Daily Faceoff Morning Report — 10/18/22
The Daily Faceoff Morning Report will be released on weekdays, recapping the key news and events from the day before.
We will highlight injuries affecting today’s games, hot streaks, cold streaks, and anything relevant for everyone from the casual hockey fan to the Fantasy Hockey grinder.
Maple Leafs lose shocker as Vejmalka steals another for Coyotes
Much like he did in his 45-save victory the last time these teams met in January of 2021, Karel Vejmelka stood on his head with a 26-save (.929 SV%) winning effort Monday. Arizona’s offence was led by Christian Fischer, Nick Ritchie and Shayne Gostisbehere, who all finished with a goal and an assist in the win. Toronto’s offence was stifled all night by the winless Coyotes, getting third-period contributions from Mitch Marner (1) and William Nylander (3) before losing the game late. Auston Matthews was held goalless for the third game this season. The Maple Leafs believed they tied the game late, but it was ruled no goal due to a hand pass.
Kings top Red Wings in high-scoring overtime thriller
Phillip Danault scored his second of the game just a minute into overtime as the Kings topped the Red Wings 5-4. Jonathan Quick allowed three-plus goals for his third straight game on the way to his first victory of the season (1-2-0), stopping 29 of 33 shots (.879 SV%). The Kings’ offence was led by their top-6 getting multi-point efforts from Kevin Fiala (2A), Adrian Kempe (1G/1A), Anze Kopitar (1G/1A), and Trevor Moore (2A). After a shutout in his Red Wings debut, Ville Husso struggled Monday, allowing five goals on 36 shots (.861 SV%) in the loss. David Perron enjoyed his first big night as a member of the Wings, scoring two goals (3) while adding an assist. Three Wings finished the game with multi-point efforts as Oskar Sundqvist (1G/1A), Dominik Kubalik (2A) and Olli Maatta (2A) all had good fantasy efforts. The Red Wings were able to preserve a point thanks to this effort from Dylan Larkin.
They would tie the game up less than a minute later, before ultimately losing in OT.
Penguins blow early lead as Dach caps Canadiens comeback
Kirby Dach’s overtime goal (1) was a great way to get his first as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, with Nick Suzuki’s multi-point (1G/1A) leading the way offensively yet again for Montreal as they topped the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2.
Sam Montembeault won his first game of the season, with Jake Allen absent for the birth of his child. Montembeault stopped 26 of 28 (.929 SV%). Kaiden Guhle collected his first career points as he added two assists in just his third NHL game. After a scoreless first period, the Penguins got off to a hot start in the second with two quick goals from Evgeni Malkin (3), both assisted by Bryan Rust. Casey DeSmith did his best to steal the victory for Pittsburgh, stopping 36 of 39 shots (.923 SV%) in a losing effort.
DeBrusk scores twice as Bruins top Panthers in Atlantic Division battle
Linus Ullmark stopped 38 of 41 shots (.927 SV%) to move to 2-0-0 in a 5-3 victory Monday as the Bruins stayed undefeated. Jake DeBrusk, who returned from an upper-body injury, led all skaters with two goals and an assist. Patrice Bergeron (1G/1A) and Connor Clifton (2A) both enjoyed multi-point efforts as well. Sergei Bobrovsky struggled, allowing four goals on 33 shots (.879 SV%) in a losing effort. The Panthers started the game with just five defensemen after Brandon Montour was ruled out in warmups due to an upper-body injury. They finished the game with just four defensemen after Aaron Ekblad departed with a lower-body injury. The Panthers didn’t have an update on Ekblad’s status and don’t have a practice scheduled for Tuesday, so it’s unlikely there will be any update until Wednesday’s morning skate. Montour is not expected to be long-term.
