth point in 21 contests.

Wayne Simmonds accounted for the Flyers’ other goal.  He has 11 goals and 16 points in 35 games.

TORONTO 5 DETROIT 4 (OT)

Kasperi Kapanen scored two goals, including the overtime winner.  He has 14 goals and 25 points in 37 contests.

Morgan Rielly chipped in a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs.  The blue-liner is up to 13 goals and 44 points in 37 games.

Garret Sparks kicked out 26 of 30 Red Wings shots.  He has a 5-1-1 record, 3.01 GAA, and .908 save percentage in eight contests.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 19 of 24 shots against his former team.  He’s 5-9-2 record, 3.47 GAA, and .893 save percentage in 17 games.

Michael Rasmussen found the back of the net for Detroit.  That gives him six goals and 11 points in 36 contests.

LOS ANGELES 4 VEGAS 3 (OT)

Tyler Toffoli came through for the Kings in overtime.  He scored his sixth goal and 14th point in 37 games.

Jeff Carter was also a factor for Los Angeles with a power-play marker.  He has seven goals and 16 points in 37 contests.

Cal Petersen stopped 22 of 25 Golden Knights shots.  He has a 5-4-1 record, 2.60 GAA, and .924 save percentage in 11 games.

Ryan Reaves scored a goal for Vegas.  He has seven goals and 12 points in 38 contests.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 32 shots Sunday night.  He’s 20-10-4 with a 2.64 GAA and .906 save percentage in 34 starts.

ARIZONA 4 SAN JOSE 3 (SO)

Alex Galchenyuk scored two goals for the Coyotes.  He has five goals and 14 points in 26 games.  He also netted the lone goal in the shootout.

Tomas Hertl matched him with two goals of his own.  The Sharks forward has 12 goals an d29 points in 33 games.

Conor Garland accounted for Arizona’s other regulation time goal.  He has two goals and points in nine contests.

Darcy Kuemper stopped 35 of 38 shots in regulation time.  He was perfect in three shootout rounds to get the extra point.

Aaron Dell kicked out 23 of 26 shots before the skills competition.  When it came to the shootout, he allowed a goal in two rounds.

NY ISLANDERS 3 DALLAS 1

Robin Lehner stopped 19 of 20 shots Sunday night.  He has a 6-6-3 record, 2.44 GAA, and .919 save percentage in 16 games.

Anders Lee scored the game-winning goal.  He’s up to 13 goals and 26 points in 35 contests.

Leo Komarov found the back of the net for the Islanders.  It was his fourth goal and 12th point in 35 games.

Tyler Pitlick scored the Stars’ lone goal.  He has four goals and seven points in 33 contests.

Anton Khudobin saved 25 of 27 shots last night.  He has a 6-7-2 record, 2.81 GAA, and .912 save percentage in 17 games.

Welcome Back Matt

It was a low-scoring and not terribly exciting day from a fantasy perspective on Wednesday night in the National Hockey League. Hey, they all can't be a winner. If you like good fore-checking, solid goaltending and a great defensive effort than both of these games were for you. The first game of the night didn't feature any scoring in the first or third period, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals had all of their scoring done in the second. For the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, they spread it out a little bit over the evening, but there was still more defense than fantasy owners would like. Let's get started!




Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Washington Capitals 1

Lars Eller kicked off the scoring with an assist from Tom Wilson, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions a short-lived lead. Eller was very busy at the offensive end, taking four shots with a blocked shot and two hits over 19:12 of ice time across 21 shifts. It wasn't all great, as he won just three of his 14 face off attempts (21.4 percent). Wilson was the only other Capitals played to record a point, which is a far cry from the Opening Night game which featured 13 points in an overtime victory by the Penguins back on Oct. 4. Wilson kicked off his evening throwing hands with Jamie Oleksiak, as each player picked up five-minute penalties. The fight occurred less than a minute into the game, obviously a resolution of a previous situation. In addition, Oleksiak sustained a facial laceration and he was unable to return after the donnybrook. Braden Holtby did a good job for the home side, turning back 28 of the 30 shots he faced, but the offense just came up short in their support.



For the Penguins, they received a power-play goal from Sidney Crosby just 2:37 after Eller's opening goal in the second period, tying the game 1-1. Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang picked up helpers on the man advantage, as more of the big guns were able to contribute than for the Caps. Before the curtain came down on the second period it was Bryan Rust connecting for his seventh goal of the season, making it 2-1. That's how the game finished, so Rust was able to notch the game-winning tally. His game-winner was assisted on by Jake Guentzel and Crosby, and it was his sixth goal in the past five games. Guentzel drew a tripping penalty on Michal Kempny midway through the second period, and he was also dumped by Matt Niskanen early in the third period, while he also took a penalty for holding T.J. Oshie. Guentzel wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, getting right in the middle of all of the action. Not only did he posted the helper, he took three shots, had a blocked shot, the minor penalty and two hits in his 17:34 of ice time.

