Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
We had an 8-game schedule to dip into on Tuesday night, and none had a bigger asterisk in the record books than the New Jersey Devils’ visit to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning.
Coming into Tuesday night’s game, superstar Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov: 1 G (9), 1 A (9), 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 GWG, 1 HIT – sat tied for third place on the all-time Tampa Bay goal-scoring list with 365 goals.
It was only a matter of time before Kucherov blew past an old legend, and current Montreal bench boss, Martin St. Louis. The good news is it didn’t take Tampa’s active star RW very long to snap #366 past the Devils’ giant netminder, Jakob Markstrom, on their way to a 5-1 win.
If you can guess which two players sit above Kuch on the All-Time Lightning Lamp-Lighting List, throw it in the comments below. I messaged Viz last night and said I really wished it were Brian Bradley. Alas, he’s 14th (111 goals) and nestled between Vaclav Prospal (127!) and Brandon “Cream Cheese” Hagel (102).
As for the actual game, the dub moved Tampa further away from the Atlantic basement (sorry, Buffalo), and handed the surging Devils their 5th regulation loss in 19 games.
And our talented goal-scorer? Well, you’ve heard the old cliche: “It’s better to be Kucherov than Kucheron”.
Full disclosure, I didn’t run that one through Google Translate, but I’m almost certain that’s the official Russian-to-English translation.
Anyway…
Here’s what else I saw in Tuesday night’s NHL action…
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 31 saves on 32 shots in a 5-1 win vs New Jersey. Last Wednesday, Vasilevskiy got pulled after giving up 5 goals on 13 shots to the Rangers. He was quick to right the ship in Florida three days later (22 saves on 23 shots), and carried that momentum in last night’s even more impressive showing. He’s 7-5-2 with a 2.64 GAA and .906 SV% and not slowing down at all.
Jake Guentzel – 3 G (11), +2, 7 SOG, 2 PPG, and 18:09 of ice time. Well, someone wasn’t comfortable with Kucherov getting all the accolades last night. Guentzel opened the scoring last night at the 11:40 mark of the first, then scored Tampa’s third of the night just over the midway mark of the second period. Of course, J-Guenz wasn’t done there. He brought the hailstorm of hats down at the 7:48 mark of the third period. I’m no math-magician, but with 11 goals in 20 games, he’s well on his way to hitting the 40-goal mark for the fourth time in his career, and will likely surpass his single-season record of 41 (last year).
Darren Raddysh – 1 G (2), 2 A (7), 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 2 PPA, 1 BLK, and 24:13 of ice time. I’ll go out on a limb and say that rostering Raddysh while a handful of Lightning D-men are out is a good way to fill in an injury gap. Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh aren’t expected to be sidelined for much longer, though, so be ready to cut bait quickly if they’re cleared to return this weekend.
Jacob Markstrom – 24 saves on 29 shots in the 5-1 loss at Tampa. I watched this one last night and wasn’t surprised to see that both Vasilevskiy and Markstrom were among the Top 5 goalies with the most games played over the previous 9 years. Connor Hellebuyck leads the way at 500 games. Tampa’s backstop has suited up for 463 games. Markstrom is 4th with 433 games played. Throw your guesses in the chat below if you think you can name the other two in the top five. As for Markstrom, he’s allowed 14 goals in his last 4 games with an .849 SV%. That’s not good news for a team that just lost a huge offensive piece to a hand injury (Jack Hughes). He needs to tighten up.
Nico Hischier – 1 G (4), 4 SOG, 4 H, 1 BLK. For the record, Vasilevskiy didn’t give up a goal to any Devils player last night. But this one was credited to Hischier after JJ Moser lost his balance and slid into the net, booting the puck behind his goalie in the process. Sometimes you have to be lucky to be good. I’m sure New Jersey’s captain would gladly trade his unearned goal for a win, though.