Ovechkin leads Capitals to victory as Vancouver blows third straight game
The Canucks moved to 0-3-0 after blowing their third straight contest in a 6-4 loss to Washington Monday. The Capitals’ comeback was fueled by four third-period goals and a four-point game by their captain, Alex Ovechkin (2G/2A). John Carlson (1G/1A), Evgeni Kuznetsov (3A), Marcus Johansson (2A) and Dylan Strome (1G/1A) were four other Washington players to enjoy multi-point efforts. Thatcher Demko struggled for a third straight game allowing six goals on 30 shots (.800SV%) in the loss. Elias Pettersson got off to a hot start with three points (1G/2A) in the first two periods. Quinn Hughes (2A) was the only other Canuck to achieve multiple points.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the Canucks became the first team in NHL history to lose each of their first three games of a season while blowing multi-goal leads in each game.
Kuznetsov may face supplemental discipline after this high-stick on Kyle Burroughs.
Panarin continues incredibly hot start to lead Rangers over Ducks
Artemi Panarin (1G/3A) and Mike Zibanejad (2G/2A) led the surging New York Rangers over the Anaheim Ducks with a 6-4 win on Monday night. Igor Shersterkin stayed undefeated in 2022-23 (3-0-0), stopping 18 of 22 shots (.818 SV%) on the way to the victory. Adam fox added three assists, while Vincent Trocheck popped in a goal and assist himself. Panarin and Zibanejad currently sit first and second in the NHL with 10 and eight points, respectively. Anaheim spread out their scoring with multi-point efforts from only two skaters in Troy Terry (2A) and Pavol Regenda (2A). Anaheim has now given up 17 goals in three games, the second-worst GA/gm (5.67) in the NHL through one week.
Wild’s goaltending woes continue as Avalanche double them up
The Colorado Avalanche took advantage of the defensively challenged Minnesota Wild with a 6-3 win on Monday. It was the third straight game where the Wild allowed six or more goals as they moved to 0-3-0 on the season. The Avalanche were led by a strong 36-save effort (.923 SV%) from Alexander Georgiev, who moved to 2-0-0 in 2022-23. Three-point efforts from Nathan MacKinnon (1G,2A) and Valeri Nichuskin (1G/2A) led the way for Colorado. In addition, Sam Girard (1G/1A) and Cale Makar (2A) both enjoyed multi-point efforts. The Wild’s offensive production came from Kirill Kaprizov’s two goals (3) and Calen Addison’s three Assists (4) in the loss.
Fantasy Hockey Standouts
- [ANA] Pavol Regenda collected the first two points of his career with two assists in 11:03 TOI Monday.
- [ANA] Troy Terry collected two assists to bring his strong season totals to six points (3G/3A) in 3 GP.
- [ARI] Nick Ritchie scored a powerplay goal and added a powerplay assist to bring his early season to four points in three games (3G/1A).
- [ARI] Shayne Gostisbehere collected his fifth point (2G/3A) in three games after adding a powerplay goal and helper.
- [ARI] Christian Fischer got his first points of the season with a goal, an assist, three shots and two hits in a strong effort Monday.
- [ARI] Karel Vejmelka got his first win of the season (1-2-0) while stopping 26 of 28 shots (.929) Monday.
- [BOS] Linus Ullmark stopped 38 of 41 shots (.927) to move to 2-0-0 in a very successful early 2022-23 season.
- [BOS] Jake DeBrusk was a night standout, adding his first points of the year in a two-goal, one-assist effort. The left winger added five shots to a +4 rating on the night.
- [BOS] Patrice Bergeron added his third point in as many games (2G/1A) in a multi-point effort Tuesday.
- [CAR] Fredrick Andersen allowed one goal for a second straight game and won in a 22-save (.957 SV%) winning effort.
- [CAR] Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals and added an assist with six SOG to get to five points (3G/2A) in three GP.
- [CAR] Sebastian Aho enjoyed a multi-point effort for the first time this season, collecting a goal and two Assists.
- [COL] Alexander Georgiev stopped 36 of 39 shots (.923 SV%) to move to 2-0-0.