For the home side, Matt Murray was tending twine and he allowed just one goal on 32 shots for the much-deserved win, ending Washington's five-game winning streak in the process. It was just his second game back from a lower-body injury, but he looked a lot more comfortable in this one and it might have been his best performance of the season. In fact, it was the first time in 15 games which the Capitals were unable to light the lamp at least three times. Murray has won back-to-back games for the first time since rattling off victories in a three-start stretch from Oct. 18-25. He entered the night with a 3.95 goals-against average, so you still might be able to grab him on the cheap in fantasy leagues. But the bargains won't last long if he keeps locking it down.

Colorado Avalanche 2, Montreal Canadiens 1

Like the first game of the night, the eventual losing team had a short-lived lead. Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring for the visitors with a power-play goal at 5:43 of the first period to beat Philipp Grubauer. It was Gallagher's 15th goal of the season, assisted on by Jeff Petry and Jonathan Drouin. The 26-year-old from Edmonton has managed at least 15 goals in six of his first seven NHL season, and he is well on his way toward equaling or exceeding his career-high 31 goals and 54 points across 82 games last season. This was just his second marker, and fourth point, on the man advantage this season, so he is well off the pace from his eight power-play goals and 17 points set in 2017-18. As far as Petry is concerned, he and Shea Weber, the top defensive pairing, were very physical in this one. They tied for the team high with four hits, and Petry also stepped in front of a shot, too.

This season the cash line of the Colorado Avalanche featuring Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen haven't been held in check very often. Wednesday wasn't going to be one of those nights, either. The dynamic trio combined for two goals and five points, or all of the offensive production for the home side. Rantanen struck for his 16th goal early in the second period on a pass from MacKinnon, and then those two set up Landeskog just 35 seconds into the second period for the game-winning tally. Landeskog has managed seven game-winners so far this season, including two in the past three games. He is absolutely on fire, picking up at least one goal in each of his past three outings, while scoring eight goals with 14 points in nine games in the month of December.

As far as Rantanen is concerned, he recorded a multi-point effort for the third time in five games, rebounding from a rare scoreless outing against the Islanders on Monday night. The scoreless game was snapped a 14-game point streak. In the month of December he has rolled up five goals with 15 points in just nine outings. It was all Grubauer needed to pick up his eighth win in 13 decisions, moving to 8-3-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. He is still a touch off from Semyon Varlamov's 2.79 GAA and .913 save percentage, but Grubauer's record is much better than Varlamov's 11-8-3 record.

In the other crease, Carey Price allowed just two goals on 26 shots, doing a good enough job, but he came up short yet again in his search for career win No. 300. Next up for the Habs will be a trip to the desert to tangle with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Stamkos Night

I was quite impressed with the Golden Knights crowd as it gets pretty raucous at the T-Mobile Arena. It was pretty funny whenever an opposition penalty occurs as the fans yell ‘Shame’ reminiscent of the goaltender from Slapshot.

The Golden Knights are a very good home team but are having their problems on the road as they are going to be in a battle for a playoff spot. They are always on the puck but there seems to be something lacking this season. It’s like they have become complacent.

The one thing I noticed in the arena is the lack of televisions when you leave your seats to go to the concessions or the washroom. If I owned the team, I would give the fans every opportunity to spend more at the concessions. Even if you are leaving the game early, you want to see what is happening.

Miro Heiskanen is going to be a star in the NHL for the Stars. He is quarterbacking their power play as John Klingberg is still out with a hand injury and had assists on both Dallas power play goals. Heiskanen is only 19 and was selected third overall in 2017.

Chicago is not a good team and let’s leave it at that. Duncan Keith is no longer seeing any power play time.




TAMPA BAY 6 NEW YORK RANGERS 3

Steven Stamkos had the hat trick to lead the Lightning to a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers. The stud center started the season off with only one goal in his first 10 games but he has 14 goals in 22 games since then to return to his goal-scoring years. Stamkos was always a goal-scorer as he had 60 in the 2011-12 campaign but poolies noticed a big decline last season with only 27 in 78 games although he did chip in with 59 assists. But the Stamkos of years gone by has returned to form of late. His second goal was the 700^th point in his career.

Anthony Cirelli had a pair of goals with defenseman Ryan McDonagh also scoring.

Kevin Hayes scored twice for the Rangers with Jesper Fast completing the scoring for New York.

