DailyFaceoff Morning Report — 02/23/22

Nick Szeman
Nick Szeman
DailyFaceoff Morning Report — 02/23/22

The DailyFaceoff Morning Report will be released on weekdays, recapping the key news and events from the day before.

We will highlight injuries that will affect today’s games, hot streaks, cold streaks, and anything relevant for everyone from the casual hockey fan to the Fantasy Hockey grinder.

Rittich, Josi lead Predators over Panthers

Juuse Saros is tied for first in games played by a goalie this season and, after 10 consecutive starts, was finally given a night off on Tuesday. David Rittich got just his seventh start of the season against the Florida Panthers, the highest-scoring team in the league. Rittich has struggled this season and went into the game with a 3-2-1 record, a .882 SV% and 3.05 GAA. Rittich allowed four goals but made a season-high 44 saves in the 6-4 victory for the Nashville Predators.

Roman Josi had a goal and assist, giving him 10 points (1G / 9A) over a six-game point streak. Josi has never finished a season at a point-per-game pace but currently leads all defensemen with 53 points (14G / 39A) in 49 games.

Chabot makes his milestone memorable

Thomas Chabot played in his 300th career game and had a very eventful night, opening the scoring in the first period. Chabot turned the puck over in the third period, leading directly to a John Merrill goal that tied the game at 3-3. Late in the third, Chabot made up for his earlier mistake and put the game away with his second goal of the night. Chabot ended the night with two goals and one assist in the 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Binnington comes through

Jordan Binnington’s struggles have been well-documented of late, capped by a recent 0-3-0 stretch where he posted a .824 SV% and 6.91 GAA, paving the way for Ville Husso to be the go-to option for the St. Louis Blues. Binnington lived up the pressure on Tuesday night, albeit against arguably the worst team in hockey, making several crucial stops on route to a 25-save, 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers

Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas connected on the game-winning goal in the third period and both continued their scorching hot play of late. Tarasenko has 23 points (11G / 12A) over a nine-week stretch where he has points in 15 of 17 games.

Laine cannot be stopped

Mitch Marner made a beautiful falling-down pass to set up Michael Bunting for a tap-in to open the scoring.

After that, Jean-Francois Berube and Patrik Laine took over. After playing and winning his first game in over four years on Sunday, Berube was back in between the pipes on Tuesday. Berube was spectacular again, making 39 saves on 42 shots. Laine continued to score at will, scoring two goals on two perfectly placed wrist shots, including the overtime game-winner. Laine leads the league in goals and points since January 27th, with 12 goals and 20 points in 10 games.

Islanders win; Kraken lose fifth straight

The New York Islanders jumped out to a 4-0 lead and held on to defeat the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Zdeno Chara played in his 1,651st career game, tying Chris Chelios for most all-time games played by a defenseman. Kyle Palmieri scored a goal in the victory and now has four goals in his last four games after having only one in his first 29.

Ducks win 4-3 in SO; Sharks continue losing skid

Rickard Rakell scored two goals along with the game-winner in the shootout as the Anaheim Ducks handed the San Jose Sharks their seventh straight loss (0-3-4). Rakell has seven points (6G / 1A) in his last seven games and is a pending UFA. He ranks 25th on Frank Seravalli’s list of trade targets.

Timo Meier had two assists in the loss and matched a season-high with nine shots on goal. It was only the second game Meier registered a point during the Sharks’ seven-game losing streak but still has five points (2G / 3A) over that stretch and is averaging 4.0 shots per game.

Other News and Notes

Injury Report

  • Mats Zuccarello (MIN) missed Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury but could be back as soon as Thursday.
  • Carter Hart (PHI) missed his second consecutive game with an eye infection.
  • Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) is expected to be back in the Sabres lineup on Wednesday.
  • Victor Olofsson (BUF) did not travel to Montreal due to a non-COVID illness.
  • Dylan Larkin (DET) left Tuesday’s practice early with an undisclosed injury and is questionable to play vs. Colorado.
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