Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
With just 7 games on tap, it was a shorter schedule than usual for our final Tuesday night before the Olympic break.
But that didn’t stop a certain Carolina Hurricanes goalie from saying “neato,” checking his libido, and heading to the rink in a new tuxedo.
Brandon Bussi – 22 saves on 25 shots and the 4-3 win vs OTT – did his best 1989 pop-rap impression and Busted a serious Move at home against the Ottawa Senators.
Hopefully, you listened to Viz and me when we said to add Bussi anywhere and everywhere you could, when it looked like he was playing himself into extra time in the Canes’ crease.
Of course, success is always easier to find when a bit of luck is involved, so the season-ending injury to Pyotr Kochetkov was a perfect example of ability meeting opportunity. And Bussi has flashed his best “Just Stand (on his head) There” impression in true Young MC form.
A 21-3-1 line heading into Tuesday night’s start is impressive enough. But, predictably, the ratios reflect Bussi’s superior skills just as much as his win/loss record does.
The 2.12 GAA is good for second in the league (behind Andrei Vasilevskiy). The save percentage is just as impressive (.906), even if it doesn’t rank as highly as his goals against (19th overall).
EDIT: Bussi was on fire to start this game, and after Carolina jumped out to a 3-1 lead halfway through the 2nd, it looked like it would be an easy night. Ottawa pushed back hard, but a few ridiculous pad-stack saves in the final seconds of the 3rd period gave Bussi the hard-earned victory.
I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we hear, “For me, Brandon Bussi was the difference maker,” or the last time he’s the first star of the game.
What’s the bottom line? If you’re in a keeper league and your team is falling out of contention, you could do a lot worse than flipping a couple of ageing pieces for a young and uber-talented netminder in Brandon Bussi. I’m kicking myself for not rolling the dice on the 27-year-old beast from Sound Beach, NY, in that dynasty startup league this year.
Sure, Bussi was bussin’ last night. But were there any other highlights to peek in on from the other games last night?
Here’s what else I saw in Tuesday night’s NHL action…
Sebastian Aho – 1 G (20), 2 A (37), +2, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 2 H, 6-for-14 FOW, 16:50 TOI. This would’ve been a sneaky 3-point challenge winner, and Aho has a modest three-game goal streak going.
Seth Jarvis – 2 G (25), +2, 4 SOG, 1 PPG, 1 H, and a ‘pretty close to elite’ 16.3 shooting percentage. He’s another name on the long list of North American Olympic snubs.
James Reimer – 14 saves on 18 shots and the 4-3 loss at CAR. How about this for a handful of ‘Memberberries? In 6 starts this year, Reimer has allowed four goals four times. Woof.
Jake Sanderson – 1 G (11), 2 A (35), -3, 1 SOG, 2 PPP, and a Top 10 defenceman scoring season (so far).
Tim Stutzle – 1 G (27), -3, 3 SOG, 1 BLK. It’s a 4-game goal-scoring streak for Stutzle and 7 G in his last 10 GP.
Dylan Cozens – 2 A (25), 1 SOG, 2 PPA, 3 H. Does anyone think this guy misses playing in Buffalo? Actually, does anyone ever miss playing in Buffalo? (JK!)
Clay Stevenson – 18 saves on 21 shots in the 4-2 loss at PHI. Back-to-back starts for Stevenson and his first loss in 3 GS since the recall. Logan Thompson is getting some rest (upper-body injury) before the trip to Italy.
Anthony Beauvillier – 1 G (12), 1 A (8), +1, 2 SOG, 1 SHA, 1 H, and 17:51 TOI.
Dan Vladar – 26 saves on 28 shots and the 4-2 win vs WSH. It was the dark lord’s first win in 7 starts. Heard between periods after a bit of pressure from the Capitals: “I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it any further”.
Rasmus Ristolainen – 1 G (1), 1 A (5), +2, 2 SOG, 20:41 TOI. Wait. WHO?!
Yes, he’s still playing.
Travis Konecny – 2 A (32), +1, 1 PPA, 1 BLK, 19:39 TOI. This guy has to be in the Top 5 of most underrated forwards in the league. 54 points in 54 games and a fairly ridiculous 15 points in his last 9 GP.
Elvis Merzlikins – 24 saves on 24 shots at NJ. That’s a SHUTOUT! It’s fitting that Elvis leaves Columbus feeling Blue. Apparently, the King of Rock n Roll recorded 20 songs with “Blue” in the title. Huh. The more you know.
Mathieu Olivier – 2 G (8), +2, 1 SOG, 3 H. Olivier has 6 points in his last 3 games.
Jacob Markstrom – 23 saves on 25 shots and the loss vs CLM. It’s probably not a good sign that my immediate reaction to seeing Markstrom was getting the start for NJ was something like this…
In his defense, Markstrom wasn’t bad at all. He just got outplayed by a very hot “Blue Hawaii”an.
Stuart Skinner – 18 saves on 23 shots and the 5-4 OTL at NYI. This one ended a 5-game win streak for Skinner.
Justin Brazeau – 1 G (15), 1 A (12), +2, 6 SOG, 1 H, 2 BLK, and 12:59 TOI. I’m still a bit sour that the Bruins let this guy get away. Kind of like the Bussi fumble. Oh well.
Erik Karlsson – 1 A (31), +2, 2 PIM, 3 SOG, 1 H. It wasn’t a huge game from Karlsson, but it was a nice stat filler for those of us in leagues with multiple categories.
