DailyFaceoff Morning Report — 12/2/22

The DailyFaceoff 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.

Oilers win 3-1 in Woodcroft debut

Jay Woodcroft won his first game as interim head coach of the Edmonton Oilers thanks in large part to a brilliant performance from Mike Smith. Smith stopped 37 of 38 shots, including the 18 he faced in the first period. To sum up the Oilers’ goaltending and defensive struggles, it was the first time in 29 games Nov. 18 that they allowed less than two goals in a game.

Jesse Puljujarvi ended a 14 game scoreless drought by scoring the game’s third goal. Puljujarvi had only played 11:47 in his previous game and had seen his ice time drop significantly since Evander Kane joined the team. With the coaching change, Puljujarvi was moved back to the front row and his ice time increased to 16:14.

Lightning beats the Coyotes 4-3

Alex Galchenyuk scored his fourth goal of the season and now has four goals in his last five games, after not scoring in his first 23 games before. Steven Stamkos continued his excellent season (22G/32A) by scoring two goals, including the eventual winner on a breakaway in the third period.

Eberle ends drought as ducks continue to fall

The Anaheim Ducks continued their downgrade slide in a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken, losing for the 12th time in their last 18 games (6-8-4). Jordan Eberle scored his first goal in 22 games to break the 3-3 deadlock with less than two minutes left in regulation time. The Ducks recorded just one shot on goal in the final 13 minutes of the game. They currently occupy the last wildcard position in the Western Conference.

Dallas improves to 7-2-0 in last nine games

Mark Scheifele scored with 32 seconds left to force overtime against the Dallas Stars. The Stars moved within three points of the last wildcard spot thanks to an overtime goal from Jason Robertson, his 20th of the season. Jamie Benn had a goal, an assist and a scuffle in the game to record Gordie Howe’s hat trick.

Useless stat of the night: It was only the fourth time this season that the once mighty trio of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov all recorded a point in the same game.