Day: April 7, 2022

NHL Morning Skate – April 7, 2022

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NHL Morning Skate – April 7, 2022


* John Carlson collected four points and Alex Ovechkin reached another noteworthy milestone as Washington edged the defending Stanley Cup champions at Capital One Arena.

* The Canucks claimed a victory against the Golden Knights to keep their playoff hopes alive, while the Flames defeated the Ducks to open a six-point lead atop the Pacific Division standings.

* A total of 20 teams are in action Thursday, including Carolina which can become the third club to clinch a berth in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

CARLSON COLLECTS 2-2—4, OVECHKIN ECLIPSES 1,400 NHL POINTS IN CAPITALS’ WIN

John Carlson (2-2—4) factored on all four Washington goals to record the third four-point game of his NHL career and help the Capitals (38-22-10, 86 points) defeat the Lightning. Washington holds the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and moved within six points of Pittsburgh (41-20-10, 92 points), which occupies third place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Alex Ovechkin (773-628—1,401 in 1,265 GP) had 1-1—2 and became the 21st player in League history to reach the 1,400-point milestone. Wednesday marked Ovechkin’s395th career multi-point game in the NHL – he tied Guy Lafleur for 17th place on the League’s all-time list.
 


BLUES BEAT KRAKEN AHEAD OF PIVOTAL MATCHUP WITH MINNESOTA
Brayden Schenn (20-30—50 in 54 GP) and Ivan Barbashev (22-28—50 in 69 GP) each had at least one assist Wednesday to become the fifth and sixth 50-point scorers for St. Louis this season and help the Blues defeat the Kraken. St. Louis (40-20-10, 90 points) strengthened its grip on third place in the Central Division and moved within one point of second-seeded Minnesota (43-21-5, 91 points) – the Blues and Wild are set to square off at Enterprise Center Friday in the penultimate contest of their three-game season series (also April 16).
 


VICTORIES BY VANCOUVER, CALGARY FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Wednesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates features more notes from the five-game slate, including Vancouver vanquishing Vegas to keep its playoff hopes alive and Calgary edging Anaheim to pad its lead atop the Pacific Division:

* Elias Pettersson (2-2—4) posted a game-high four points as the Canucks (33-28-10, 76 points) defeated the Golden Knights (39-29-4, 82 points) and moved within seven points of the Stars (40-26-3, 83 points), who hold the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver and Vegas are set to conclude its four-game season series at Rogers Arena Tuesday.

* Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau (34-63—97 in 70 GP) generated his team-leading 62nd and 63rd assists of 2021-22 to match his single-season NHL career high, a mark set in 2018-19 (36-63—99 in 82 GP).
 

QUICK CLICKS

* Jets fall to Red Wings, fail to gain in Wild Card race
* Clutch, NHL announce multi-year Canadian partnership

* NHL Fan Skills at Home Class of 2022 announced

* Wally Funk, oldest woman to go to space, joins Stars for NASA Night
* #NHLStats Pack: Team Clinching Notes


CAROLINA CAN CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH DURING THURSDAY’S 10-GAME SLATE
The Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes (45-17-8, 98 points) will clinch a berth in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs if they earn a win in any fashion during the second half of their home-and-home set with the Sabres (26-34-11, 63 points), one of 10 NHL games scheduled Thursday.
 

McDAVID, MARNER SET TO PUT LENGTHY STREAKS ON THE LINE
Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner will put their lengthy streaks on the line as Edmonton (41-25-5, 87 points) takes on Los Angeles (38-24-10, 86 points) while Toronto (45-19-6, 96 points) visits Dallas (40-26-3, 83 points).


* McDavid (12-15—27 in 14 GP) will aim to extend the NHL’s longest active point streak to 15 games in a key Pacific Division matchup that features the second-place Oilers taking on the third-ranked Kings. McDavid, who has already posted a 17-contest run in 2021-22, can become the seventh different player in NHL history to record multiple point streaks of at least 15 games in a single season. He would join Wayne Gretzky (1990-91, 1988-89, 1986-87, 1985-86, 1984-85, 1982-83 & 1981-82), Mike Bossy (1983-84), Marcel Dionne (1979-80), Guy Lafleur (1979-80), Denis Savard (1987-88) and Bobby Orr (1970-71).