Ilya Sorokin – 31 saves on 35 shots and the 5-4 OTW. For some reason, he hasn’t felt like the dominant goaltender he’s been in past years. Maybe it’s just the lack of spotlight on the Islanders. Sorokin is still a top-tier option, though. He’s among the best in GAA, SV%, and leads the league with 6 shutouts (!).
Bo Horvat – 2 G (23), 1 A (15), +5 (!), 3 SOG, 2 H, 2 BLK, and 24:35 TOI. The 16.7 shooting percentage continues to be solid, and the ice time is in line with the Isles “go-to” guys (more below).
Mathew Barzal – 1 G (16), 2 A (34), +4, 4 SOG, 24:16 TOI. Yep. These two forwards keep this team’s offense chugging along. All they needed was a solid defenseman to add to the lethal combination…
Matthew Schaefer – 1 G (16), 1 A (23), +1, 2 SOG, 3 BLK, 27:59 TOI. It’s always nice to see Schaefer produce on a Tuesday night. I’d write him up either way, but at least a two-point night justified the write-up. 28 minutes in an NHL game just four months after his 18th birthday? Jeez. 4 months after my 18th birthday, I was trying to survive the nastiest winter in 30 years in North Bay and trying to survive University before Springtime hit. It’s safe to say that this kid is the real deal.
Colten Ellis – 31 saves on 35 shots in the OTL at TB. All that hullabaloo about which of Buffalo’s goalies would be in line for the Lyon’s share of starts, and Lindy Ruff takes a hard left. The news that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s injury is serious enough for the big Finn to miss the Olympics coincided with another Ellis start, this time at Tampa. He came into last night’s game with 3 wins in his last 4 games and, despite losing on Tuesday night, should be a handy backup to Alex Lyon for the foreseeable future.
Mattias Samuelsson – 2 G (11), +1, 3 SOG, 2 H, 24:01 TOI. Two losses in their last three games isn’t ideal for the Sabres, but that 19-3-1 run they went on gives them more than enough of a cushion to ride into the Olympic break on a high note.
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 23 saves on 26 shots in the 4-3 OTW vs BUF. One more W, one extended win streak, and one game without kicking another goalie’s head in. WHAT?! Oh, if you haven’t seen the clip, let’s have a peek at this one.
The gigantic elephant in the arena is how the Bruins blew a 5-1 lead to lose 6-5 in the shootout, but this little dust-up made the result a bit easier to swallow after the Bruins’ implosion.
As for the Lightning and Vasilevskiy, this team is one of the biggest beasts in the East for a reason.
Nikita Kucherov – 1 G (29), 3 A (60), +1, 7 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 BLK, 22:24. It feels silly to say this guy is underrated, but if you caught any of that Stadium Series game, you would’ve heard the commentators mention it at least a few times. Kucherov puts up the points, but the quiet dominance that he shows in each game is impressive. He took over the second half of Sunday’s game and was back at it in this one. He has 23 points in his last 9 games. Wow.
Jake Guentzel – 1 G (25), 1 A (34), +1, 1 SOG, 1 H, 26:07 TOI. His point totals aren’t as eye-popping as Kucherov’s, but 59 points in 54 games is nothing to turn your nose up at.
Darren Raddysh – 1 G (17), 1 A (34), -1, 3 SOG, 2 H, 2 BLK, 25:48 TOI. I don’t know how anyone could argue that this guy is the breakout defenseman of the year, but it would be fun to hear someone try to argue it.
Anthony Stolarz – This guy’s stat line was solid, but it was a couple of zeroes on the scoresheet that made it even better for him (more below).
Matias Maccelli – 2 G (10), +1, 4 SOG, 1 PPG, 2 BLK. Wait. Wasn’t this Tony Danza’s character from “Who’s The Boss?” (yes, I’m kidding).
Matthew Knies – 1 G, 1 A, That’s 14 goals for Knies, who finally ties Fraser Minten in tallies. <insert EYES emoji>
Connor Ingram – 22 saves on 26 shots and the 5-2 loss to TOR.
Kasperi Kapanen – 1 G (4), +1, 3 SOG, 4 H, 15:03 TOI. This guy is like a small pint of memberberries. He’s not nearly old enough to retire, but he also feels like he’s been M.I.A. for years. It’s nice to see him score one against the old team.
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl – Speaking of zeroes…An Anthony Stolarz victory is nice enough for Leaf fans to enjoy, but when it comes with shutting out two of the best forwards in the league? That’s the extra chocolate sauce and sprinkles on top. This pair combined for over 42 minutes of ice time, 4 shots on goal apiece, and one blocked shot (each). No points to show for it, though.
Philipp Grubauer – 20 saves on 22 shots through 2 periods. This is headed to the second intermission (at time of writing), and it’s looking like a goalie war. Grubauer is on pace to face 30-35 shots at this point.
Lukas Dostal – 17 saves on 17 shots after 2 periods. As I said above with Grubauer, this one is shaping up to be a bit of a goalie battle. Dostal was perfect after two (at the time of writing).
Cutter Gauthier – 1 G (25), +1, 1 SOG, 12:47 TOI after two periods. I came thisclose to taking Gauthier in the 3-point challenge before I talked myself out of it and went with Jordan Eberle instead. For what it’s worth, it’s looking like no one on either side is notching 3 points in this one.
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
ALSO, with the NHL schedule freezing up for two weeks, I almost took a bit of a break to focus on baseball…but I’ll be BACK for the next two weeks to write up a trade deadline piece for the Eastern and Western Conferences!
Happy Wednesday, and I’ll see you next week!
Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social
