Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!

It was a night to remember for the Sabres and their franchise defenseman on Tuesday night.

Rasmus Dahlin scored one in the first, one in the second, and then finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter in the third. The 3 goals and 2 assists were a career high single-game output for the 25-year-old Swede, and brought his point total up to a robust 42 PTS in 48 GP. 

It wasn’t all Dahlin, though, as the rest of the Sabres brought their scoring sticks with them on their trip North of the border. Tage Thompson (1G, 1 A), Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, and newly extended Josh Doan all tickled the twine for the Sabres, and helped to extend their newest win streak to 4 games. 

Here’s what else I saw in Tuesday night’s NHL action…

Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen – Lukkonen let in two goals on 5 shots and was pulled halfway through the first period with a “lower body” injury. The only good news here is that it might answer those pesky Buffalo goalie questions if he’s out for a while.

Colten Ellis – 16 saves on 18 shots and the 6th win of the year for Buffalo’s second-favorite Ellis (behind Matt). Fun fact: This guy was born in “Whycocomagh”, Nova Scotia. When asked the question, “Why cocoa mag?” The obvious answer is: “Why not?”

Mattias Samuelsson – 3 A (23), +2, 4 H, 2 BLK. Don’t look now, fam, but Matty Sams has a little point-streak of his own. That’s 7 points in his last 4 games.

Joseph Woll – 24 saves on 30 shots in the 7-4 loss to BUF. This one was at home, and I assume the boo-birds were out, despite a 3-3 tie halfway through the 2nd period. The good news for Woll is that at least he didn’t allow that 7th goal (EN).

Auston Matthews – 1 G (26), 2 A (19), 3 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 14-for-17 FOW! Matthews snapped a 3-game streak with zero points. Max Domi had 1 G and 2 A as well.

Jeremy Swayman – 28 saves on 30 shots in the 3-2 OT win vs NSH. The Bruins tried to throw this one away after leading 2-0 heading into the third, but an OT beauty salvaged two points, and the B’s won their 8th straight home game.

Morgan Geekie – 1 G (30), 2 SOG, 1 H, and 19:10 TOI. Uh oh. Marco Sturm finally moved Geeks back up to the first line with Pastrnak (and Lindholm), and the results were almost immediate. The point scoring, scorching hot Geekie is back. He has goals in 4 of his last 5 games and 7 points in that span.

David Pastrnak – 1 G (22), 1 A (47), +2, 2 PIM, 7 SOG, GWG, 3 H. The Czech superstar now has 20 points in his last 10 games.

Juuse Saros – 25 saves on 28 shots in a tough 3-2 OT loss. PJ Stock said it on NESN in the post-game show. The Bruins moved the puck in overtime like the Harlem Globetrotters doing the 3-man weave. Just smooth and precise. Poor Juuse didn’t really have a chance.

Roman Josi – 1 G (9), -2, 2 SOG, 1 PPG, 1 H, 1 BLK, and 29:59 TOI. The good news is Josi is unlikely to be moved before the trade deadline, as he’s the lifeblood of that Predators club. The bad news is he might not recognize a lot of guys in the dressing room the day after March 6th.

Anton Forsberg – 27 saves on 28 shots and the 3-1 win at DET. Back-to-back wins with one GA.

Corey Perry – 1 G (11), +1, 2 SOG, 1 H. This guy would qualify for a ‘Memberberries reference, but I did remember that he was still playing. 5 game point streak and 11 points in his last 10 games. I wonder which playoff team he’ll curse…er, get traded to at the deadline.

John Gibson – 19 saves on 21 shots and a tough 3-1 loss to LA. This one snapped an 8-game win streak for Gibson. It feels like he’s 40 years old, but in his 13th season, he’s still just 32 years old.

Alex DeBrincat – 1 G (28), 7 SOG, in 19:59 TOI. Meow. The little cat is Top 5 in the NHl in SOG (196). 