It was the seventh straight win for Tampa Bay and Louis Domingue’s sixth straight. Domingue turned aside 23 shots for the W.

Henrik Lundqvist picked up the loss for New York as he made 30 saves.

Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and J.T. Miller all had two assists.

Erik Cernak and Matt Beleskey fought late in the game and each picked up five for fighting.


PITTSBURGH 2 NEW YORK ISLANDERS 1 (Shootout)

Jake Guentzel scored the shootout winner to lead the Penguins to a 2-1 come from behind win over the Islanders. It is hard to believe but it was the first time that Guentzel had ever partook in a shootout.

Casey DeSmith made 25 saves to pick up the win. He is 9-4-4 this season with a 2.34 GAA and a .925 save percentage and has made so many fans forget about Matt Murray.

Robin Lehner made 23 saves to take the shootout loss.

Anthony Beauvillier opened the scoring in the second period as he was the only one to beat DeSmith.

Derick Brassard notched his fourth of the season to tie the game in the third and send it into extra time. Brassard is now playing the wing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Guentzel.

It was a big game for Zach Aston-Reese who had eight hits and five blocked shots. Matt Martin also had eight hits.

Both teams were 0-4 on the power play.

DETROIT 3 LOS ANGELES 1

It was the Jimmy Howard show on Monday night as he single-handedly defeated the Los Angeles Kings at home. Howard stopped 42 shots as only Anze Kopitar beat him to break up his shutout bid in the third period. Howard is 10-6-4 this season with a 2.68 GAA and a .923 save percentage as he is having quite the season in the Motor City.

Jonathan Quick managed to stop only 18-of-21 shots in the Kings net as he saw his record fall to 2-6-1 with a 2.91 GAA and a mediocre .893 save percentage.

Frans Nielsen ended up with the winner. He started the season without a goal in his first 22 games but has five in his last five games.

Rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski potted his fifth of the season and is tied for second in rookie defenseman scoring with only Maxime Lajoie ahead of him at six.

Dylan Larkin also scored for the Red Wings.

Tyler Toffoli had eight shots on goal for the Kings. Every player on Los Angeles managed a shot on goal.


SAN JOSE 5 NEW JERSEY 2

Timo Meier scored twice including his 16^th of the season to lead the Sharks to a 5-2 win over the Devils.

Meier was drafted ninth overall in the 2015 Draft and started to show his value last season in December. He has been a fantasy-asset ever since.

Congratulations go out to Radim Simek who scored his first goal in his NHL career in only his fifth career game. The defenseman has two points this season and was a plus-three in the game to give him a plus-five rating thus far.

Joe Pavelski also scored as it was his 20^th of the season.

Tomas Hertl sewed up the win with a power play goal, his ninth of the season, at the 14:23 mark of the third. Pavelski helped set up the goal and has seven assists.

Martin Jones stopped 22 shots for his 12^th win of the season.

For the Devils, Drew Stafford and Andy Greene each scored their first of the season in the loss. Greene also picked up his seventh assist of the season on Stafford’s goal to open the game.

Keith Kinkaid got the start as well as picking up the loss. He stopped 29 shots.

Egor Yakovlev was a minus-three on the night.

Notes: The Maple Leafs dealt minor leaguer Adam Cracknell to Anaheim for minor league defenseman Steve Oleksy…Artem Anisimov missed practice on Monday as he has a suspected concussion after he was hit by the Canadiens Shea Weber Sunday…Alex Martinez is out with an upper-body injury…The Capitals T.J. Oshie could return as early as Tuesday from a concussion that has kept him out of action since November 14. He practiced Monday…Chad Johnson was placed on waivers by the Blues…Antti Raanta is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury and could be lost for the season…Elias Pettersson was the first star of the week with two goals and eight points in three games including a five-point effort Sunday, his second of the season…Louis Domingue won all three of his starts, allowing only four goals as he shown he has been a more than capable replacement for the injured Andrei Vasilevskiy…Johnny Gaudreau also had a two-goal, six assist week but he did it in four games rather than Pettersson’s three.

Nightly Leaders

GOALS

Steven Stamkos – 3
Kevin Hayes – 2
Anthony Cirelli – 2
Timo Meier – 2

Assists

J.T. Miller – 2
Brayden Point - 2
Victor Hedman– 2

Shots on Goal

Tyler Toffoli - 8
Phil Kessel - 7
Stamkos – 6

Hits

Zach Aston-Reese - 8
Matt Martin – 8

Let's ask the Beaver

I have returned from my 14 day sojourn in the Caribbean, slightly browner and one year older ( I celebrated  a birthday  while on the cruise )

And I realise that William Nylander signed a 6 year deal to play for my Maple Leafs on Saturday around 4:45 pm. So let's ask the Beaver what he thinks of the NHL these days. I've got laundry to attend to.