* Marner enters Thursday with points in 11 straight games and multiple points in each of his last seven. He can become the fifth Maple Leafs player in the past 35 years to record a point streak of 12 or more contests, which would add his name to a list with Eddie Olczyk (18 GP in 1989-90), Dave Andreychuk (16 GP in 1993-94), Auston Matthews (13 GP in 2020-21) and William Nylander (12 GP in 2016-17). With another multi-point outing, Marner can join McDavid as just the second active player to record at least two points in eight or more consecutive contests.

JOSI ONE POINT AWAY FROM TYING FRANCHISE RECORD

Predators captain Roman Josi (19-65—84 in 67 GP) enters Thursday already with the highest single-season point total by a Nashville defenseman and the most by any NHL blueliner in a campaign since Brian Leetch with the Rangers in 1995-96 (15-70—85 in 82 GP). Josi sits one shy of matching Paul Kariya’s club record for the most points in a single season by any player (31-54—85 in 2005-06). No active franchise currently features a defenseman owning its single-season mark for points among all positions.

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Pettersson Leads Canucks Over Vegas

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LAS VEGAS — Elias Pettersson had two goals and two assists, and the Vancouver Canucks ended the Vegas Golden Knights’ five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.

It was the third time Pettersson has scored twice in his past five games.

“It’s easy to say (that I was feeling it) after a night like that,” Pettersson said. “It could be anyone on any team. The whole team worked. My teammates set me up.”

Jack Eichel scored, and Robin Lehner made 26 saves for the Golden Knights (39-29-4), who remained one point behind the Dallas Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Stars have played three fewer games.

“We knew that we weren’t going to win every game the rest of the way in,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “We dropped an opportunity tonight.

“You just want to flush it. Nothing good to say, we got what we deserved. I don’t think we gave ourselves a chance to win that game right from the first period, the way the game started. It’s disappointing, but we played some pretty good hockey lately. We’ve got to rebound here quickly.”

Thatcher Demko made 33 saves for the Canucks (33-28-10), who scored five straight goals after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Golden Knights in Vancouver on Sunday. J.T. Miller and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had two assists.

The win moved the Canucks, who will play again Thursday at the Arizona Coyotes, within six points of Vegas and seven of Dallas, which has two games in hand.

“For the time of year and what we needed, it was a good all-around game,” Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said. “The goalie had to be great, but the players in front of him had to be great too.”

Eichel gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 12:02 of the first period on a rebound in the left face-off circle. It was his 10th goal in 24 games this season.

The Canucks responded with two goals in 17 seconds. Bo Horvat tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 16:38 on a rebound of Ekman-Larsson’s shot from the point, and Brad Richardson scored his first goal with Vancouver from the edge of the right circle at 16:55 to make it 2-1.

Richardson was claimed off waivers by the Canucks from the Calgary Flames on March 21.

“He’s balanced out our lineup nicely coming in,” Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers said of Richardson. “We knew what kind of player he was coming in when we got him. Especially for us defensemen, we love playing with guys like him. He’s always in the right spot.

“He talks to you all over the ice. He makes your life a little bit easier out there, which is nice for a D-man. He stepped into our group and brought a lot of balance to our lineup.”

Tanner Pearson gave the Canucks a 3-1 lead at 11:40 of the second period when he one-timed a feed from Pettersson, who made it 4-1 at 16:03 on a redirection from Ekman-Larsson.

Pettersson scored his second of the game at 1:11 of the third period on a power play after a turnover by Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez for the 5-1 final.

“We had to come with a better effort and play within our standards,” Pettersson said. “We did that today.”

NOTES: The Golden Knights had also won five straight at home. It was the first time they lost in the regular season to Vancouver in regulation (10-1-2). … Eichel (three goals, one assist) and Vegas forward Chandler Stephenson (three assists) each extended his point streak to three games. … Horvat has six goals in his past eight games. … The Canucks played without defenseman Quinn Hughes because of a stomach illness. He was replaced by defenseman Kyle Burroughs, who was activated off injured reserve (upper body) and had nine hits in 16:49 of ice time in his first game since Feb. 19. Boudreau did not say whether Hughes would be available Thursday.