Moritz Seider – 1 A (29), 3 SOG, 3 H, 4 BLK, and 26:41 TOI. The point total wasn’t exciting, but I wanted to highlight the hits and blocks for those of you in leagues with extended categories. He’s an even bigger beast in those formats.

Akira Schmid – 23 saves on 26 shots and the 3-2 OT loss in MTL. Schmid was 15-5-4 coming into last night’s game. A stellar goalie, sure, but I bet you don’t know about his other job. In the offseason, Akira makes some extra cash on the side by throwing kicks at Ryu and Ken. (Don’t even ask me what happens in Round 2 here. The last one of these I played was Street Fighter 3, close to three decades ago.)

Pavel Dorofeyev – 2 G (24), +2, 8 SOG. What? Does this guy think he’s Alex DeBrincat or Nathan MacKinnon?

Jakub Dobes – 32 saves on 34 shots and the 3-2 OT win. That’s 4 straight wins, and zero regulation losses in his last 7 GS. 

Cole Caufield – 1 G (30), +1, 2 PIM, 5 SOG. That’ll make it a cool half-dozen game goal streak for the red-hot Caufield. He has 12 points in his last 8 GP.

Vitek Vanecek – 25 saves on 28 shots and the 4-3 win at FLA. Vitek’s first win in his last 10 starts. Ouch. But the news isn’t all bad! Utah is sitting 3 points ahead of LA for the first Wild Card spot in the West!

Nick Schmaltz – 1 G (19), +2, 2 PIM, 1 SOG, 1 SHG. Schmaltz is a UFA after the season, but as long as the Mammoth are in a playoff spot, don’t expect to hear this guy’s name in any trade talks.

Sean Durzi – 1 G (4), 1 A (13), +1, 2 SOG, 1 BLK. Well? Make up your mind. Durzi or Durzent he? (I’m sorry).

Sergei Bobrovsky – 16 saves on 19 shots and the 4-3 loss to UTA. You’re off the case, Bobrovsky!

Carter Verhaeghe – 1 G (16), 4 SOG, 19:53 TOI. 41 points in 51 games.

Brad Marchand – 1 A (25), -2, 2 SOG, 18:49 TOI. 50 points in 44 games. So much for the people who assumed he was finished. 

Connor Hellebuyck – 26 saves on 29 shots in the 4-3 win at NJ. This was his first win in 5 starts. Winnipeg needs to right the ship sooner rather than later, or it’ll be time to JETtison a bunch of players at the trade deadline.

Mark Scheifele – 1 G (26), 1 A (37), +1, 4 SOG, 2 BLK, 20:35 TOI. You think someone is a bit crusty about being left off the Olympic roster? 63 points in 52 games and pacing himself for a career year in points.

Gabe Vilardi – 1 G (20), 1 A (26), +2, 2 SOG, and 18:48 TOI. Vilardi snapped a 4-game pointless streak with this one.

Jake Allen – 22 saves on 26 shots and the loss. He’s won just two of his last 8 GS. Jersey is starting to pick apart its roster and moving players out. The question isn’t “Will Dougie Hamilton get traded?” It’s When and Where?”

Ondrej Palat – TRADED to NYI for Maxim Tsyplakov. The Islanders somehow get a third and a sixth-rounder back, too (2026 and 2027, respectively). I assume the picks are added in because NYI agreed to pay all of Palat’s $6 million contract.

Jesper Bratt – 1G (12), 1 A (27), 2 SOG, 1 H. 3 points in his last 7 games and a finalist for the not-so-coveted “Biggest disappointment of the year” award.

Jack Hughes – 2 A (24), -1, 7 SOG, 1 H, 25:14 TOI. Two assists and seven shots? Yikes. 12 points in the last 10 games for Hughes. He’s well on his way back to elite status. Just don’t let him cut his own steak.

Spencer Knight – 20 saves on 23 shots and the 4-3 OT loss at MIN. 15-14-3-4 (I hate those extra numbers). The record doesn’t match the ratios. The 2.59 GAA and .910 SV% are solid.

