Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It was an 8-game schedule, so a bit lighter than usual, to peek in on Tuesday night.
But that didn’t stop Wyatt Johnston (1 G [26], 3 SOG, his league-leading 16th PPG) and the rest of the Stars from feasting on a steady diet of bear paws on home ice.
Jeremy Swayman (19-12-1-1) faced 32 shots on goal…before the third period started. Oh boy. The B’s defense corps looked like they were late to the opening faceoff in this one, then spent the rest of the game spinning in circles trying to figure out which way was up.
The 6-2 Dallas win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Stars and pushed Dallas’ record to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games.
As for the Bruins, this one brings a nice little half-dozen-win streak to a skidding halt. I’d have AI generate another graphic that sums that whiff up nicely, but I’m afraid the Redditors might end up even more feral and frothy than they were after last week’s Mandalorian cover image, so let’s leave it alone for now.
Were the Dallas Stars the only team shining on that cold, dark Tuesday night in January?
Here’s what else I saw in Tuesday night’s NHL action…
Jeremy Swayman – 28 saves on 34 shots and the 6-2 loss at DAL. Hey, at least he only had to face two shots in the 3rd period before getting the hook for Joonas Korpisalo (3 saves on 3 shots).
Jake Oettinger – 16 saves on 18 shots and his 2nd win in his last 6 starts. This one was more about the Bruins’ defense being porous, but credit where it’s due: Oettinger made the big saves when needed.
Justin Hryckowian – 1 G (8), 2 A (9), +2, 3 SOG, 1 PPA. Ya, so he had more points than Wyatt Johnston did. So what. I’d like to see you try to find a rhyme for Hryckowian.
Jason Robertson – 2 G (29), +2, 2 PIM, 9 SOG, 18:57 TOI. So this guy is probably going to have 30 goals before February 1st, and he’s not on the US Olympic roster? O…….Kay.
Miro Heiskanen – 3 A (32), +2, 1 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 BLK, 21:52 TOI. Roope Hintz and Thomas Harley had a couple of assists apiece as well.
James Reimer – 21 saves on 22 shots and his first win of the season (at CLM). No, seriously. Look who’s back! This could be yet another visit to the ‘Memberberries bush, as it feels like Reimer has played for 15 different teams since the great Leaf meltdown of 2013. It’s not a great story here, as Reimer is filling in for Linus Ullmark, who’s off to address his mental health difficulties.
Tim Stutzle – 1 G (21), 1 A (29), +1, 2 SOG, GWG, 20:31 TOI. 6 points in his last 5 games. Randy Greig had a goal and an assist, too.
Thomas Chabot – 2 A (14), +1, 2 SOG, 2 BLK, 22:10 TOI. A modest 4-game, 4-point streak for Chabot.
Elvis Merzlikins – 5 saves on 7 shots and removed after the 1st period (illness).
Jet Greaves – 12 saves on 13 shots and the no-decision. You know those days when you’re supposed to have a day off, and you’re mentally checked out, you have your slippers on, and you’re enjoying a morning coffee with nary a care in the world? And then your phone rings and it’s your boss asking if you can come in to work? That was Greaves last night. Just without the slippers and coffee…and the phone call…and he was already dressed and working the defenseman door. But other than that, it’s exactly the same.
Yaroslav Askarov – 16 saves on 19 shots in the 4-1 loss at TB. Askarov me no questions, and I’ll tell-you-ov no lies. (But I won’t tell you off. That’s just rude.) At least he didn’t lose any teeth.
I’ve been waiting to share this one! And it’s not like the Sharks did much that warranted a share on Tuesday night anyway.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 22 saves on 23 shots and the 4-1 win over SJ.
Brandon Hagel – 2 G (25), 1 A (21), +3, 5 SOG, 2 H, 2 BLK, and more importantly, a 3-POINT CHALLENGE VICTORY FOR VIZ!
Jake Guentzel – 1 G (22),1 A (29), 1 SOG, 1 BLK, 15:55 TOI. Nearly a carbon copy of his game on Sunday (with two fewer shots on this one). Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist, too.
Nikita Kucherov – 3 A (49), +2, 18:00 TOI. Kooch had his 10-game point streak snapped last week, but he was right back at it again on Tuesday. He has 6 points in his last 3 games and is about as chalk as it gets in daily, weekly, or any other leagues.
Jesper Wallstedt – 29 saves on 33 shots and the loss. Wallstedt has lost his last three starts and given up 15 goals over that span.
Vladimir Tarasenko – 2 G (13), -2, 3 SOG, 2 PPG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 15:46 TOI, and a last name that reminds me of a giant, collapsing hole in the road. Oh, and he has 8 points in his last 4 games.
Kirill Kaprizov – 2 A (34), 1 SOG, 1 PPA, 23:40 TOI. Mats Zuccarello had two assists in this one, too.
Jakub Dobes – 16 saves on 19 shots. He’s 5-1 in his last 6 starts (shootout loss) and 14-5 overall.
Ivan Demidov – 2 A (32), +1, 3 SOG, 1 H, 15:07 TOI. The NHL’s top rookie scorer keeps piling it on. 43 points in 50 GP is a solid pace for anyone, let alone for a kid who turned 20 a month ago. The Calder race is pretty wild, but if I had a vote, I’d be moving this guy ahead of Jesper Wallstedt and Beckett Sennecke. He might not beat Matthew Schaefer, but Demidov is already an integral cog in that Montreal machine.
Lane Hutson – 1 G (9), 1 A (43), +2, 4 PIM, 2 SOG, 19:29 TOI. Speaking of cogs in the Montreal machine. This guy is more like the engine that makes it all run smoothly. 52 points in 50 games with 7 pts in his last 3 GP.
