Daily Morning Face-Off Report — 4/19/22

The Daily Faceoff Morning Report will be published on weekdays, summarizing the main news and events of the previous day.

We’ll highlight injuries that will affect today’s games, hot streaks, cold streaks, and everything for everyone from the casual hockey fan to the fantasy hockey grinder.

Gaudreau scores twice, Flames beat Blackhawks

Johnny Gaudreau (LW, RW) scored twice, giving him 15 points (6G/9A) in his last eight games, en route to leading the Calgary Flames to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Gaudreau now has career highs in goals (38), assists (69) and points (107). Gaudreau won’t reach Kent Nilsson’s franchise record of 131 points but, with six games to go, he’s just three points shy of Joe Mullen’s 110-point season for second-best all-time in the the history of the Flames franchise. Dillon Dube (C, LW, RW) also scored for the Flames, giving him goals in three straight games and six points (4G/2A) in his last five. Alex DeBrincat (LW, RW) registered an assist for the Blackhawks but was held up on 39 goals in seven games (0G/8A), his longest scoreless drought this season. The Blackhawks have lost 10 of their last 11 games (1-8-2) and allowed four or more goals in nine of those games.

Capitals beat Avalanche 3-2

Alex Ovechkin (LW) scored his 48th goal of the season as the Washington Capitals beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2, ending their nine-game winning streak. Ovechkin has 16 points (12G/4A) in his last 16 games and has six games left this season to try to reach 50 goals for the ninth time in his career. The Capitals have improved to 6-1-0 in their last seven games. Valeri Nichushkin (LW, RW) scored in the Avalanche’s loss and has 16 points (8G/8A) in his last 15 games. Nichushkin has 47 points (22G/25A) in 57 games this season, just one point shy of the 48 points (23G/25A) he scored in 120 games in the previous two seasons combined. Artturi Lehkonen (LW, RW) also scored in the Avalanche’s loss to give them five points (2G/3A) in their last four games.

The Devils throw a wrench in the Western Conference

The New Jersey Devils have won just three of their last 10 games (3-5-2), but two of those games have had a major impact on the Western Conference playoff run. Nine days after defeating the Dallas Stars, the Devils held on for a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Andrew Hammond (L) played a standout game, saving 42 of 44 shots for his first win in four games as the Devil. Robin Lehner (L) has allowed three goals on 28 shots and has an .879 SV% over his last four games (1-2-1). Mark Stone (RW) has played his fourth match since returning from injury and is yet to score a point. The Golden Knights are three points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with just five games left.

Canucks earn sixth straight win

The Vancouver Canucks beat the Dallas Stars by an impressive 6-2 and suddenly find themselves with a straight road to the playoffs. The Canucks are four points behind the Los Angeles Kings for third place in the Pacific Division with one game less. There’s no room for error, but right now, if the Canucks can win their remaining six games, with a game against the Kings, they’ll be guaranteed a playoff spot. As he has done most nights lately, Elias Pettersson (C) led the way for the Canucks with three points (2B/1A) to give them 14 points (7B/7A) on the six-game winning streak consecutive Canucks. Pettersson set a new career high with 29 goals, surpassing the 28 goals he scored as a rookie in 2018-19. Brock Boeser (RW) returned from injury and signed a three-point evening of his own (1G / 2A). Roope Hintz (C, LW) scored both of the Stars’ goals, a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal, to give him eight points (4G/4A) in his last five games.

Hurricanes win without Andersen

Antti Raanta (G) got the start for the Carolina Hurricanes as Frederik Andersen (G) will miss at least a week with an undisclosed injury suffered on Saturday. Raanta allowed three goals on 26 shots to secure the victory against his former team. The Hurricanes won only the fourth time in their last nine games (4-5-0). Karel Vejmelka (L) allowed five goals on 51 shots. It was the ninth time this season that Vejmelka faced at least 40 shots, but he put up outstanding performances in all of them, going 4-4-1 and 0.951 SV%. Monday’s loss was only the third time the Coyotes had scored more than one goal in their last nine games (1-8-0).

News and Notes