Joseph Woll – 28 saves on 29 shots in a 3-2 OT win vs STL, and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Let’s take a minute to check in on those poor Leaf fans. During last year’s playoffs, “Leafs Nation” was blaming the team’s early exit on an Anthony Stolarz injury and telling anyone who would listen that they would have won if they didn’t have Joseph Woll in net. Fast forward to last week, and those same fans were complaining that their team wouldn’t be fighting with Buffalo for the bottom spot in the division if Woll was healthy and playing instead of Stolarz. Such is the life cycle of a TML fan. Rinse and repeat.
There isn’t much laughter in Leaf-Land, but I’m sure Mitch Marner is smiling while he anonymously strolls down that Las Vegas strip. For now, Toronto fans can rejoice that the 5-game losing skid is over. However, the expectation is that changes will occur sooner rather than later.
Jake McCabe – 1 G (3), +1, 4 PIM, 2 SOG, 2 H, 3 BLK, and 21:06 of ice time. With Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev shelved, the Leafs are leaning on McCabe even more than they already were. He’s a +6 on the year.
William Nylander – 1 G (9), 3 SOG, GWG, and 21:09 of ice time. Speaking of stepping up in the absence of others, Nylander is going to have to shoulder even more of a burden now that Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews are out of the lineup. With 27 points in 17 games and a 14-game point streak, Willy has been a one-man wrecking crew.
Jacob Quillan – I’m sorry? Did you say, J-Quillan…?
Uh…do you mean Jacob?
Jordan Binnington – 26 saves on 29 shots and the third loss in his last four starts. The Blues are aptly named this year.
Nathan Walker – 1 G (3), +1, 4 H. Walker? I hardly even know her! Zing! And if you’re not a St. Louis fan, you probably don’t know him either. He’s a 31-year-old winger who hasn’t scored more than 16 PTS in a season. You know it’s bad when you have to look up a random winger because he scored half of his team’s goals on the night. The other one was from Dalibor Dvorsky – seriously. That’s not a made-up name either.
Cam Talbot – 20 saves on 22 shots and the 4-2 win vs SEA. Don’t look now, but Cam Talbot is 8-2-0! I said DON’T LOOK! Especially if you’re an Oilers fan. Ouch.
Lucas Raymond – 1 G (6), 1 A (16), +2, 3 SOG, 1 H, and 19:53 of ice time. That’s 10 PTS in his last 5 GP. I can guarantee it’s not just Red Wings fans who are happy with this. You know why? It’s because Everybody Loves Raymond.
Nate Danielson – 1 G, 1 A, +1, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 2 H, and his first two points as an NHL’er. The 21-year-old kid (9th overall in the 2023 draft) got the call in Grand Rapids less than two weeks ago and recorded his first two points in his 5th NHL game. He’s averaged around 11:30 in ice time, but has an uphill climb if he’s looking to push anyone off the PP1 list.
Alex DeBrincat – 2 A (14), +2, 3 SOG, 2 H. 8 points in his last 4 games. This guy will always remind me of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo. I was there with a buddy (Sabres fan), and I booed the Bruins’ pick of Charlie McAvoy because I wanted them to take Jakob Chychrun instead. Ouch. However, I was equally annoyed when the Bruins selected Trent Frederic at the 29th overall pick instead of going with the much more offensively talented Alex DeBrincat. The Cat was impressive in the World Junior tourney the winter before that draft, and as wrong as I was about Jakob Chychrun, I’d like to think I was right about DeBrincat.
Moritz Seider – 1 A (10), +1, 2 SOG, 2 H, 3 BLK. 6 PTS in his last 4 GP. This guy brings the hits, blocked shots, AND is named after a nice alcoholic beer alternative on a cold winter night? Sign me up.
Joey Daccord – 23 saves on 26 shots and his 2nd consecutive loss. Daccord has allowed 8 goals in his last two games and, at the risk of making a French joke that goes over like a lead-filled balloon, Daccord has not been “all right”. He’ll look to bounce back Thursday in Chicago.
Jordan Eberle – 1 G (8), 2 SOG, 1 PPG, 3 H, 1 BLK, and 19:32 of ice time. Not much to see here. Just Eberle doing what Eberle does: Scoring goals at a medium pace and chipping in with modest numbers in other categories at the same time.