Connor Bedard – 1 A (29), -1, 8 SOG, 2 H, 23:20 TOI. He has one goal in his last 10 games. Um…someone tell the kid to shoot at the net behind the goalie.

Jesper Wallstedt – 29 saves on 32 shots and the 4-3 OT win. Wallstedt broke a personal three-game losing streak in which he allowed 15 GA. It’s a nice bounce-back for the young rookie.

Joel Eriksson Ek – 1 G (13), 1 A (22), +2, 2 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, 18:40 TOI, 12-for-29 FOW. 

Jake Oettinger – 23 saves on 26 shots and the 4-3 win at STL. USA USA USA!

Matt Duchene – 2 G (7), +1, 2 PIM, 3 SOG, 13:32 TOI. Remember when this guy was a Top 3 pick and destined for greatness? 14 points in 28 games. 

Thomas Harley – 1 G (3), 1 A (17), 2 SOG, 1 H, 3 BLK, 22:11 TOI. Nice to see some signs of life from the 5-year-vet.

Jason Robertson – 2 A (32), -1, 2 SOG, 2 PPA, 1 H, 19:29 TOI. This guy is the American version of Mark Scheifele. Both guys should be headed to the Olympics, and I still think they’re the ‘next man up’ if anyone gets hurt or bails. 

Jordan Binnington – 20 saves on 24 shots and the loss to DAL. CANADA CANADA CANADA! But hopefully this guy isn’t their starter in two weeks. I’m fully in on Team Logan Thompson.

Brayden Schenn – 2 G (12), +2, 4 SOG, 6 H, 1 BLK, 18:05 TOI, and 9-for-17 FOW. If the Blues make this guy available at the deadline, they can expect quite a few calls.

Jimmy Snuggerud – 2 A (11), +3, 2 SOG, 4 H, 20:32 TOI. The 18 points in 40 GP aren’t all that impressive, but let’s cut the kid some slack. He’s back up in the Top 6 and filling in for Robert Thomas (lower body). Hopefully, he can put up some points with the increase in ice time.

Yaroslav Askarov – 14 saves on 15 shots (through two periods). He’d given up 12 goals in three straight losses before Tuesday night’s game. The Sharks were headed into the dressing room before the third period with a 4-1 lead. 

Macklin Celebrini – 1 G (27), 2 A (50), +2, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK in TWO PERIODS. This one isn’t even finished yet, and the kid is just filling the scoresheet. 77 points in 51 games and the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker award is making sure people never doubt the Sharks’ first overall selection from 2024.

Will Smith – 1 G (15), 1 A (20), +1, 1 SOG, 1 H. Throwing baseballs, hitting baseballs, smacking Chris Rock in the mouth, and scoring goals for the Sharks. Is there anything Will Smith can’t do?

Kevin Lankinen – 3 saves on 6 shots and the early hook. Even worse was the news earlier tonight that Thatcher Demko will undergo hip surgery and be done for the remainder of the season. Insult to injury – literally – right there.

Nikita Tolopilo – 19 saves on 20 shots heading into the third period. Pretty solid if you can get past the fact that this guy’s name looks like he’s a guy the computer generated in your NHL26 franchise draft.

Logan Thompson – 18 saves on 21 shots and down 3-0 heading to the room for the second intermission. CANADA! Ok, we don’t need to chant it out again. Ovechkin has one shot, too. So much for my 3-point challenge pick!

Philipp Grubauer – 11 saves on 11 shots after two periods. If it holds up, it’ll be Grubauer’s 11th win of the year and his first shutout of the season.

Jared McCann – 2 G (14), 1 A (11), +2, 4 SOG, 1 PPG. I don’t want to admit how many times I mistype this guy’s name as “James McCann”. In other related news, baseball is back!

Jordan Eberle – 1 G (19), 1 A (17), and 5 points in his last 3 games. Seattle is in the playoff hunt and is just 2 points back of a wildcard spot. If they falter, there are many nice pieces to ship out of town and buyers who will line up to bid for them.

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.

Happy Wednesday, and I’ll see you next week!

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social