- [COL] Nathan Mackinnon had three points (1G/2A) on seven SOG to get to seven points (2G/5A) in three games.
- [COL] Valeri Nichuskin added his fourth goal (4G/2A) in three games in a three-point effort (1G/2A) on 19:51 TOI Monday.
- [COL] Sam Girard got his first points of the season with two points (1G/1A) on four shots.
- [DAL] Jake Oettinger stopped 24 of 25 shots (.960 SV%), allowing one goal for the third straight time in his third win in as many games (3-0-0).
- [DAL] Mason Marchment continued his strong Dallas start adding two assists Monday to get to five points (3G/2A) in his first three games.
- [DET] David Perron scored his third goal in as many games in a three-point (2G/1A) effort Monday. He added six SOG and a PIM to his totals as well.
- [DET] Olli Maatta added two assists to bring his early season to four points (1G/3A) in three games.
- [FLA] Colin White added his fourth point (2G/2A) in his third game in a multi-point effort Monday.
- [FLA] Gustav Forsling had a goal and an assist with five shots to bring his point total to three (1G/2A) after three games.
- [LA] Gabe Vilardi added his third goal in four games as he collected his six points of the season on 16:34 TOI Monday.
- [LA] Phillip Danault scored his first two goals of the season Monday while playing 22:31 and winning seven faceoffs.
- [LA] Anze Kopitar scored his first of the year while collecting his sixth point (1G/5A) in four GP.
- [LA] Kevin Fiala continued his hot LA start, picking up two Assists to bring his points to five (1G,4A) across four games.
- [MON] Nick Suzuki had a two-point (1G/1A) effort to bring his total to five (2G/3A) in four games. He also led the game with eight shots on goal.
- [MON] Kaiden Guhle collected his first career points as he added two assists in just his third NHL game for the 20-year-old highly touted prospect.
- [MON] Cole Caufield had five SOG along with his third goal and fourth point in four games this season.
- [MIN] Calen Addison had his first career multi-point effort collecting three assists with five SOG to bring his total to four points(4A) in three games.
- [MIN] Karill Kaprrizov scored his fifth point (3G/2A) in a two-goal effort off five SOG and two hits Monday in just his third game of the season.
- [NYR] Mika Zibanejad had a dominant night with four points (2G/2A) with a game-high nine shots on his way to his eight-point (4G/4A) in four games to go along with 24 shots.
- [NYR] Artemi Panarin enjoyed a four-point effort (1G/3A) Monday to get to NHL Leading nine points (2G/7A) in four games.
- [NYR] Vincent Trocheck added a goal and an assist to bring his totals to five points (2G/3A) in his first four games with NYR.
- [NYR] Adam Fox had a three-assist effort to get to five points (1G/4A) in the first four games.
- [PIT] Evgeni Malkin added two goals (3) on six shots in a losing effort to bring his early season points to four (3G/1A) across three games.
- [PIT] Bryan Rust picked up his fifth point (2G/3A) in three games with a two-assist effort Monday.
- [TOR] Justin Holl was strong in banger leagues with five Hits and three Blocked shots across 20:19 Monday.
- [VAN] Elias Pettersson enjoyed a three-point effort (1G/2A) to bring his totals to four points (2G/2A) in the Canuck’s first three losing efforts.
- [VAN] Quinn Hughes collected and enjoyed his first multi-point effort of 2022-23 with two assists while playing 27:06 TOI Monday.
- [WPG] Mark Scheifele had the lone Jets’ goal, as he now has three in his first two games.
- [WSH] Alex Ovechkin scored two goals and two assists on four shots in his first multi-point game of the season.
- [WSH] John Carlson collected a goal and an assist as he scored his first points of the season Monday in his fourth game.
- [WSH] Evgeny Kuznetsov had a three-assist effort, as he now has four points (4A) in his first four games.