Eeli Tolvanen – 2 A (8), -2, 4 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 H, 1 BLK, and 4 PTS in his last 3 GP. Not bad for a guy who sounds like he was named after an electrified snake that PeeWee Herman kept in the playhouse aquarium.
Elvis Merzlikins – 25 saves on 30 shots and the 5-2 loss at WPG. Oh no. Elvis is looking “all shook up” with 3 straight losses and 12 GA in his last 3 starts. Jet Greaves continues to boost that starting job away from the king, and Elvis isn’t doing much to stop him.
Zach Werenski – 1 G (6), -1, 2 SOG, 1 H, 1 BLK, and a 4-game point streak. If you picked up Werenski as one of your top D-men, you can’t complain about 16 PTS in 20 GP. He’s not looking like he’ll slow down anytime soon and should be a top option on the US blueline when Olympic rosters are announced.
Eric Comrie – 20 saves on 22 shots and his 4th win in 5 starts. Eric Comrie: Because Connor Hellebuyck can’t start all 82 games. That should be on a shirt at the Jets’ merch stand.
Kyle Connor – 1 G (11), 1 A (13), +1, 3 SOG, and 17:45 in ice time. Viz’s 3-point challenge pick! Connor didn’t quite hit the 3-point mark, but if you roster him, you’re likely ecstatic with the 24 PTS in 19 games. The ice time last night was a bit of a concern, though. It was his lowest total of the year. Twitter/X didn’t have any news, and if this clip is any indication, he’s just fine.
Josh Morrissey – 1 G (4), 1 A (17), +1, 1 SOG, 3 BLK. He’s got points in 11 of his last 12 games and is producing at more than a point-a-game pace. Hitch your wagon and enjoy the ride. He could blow past his career high in points (76) this year.
Neal Pionk – 1 G (1), 1 A (4), 2 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG, 2 H.
Mark Scheifele – 3 A (16), +2, 1 SOG, and 17:41 of ice time. 7 PTS in his last 5 games, and 27 points in 19 GP. He’s elite, but it might not cost you an elite player in a trade offer to acquire him.
David Rittich – 22 saves on 24 shots and a 3-2 win over DAL. Yet another backup with a respectable record (5-2). The craziest part of this one was the game-tying, last-second goal scored by Dallas when Rittich got steamrolled in his crease. The official call was goalie interference and a disallowed goal, but that didn’t stop coach Patrick Roy from blowing a gasket anyway. This was after Alex Romanov got run into the boards by Mikko Rantanen earlier in the game, too.
Kyle Palmieri – 1 G (6), 1 A (10), +1, 3 SOG, SHG, GWG. A shorty for the game winner?! YES!
Bo Horvat – 1 G (13), +1, 14 PIM, 2 SOG, 2 H, 1 BLK, and 14:35 of ice time. Speaking of snakes (see Eeli Tolvanen above), it looks like someone went a bit “snakey” last night in the win over the Stars. Horvat gave us a bit of everything yesterday, but if you’re in a league that counts penalty minutes, you’ll be glad to see the 4-minute high-sticking call and the subsequent 10-minute misconduct in the third.
Jake Oettinger – 19 saves on 22 shots and the loss. This one broke a 3-game (personal) win streak for Oettinger. At 8-4-2, he’s still a top-tier option.
Jason Robertson – 2 G, +1, 2 PIM, 5 SOG, and 22:59 of ice time. There isn’t anyone hotter than J-Rob right now. He’s got 8 G and 4 A in his last 5 games. Dallas is an absolute behemoth, and to make matters worse for opponents, they welcomed back their captain (Jamie Benn) last night. Benn won’t be scoring many points, but that locker room boost should make a great team even better.
Arvid Soderblom – 19 saves on 21 shots and the 5-2 win over CGY. It wasn’t quite the 45 save outing that Soderblom turned in against DET a week and a half ago, but it was good enough for the Blackhawks’ backup’s 2nd consecutive win.
