Three Stars
1. Roman Josi
There was some exciting hockey on Monday, yet there weren’t a ton of performances where players put up gaudy numbers.
Oddly, the only two skaters who generated at least three points were both part of a losing effort for the Predators. Josi stands far above Ryan Johansen from an all-around standpoint, which is why he’s also standing above the Preds center in these three stars.
Josi generated two goals and one assist in helping Nashville salvage a standings point after the Predators dug themselves a 3-0 hole against the Senators. Josi fired six shots on goal and logged 23:54 in ice time in that loss.
The Swiss-born defenseman has been coming up big for a Predators team that’s dealing with all kinds of injury headaches, including to other go-to guys like P.K. Subban and Filip Forsberg. Don’t be surprised if Josi generates some Norris buzz if he keeps this up, as he has 26 points in 34 games.
2. Sergei Bobrovsky
Monday saw some strong goalie performances. Jaroslav Halak blanked his old team as Boston crushed Montreal, only needing to make 22 saves for a shutout. Thomas Greiss didn’t shut out the Avalanche, yet he kept Mikko Rantanen off the board, which should at least earn him a Kindergarten-style gold star.
But “Bob” might have had the best night of any goalie.
Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots for his first shutout of 2018-19. It’s been a bumpy contract year for the Blue Jackets goalie, as you can see from his poor .905 save percentage. Don’t count him out, though, especially since Columbus has been able to maintain a playoff position even without Bobrovsky authoring his usual regular-season heroics.
3. Ryan Johansen
Honestly, this feels like the quintessential Ryan Johansen game.
There was the very good: Johansen managed three assists, factoring into all of Nashville’s goals. It’s been a strong season for Johansen, who’s generated 29 points in 34 games, even if his offense has cooled off with Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson on the shelf.
If there’s one thing that’s maddening about Johansen, it’s that he shoots so infrequently, so it’s fitting that he had zero SOG on Monday, even with the Predators chasing the Senators for much of the contest. Johansen now only has 55 SOG in 34 games in 2018-19, which seems almost unthinkable for a top-line forward.
But, hey, it’s mostly working, so this is probably closer to nitpicking than a more profound critique. Probably?
Highlights
Chances are, more people will bug Johansen about him giving up the puck on Thomas Chabot’s pretty OT game-winner, though:
Since Dec. 12, Bryan Rust has a hat trick, six points in four games overall, and also provided a goaltending audition.
Bryan Rust (!) with a magnificent save 🖐🚫 pic.twitter.com/Se5Idmxf7K
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 18, 2018
Factoids
You may call these Ducks plucky.
Longest regular-season road win streaks, @AnaheimDucks history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 18, 2018
7 GP – Nov. 28 – Dec. 13, 2006
6 GP – March 19 – April 4, 2009
6 GP – Jan. 22 – Feb. 13, 2011
6 GP – Dec. 6-23, 2013
6 GP – Feb. 13 – March 5, 2016
6 GP – Nov. 27, 2018 – Present#NHLStats #ANAvsPIT pic.twitter.com/T3Y2tOcAQ8
Nice fodder for Senators GM Pierre Dorion, who recently said that their rebuild might be ahead of schedule:
Not including shootout winners, rookies have scored 31 of the @Senators’ 116 goals this season (26.7%) – by far the highest such percentage among all 31 NHL teams. #NHLStats #OTTvsNSH pic.twitter.com/9Hd3VwuXVP
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 18, 2018
Another reminder that Halak was a Hab:
Jaroslav Halak is the first goalie to record a shutout in Montreal as a member of both the #NHLBruins & Canadiens
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 18, 2018
Scores
ANA 4 - PIT 2
CBJ 1 - VGK 0
BOS 4 - MTL 0
OTT 4 - NSH 3 (OT)
NYI 4 - COL 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.