Joel Hofer – 13 saves on 15 shots and the 3-1 loss at WPG. At 11-10-2, Hofer’s win/loss record isn’t all that encouraging, but the 2.73 GAA and .904 save percentage are much better indicators of his abilities than the win total.
Jordan Kyrou – 1 G (9), 3 SOG, PPG, 17:47 TOI. “I’m just a Blue who scores. Each day, I shoot some more. I like scoring, I’m Kyrou. Kyrou…Kyrou…”
Eric Comrie – 22 saves on 23 shots and the 3-1 win over STL. The good news is that Comrie has won two starts in a row. The bad news is that he went 11 days without a start in between. Oof.
Josh Morrissey – 1 G (10), 2 A (32), +1, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 PPG, 2 BLK, 21:33 TOI. He’s not quite at the Lane Hutson 50-point mark, but 42 points in 49 games is pretty solid either way.
Mark Scheifele – 2 G (25), 1 A (36), +1, 2 SOG, 1 PPG, 1 PPA, GWG, 1 BLK, 6-for-13 FOW. This guy is the Canadian version of Jason Robertson, also known as, “How was this dude not added to the Olympic team?” Robertson’s 58 points are just behind Scheifele’s 61 pts in 49 games, though.
Alex Lyon – 31 saves on 34 shots and the 5-3 win at NSH. If you can guess how many starts Alex Lyon has won in a row, you get a crisp over-the-internet high five from Mr MarmosDad. If it helps, I was way off with my guess.
Noah Ostlund – 2 G (9), +1, 3 SOG, 1 BLK. Speaking of way off, I don’t know what was more surprising. That this guy has played 37 games, or that he has 9 goals. Insert Snopp Dogg “WHO?” gif here.
Konsta Helenius – 1 G (1), 2 A (2), +2, 4 SOG, 2 H, 1 BLK, and one Western New York crown as the newest Sabres darling. Three points in the first period! Talk about making an immediate impact. This is one of Buffalo’s top prospects and the same guy one of my die-hard Sabres buddies said to write up in the preseason rundowns. The only knock was that Helenius wasn’t going to make the big club out of camp. Well, he’s here now, and he’s worth streaming if you need some offensive jolt on your fantasy squad.
Juuse Saros – 14 saves on 18 shots, the loss, and the early yank. Justus Annunen (13 saves on 13 shots) finished this one off.
Ryan O’Reilly – 2 G (18), 1 A (29), +2, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 11-for-26 FOW. That’s 10 points in his last 5 games. You think this dude is trying to escape Nashville or what? Every time this guy scores a couple of points, opposing GMs add some more spice to the trade deadline stew.
Filip Forsberg – 1 G (19), 2 A (20), +1, 7 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 19:38 TOI. See above.
Jake Allen – 9 saves on 10 shots (after two periods). And there’s that Gee Dee 6-7 again! Just be thankful it’s not Jakob Markstrom, or it might have been over before it started.
Cody Glass – 1 G (11), 1 A (4), +2, 4 SOG, 8:01 TOI (through 2 periods). 11 goals and 4 assists? Who is this guy, Michael Grabner?
Arseny Gritsyuk – 1 G (9), 1 A (11). The “Arsen-ist” was at it again. On fire? Maybe not. But a two-point night (through 2 periods) is a welcome sight, especially when he had just one point in his last 10 games.
Dougie Hamilton – 1 A (11), 1 SOG, 1 BLK, 1 more complaint about wanting out of a city. Don’t worry, Dougie, you’ve only burned bridges in 4 towns; there are 28 other teams you can try out before you have to head over to Europe.
I can’t be too nasty, though. He has 7 points in his last 6 games and is due for a serious uptick in TOI with the Luke Hughes injury.
Tristan Jarry – 12 saves on 14 shots vs NJ after two periods. With the Oilers offense, there’s no reason why Jarry can’t hang in there…for an 8-6 win.
Matt Savoie – 1 G (8), +1, 1 SOG, in 9:01 TOI (Through 2 periods). I’m gonna go out on a frozen limb and say Savoie won’t be the only goal scorer for Edmonton before the final horn goes.
Jonathan Quick – 15 saves on 19 shots after two periods. I watched a bit of this one while I was editing, and Quick was definitely on his toes. The bad news is the Rangers played defense about as well as the Bruins did against Dallas. So much for a happy return to LA for Mr. Quick. He’s winless in his last 11 starts (all the way back to November 11th). EDIT: Right after I wrote this up, the broadcast team commented on how poorly the Rangers are defending. Confirmation bias for the win!
JT Miller – 1 G (12), 4 SOG, 2 H, 1 BLK. Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before, but here’s a veteran forward on a team that is likely getting ready to sell before the trade deadline. And, of course, he’s turning on the offense. 11 points in his last 9 games.
Will Cuylle – 1 G (13), +1, 4 SOG, 1 H. The Rangers said that everyone is available for the right price. I’d say it would be silly for any team to not have that outlook anyway, but Cuylle is a guy I wouldn’t be actively looking to ship out in a rebuild.
Darcy Kuemper – 6 saves on 8 shots before being removed with 20 seconds left in the first period. Broadcast peeps were guessing the reason for the early hook, and it looked like he might have stretched the groin a bit too much. Hopefully, he’s not out long-term. Check for updates if you have him in a daily league.
Anton Forsberg – 16 saves on 16 shots (after two periods) and, barring a complete collapse by the Kings, cruising to his 8th win.
Kevin Fiala – 1 G (18), 1 A (18), +2, 1 SOG. Way to make that one shot count, Kev.
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below, and I’ll be sure to get back to you ASAP.
Happy Wednesday, and I’ll see you next week!
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