Connor Bedard – 3 G (13), +2, 2 PIM, 6 SOG, GWG, 1 H, and 20:01 of ice time. It’s easy to forget this kid is just 20 years old. With 29 points in 19 games, I don’t think many Hawks fans care how old he is, just that he keeps carrying this team to victory night after night.
Dustin Wolf – 18 saves on 22 shots and the 4th loss in his last 5 games. Getting turned inside out by Connor Bedard is nothing to be ashamed of, but this big bad wolf is looking more like Little Red’s grandma these days.
Matt Coronato – It was much of the same last night for Matty C from Cal-gar-ee. I said it in last week’s round-up, which you can look at here. If your clicking finger is sore, I’ll save you the pain: “If your league counts shots on goal, this is a guy to take a look at. If your league also counts +/-? Maybe pass. (He’s a -12).” The good news? Coronato is “up” to a minus 11 now. Oof.
Rasmus Andersson – 1 G (4), 1 A (5), -1, 2 SOG, PPA, 1 H, 3 BLK. Rasmus keeps building his Resume in the hopes that he can escape Calgary before the fire gets too hot and the team falls too low in the standings.
Igor Shersterkin – 23 saves on 26 shots and the 3-2 loss at VGS. Another goalie who had a 3-game win streak snapped last night. So much for that 6-game NYR road winning streak, too. This one puts the Rangers one game above .500.
Artemi Panarin – 1 A (14), +1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG, and 20:21 of ice time. The breadman is averaging 20+ minutes a game and has a quiet point-per-game pace, but he needs some more help if NYR is going to claw its way out of the bottom of the division.
Vincent Trocheck – 1 G (3), +1, 2 SOG, 5 H. He missed a month of action, so we can forgive him for the low point total. 6 PTS in 7 GP is a good pace, and the Rangers need his secondary scoring.
Akira Schmid – 17 saves on 19 shots and his 7th win. This guy is supposed to be a third goalie at best behind Adin Hill and the soon-to-be activated Carter Hart. With a 7-1-2 record, he’s certainly not playing like one, though.
Mitch Marner – 1 A (17), +1, 1 PPA, 3 BLK. Marner keeps doing what Marner does best. Dishing out apples and piling up points in the regular season. We’ll have to wait until springtime to see if he can keep it up in the playoffs.
Tomas Hertl – 2 A (9), +1, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 4 H, 1 BLK, and 15:01 of ice time.
Braeden Bowman – Similar to what I said above about Nate Danielson, here’s another kid who is immediately producing after a recent call-up from the minors. The Kitchener kid had 7 goals and 12 points in 12 games with Henderson (AHL) before the promotion. Being a finisher and having someone like Mitch Marner feeding you perfect passes when you get to the big show? And seeing time on PP1 to boot? Ya, that’ll play.
Vitek Vanecek – 20 saves on 23 shots and the 3-2 loss. Vanecek is a clear-cut backup behind Karel Vejmelka, and his .874 SV% in 6 starts isn’t going to change anyone’s minds as far as increasing his playing time is concerned.
J.J. Peterka – 2 G (8), +2, 2 PIM, 2 SOG. Sabres fans are happy with Josh Doan, but I can’t help but think they’ll feel a bit annoyed/disappointed if he scores 30 for the Mammoth this year. That 21.1% shooting percentage is elite.
Yaroslav Askarov – 25 saves on 27 shots and his 5th win in 12 starts. Askarov has allowed two or fewer goals in each of his last 6 games. The 5-5-2 record is underwhelming, but I’d be trying to lock this guy in on a dynasty roster as soon as I could, then just sit back and watch the kid grow into something special.
Macklin Celebrini – 3 G (13), +1, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG, 1 BLK, and 19:41 of ice time. This kid just keeps getting better and better each week. I don’t know how many youngsters I’d rather have as a building block in a keeper league. Assuming Connor Bedard is the top pick, is there anyone else you’d take over Celebrini?
Will Smith – Not a bad start for the 20-year-old sophomore. Just keep his wife’s name out of your mouth, please.
I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions or comments, leave them below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
Happy Wednesday, and I’ll see you next week!
Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social
