The Panthers have won 11 in a row, and 14 of their past 15 games. There’s been plenty of crazy games in this stretch that has them tied for the league lead in points. On Tuesday, they tied the game with less than four minutes left before they won it 20 seconds into overtime, and it was the usual suspects. Aleksander Barkov scored all three goals in the 3-2 OT win, with Jonathan Huberdeau assisting on all three goals. Barkov has a new career high in goals, 37, despite playing in only 63 games to this point. Additionally, Huberdeau now leads the league in points. Yes, that’s correct, he leads the league in points. Both of them will be in the discussion to be first round picks in drafts next season. It’s going to be great to see them in the playoffs, hopefully for longer than last time around. Let’s see what else happened on Tuesday:
Kevin Fiala – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. I gave expanded thoughts on Fiala yesterday.
Cam Talbot – 26 save shutout in the 2-0 win over the Canadiens. Talbot and Fleury are splitting the starts right now. Talbot’s overall numbers are those of a solid #2. If he’s the Wild goalie next season, and we don’t know what will happen with MAF, then he’ll be that again.
Igor Shesterkin – 31 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Jets. Could Igor get under a 2 GAA? It’s in play now.
Ryan Strome – Two goals. His linemates, Andrew Copp and Artemi Panarin, both had two assists. The Rangers will effectively have to choose between Strome and Copp this offseason. I can’t imagine they’d pick neither, and they can’t afford both.
Jakub Vrana – Two goals on three shots. Vrana could have a big season next year if Detroit makes some additions around him. In his 32 games with Detroit over the last two seasons, Vrana has 20+8. Pretty, pretty good.
Steven Stamkos – Three assists with four shots and two PIM. Absolute animal.
Ross Colton – Two goals on five shots. Colton is a very solid streamer right now since he’s on Stammer’s line.
Travis Konecny – Two assists with two shots. Given how Philly’s season has gone, it’s no surprise that Konecny’s PIM are easily a career high. His offense has been fine, but I was hoping for better. Philly has simply been a huge disaster.
William Nylander – Goal and an assist with three shots. A big finish for Nylander has him above a point per game right now. It’s been under the radar because of Matthews, but Nylander has been great.
Ilya Mikheyev – Goal and an assist with three shots. Mikheyev has a big role at the moment, but it hasn’t been there most of the season. If it was, I think he’d be a great fantasy asset.
Jake DeBrusk – Goal and an assist with four shots. Despite wanting to get traded, DeBrusk is having a great finish to the season. It will be interesting to see if he’s moved in the summer now that he’s rebuilt his trade value.
Pavel Buchnevich – Goal and an assist with three shots. Vladimir Tarasenko dished two assists. This line is playing as well as any in hockey over the last month.
Andrew Mangiapane – Two goals on three shots and two PIM. Mangiapane should have been in my list of most surprising 30 goal scorers yesterday. He has 34 goals after having 35 total in the previous two seasons. I don’t really buy it in terms of future success, but Mangiapane has been terrific.
Alex Formenton -Two goals on seven shots. I’m a huge fan of Formenton’s game, as loyal readers know. He’s going to be a frequent target for me next season as a very late pick in drafts.
Nikita Zaitsev – Two assists. And there’s your annual Zaitsev update!
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with three shots. Brock Boeser also had a goal and an assist while Quinn Hughes had two assists. Very disappointing loss for the Canucks, albeit in the shootout, as they try to backdoor into the playoffs. Tough schedule to close the week, but their studs are playing so well that I expect these guys to continue performing.
Jonathan Quick – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 win over the Ducks. Quick should finish the season strong given the Kings playing horrible teams and that they’re battling for the playoffs.
Jack Roslovic – Two goals with two PIM. Roslovic has been on fire for the past 10 days. He’s a great streamer on Friday against Ottawa.
Scott Reedy – Two goals. I don’t see much from Reedy long term. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back Friday recapping the action from the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
