Three Stars
1. Mark Scheifele
The last time the Winnipeg Jets took off for a huge victory, it was Blake Wheeler who was stealing the headlines with a rousing five-point night. Scheifele wasn’t half-bad on that Friday, either.
On Sunday, the roles were reversed. Wheeler extended his point streak to 10 games, collecting two assists. Scheifele was even better, generating a helper to go with two goals, with one of his tallies being the game-winner.
Scheifele, like Wheeler, often stacks the stat categories, and Sunday was no different. The star-on-a-bargain-contract enjoyed a +3 night, fired four shots on goal, blocked a shot, and went 12-8 in the faceoff circle.
(It would be surprising if Paul Maurice changes the third member of that line anytime soon, as talented young winger Nikolaj Ehlers provided a goal and an assist; his speedy transition game makes this top line horrifying ... and oh yeah, the Jets also have Patrik Laine for weaker defenseman and Dustin Byfuglien stomping around as if he realizes that no one can contain him. Gulp.)
2. Joe Pavelski
This is a tough one, because while Pavelski ties Scheifele as the only Sunday scorer to collect three points, it’s inflated a bit by his goal being an empty-netter.
That extra point feels like a fair tiebreaker, though, especially since Pavelski paralleled Aleksander Barkov and others by contributing a strong all-around night. Along with that goal and two assists, Pavelski was +3, generated three SOG, delivered four hits, and blocked four shots while going 9-5 on draws.
People don’t really hammer scorers for failing to get assists in the same way they pick on someone when they haven’t managed their first goal of a season, but it has to be a relief for Pavelski to grab his first two assists of 2018-19. Considering that he’s in an uneasy contract year situation, he - and his agent, and the Sharks - are likely counting these things.
3. Darcy Kuemper
Again, this is a spot where you could argue for Barkov, or maybe Jaroslav Halak, who finished Sunday with only one fewer save (37). How much do you weigh Barkov’s strong overall performance/two goals over Kuemper’s nice work and 38 stops?
To me, Kuemper gets the edge for a few reasons:
- Kuemper was facing a rested team in Washington, while Arizona was wrapping up a back-to-back following frustrating 4-0 loss to the Penguins on Saturday.
- That rested team was the Capitals, a squad that can manufacture goals even when it’s playing 50-50 hockey, and even if they are the one dealing with more fatigue.
- Other goalies with similar stats didn’t face that rest disparity.
- He likely came into Sunday with fire in his belly, yet low confidence, as he had allowed a total of 13 goals in his past three starts.
Maybe you prefer the work of Barkov or someone else, but you have to admit that Kuemper enjoyed quite the performance.
Highlights
A player as smart and skilled as Barkov can make you pay for a mistake and/or unlucky bounce in a matter of seconds:
The Minnesota Wild are red-hot lately, and Devan Dubnyk usually is at the forefront of their hot streaks. Making saves like these reminds us that he’s one of the better goalies in the NHL during the (rather frequent) spans when he’s on his game:
Silence the crowd and keep the W. Duby's just ridiculous. 😲 https://t.co/A29tn03dmu
— NHL (@NHL) November 11, 2018
Lowlight
Former Bruins goalie (prospect) Malcolm Subban will like to forget the first goal of Jeremy Lauzon’s career (which he, of course, will never forget):
Factoids
Hot take: David Pastrnak having 16 goals before we’ve even reached Nov. 16 is quite impressive.
Most goals in 17 team games, @NHLBruins history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 12, 2018
19 – Phil Esposito (1973-74)
18 – Dit Clapper (1929-30)
17 – Peter McNab (1976-77)
17 – Herb Cain (1943-44)
16 – @pastrnak96 (2018-19)
16 – Bronco Horvath (1959-60)#NHLStats pic.twitter.com/jQVm3O43BL
Pavel Bure wasn’t a member of the Panthers all that long, yet he authored some astounding moments in Florida, so Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov flirting with one of his club marks is impressive. Also: scary, since the Panthers also employ that Barkov fellow. Oh, And Vincent Trocheck. And Keith Yandle. And ...
Mike Hoffman (7-7—14) and Evgenii Dadonov (7-9—16) extended their point streaks to move closer to Pavel Bure’s @FlaPanthers franchise record. #NHLStats #OTTvsFLA pic.twitter.com/kuo3dG93nH
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 12, 2018
Scores
MIN 3 - STL 2
FLA 5 - OTT 1
ARI 4 - WSH 1
WPG 5 - NJD 2
BOS 4 - VGK 1
SJS 3 - CGY 1
COL 4 - EDM 1
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.