Honestly, I have no idea what’s going to happen at this point.  I think he’ll end up signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs for around $6.7-7 million annually for five-to-seven years, but we’ll see.  One of three things has to happen today though.  Either he signs with Toronto, he gets traded and signs with another team, or he becomes ineligible to play for the remainder of 2018-19.

The fact that it got to this point at all is bizarre.  It’s not unusual to see talks go up to the deadline like this in other scenarios, but there’s a reason why this particular deadline hasn’t come up before.  Even missing training camp is a serious issue for players and Nylander has now missed over a quarter of the season.  At this point there’s no telling how big an issue rust will be and what kind of impact he can have even once he starts playing.  That’s bad for him and it’s bad for the Maple Leafs.

On top of that, Nylander hasn’t been paid while he’s waiting.  He must be banking on the idea that by holding out he will stand to make more in the long run and maybe that’s right, but it’s unusual.  Or at least, it has been unusual until now.  Hopefully Nylander isn’t setting a new normal for major RFA negotiations, but with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Patrik Laine headlining next year’s group of RFAs coming off entry-level contracts, I guess we’ll see.

 

FLORIDA 3 BUFFALO 2 (OT)

Aleksander Barkov scored the game-winning goal.  It was his ninth goal and 22nd point in 24 games this season.

Sam Reinhart scored a goal and registered an assist.  The Sabres forward has six goals and 21 points in 27 games.

Jonathan Huberdeau assisted on two of Florida’s three goals.  He’s up to five goals and 24 points in 23 games.

James Reimer turned aside 22 of 24 Sabres shots.  He’s 5-6-2 with a 3.25 GAA and .895 save percentage in 16 contests.

At the other end of the ice, Linus Ullmark stopped 40 of 43 shots.  He has a 5-0-2 record, 2.57 GAA, and .927 save percentage in eight games.

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WASHINGTON 6 NEW JERSEY 3

Nicklas Backstrom led the charge with a hat trick and an assist.  That gives him nine goals and 32 points in 25 games.

Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net and registered two assists.  The Capitals forward has 19 goals and 31 points in 25 games.

Braden Holtby saved 33 of 36 Devils shots.  He’s won his last five games, though this ended his streak of three straight starts where he allowed two or fewer goals.

Keith Kinkaid allowed four goals on 29 shots.  This is the third straight start where he’s surrendered four goals and New Jersey has lost each of those games.

Nico Hischier scored a goal and registered an assist.  The Devils forward has five goals and 15 points in 20 games.

ANAHEIM 2 CAROLINA 1 (OT)

Ryan Getzlaf scored the overtime winner.  It was his seventh goal and 19th point in 22 games.

Pontus Aberg accounted for Anaheim’s other goal.  That gives him seven goals and 11 points in 22 contests.

Andrei Svechnikov found the back of the net for Carolina.  He has six goals and 12 points in 25 games.

Curtis McElhinney stopped 27 of 29 Ducks shots.  He has a 7-2-1 record, 2.10 GAA, and .930 save percentage in 10 starts.

Meanwhile, John Gibson saved 33 of 34 shots.  He’s 10-8-4 with a 2.47 GAA and .929 save percentage in 22 starts.

ST. LOUIS 3 COLORADO 2 (OT)

Colton Parayko netted the overtime winner in this one.  He’s up to four goals and seven points in 24 games.

Vladimir Tarasenko also scored a goal for St. Louis.  He has nine goals and 20 points in 24 games.

Jake Allen stopped 27 of 29 Avalanche shots.  He has a 7-7-3 record, 3.24 GAA, and .896 save percentage in 19 games.

Mikko Rantanen extended his point streak to seven games with a goal.  The Avalanche forward has 11 goals and 43 points in 26 games.

Semyon Varlamov surrendered three goals on 37 shots.  He has a 9-5-3 record, 2.36 GAA, and .927 save percentage in 17 starts.

CALGARY 4 LOS ANGELES 1

Mike Smith only had to face 14 shots in this game and he stopped 13 of them.  Los Angeles didn’t manage more than five shots in a single period.

Adrian Kempe scored the Kings’ only goal.  He has three goals and seven points in 26 contests.

Mikael Backlund scored two goals and registered an assist.  That gives him five goals and 16 points in 26 games.

Matthew Tkachuk assisted on two of Calgary’s four goals.  He’s up to 12 goals and 29 points in 26 contests.

Calvin Petersen stopped 33 of 35 Flames shots.  He’s surrendered just two or fewer goals in each of his last three starts.