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The Buzzer: Nylander keeps Maple Leafs rolling; Canucks make it 6 in a row

By Adam GretzJan 3, 2020, 1:44 AM EST

Three Stars

1. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs. Following a restricted free agent contract dispute and a down 2018-19 performance, Nylander became a popular target for criticism in Toronto. Not anymore. He continued what is turning out to be a massive breakout season on Thursday night by scoring two more goals and adding an assist in the Maple Leafs’ 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The Maple Leafs are now 14-4-1 under new coach Sheldon Keefe and 8-0-1 in their past nine games. Nylander has 19 goals and 38 total points in 41 games this season. That puts him on a pace for 38 goals and 76 points over 82 games. That level of production makes his $6 million cap hit a bargain.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche. MacKinnon got the Avalanche rolling with a late first period goal and never slowed down as the cruised to a huge 7-3 win over the St. Louis Blues. He recorded his fourth four-point game of the season, most in the NHL. It is his ninth since the start of the 2017-18 season, tied for second-most in the league (behind only Nikita Kucherov) during that stretch. Read more about the Avalanche’s big win here.

3. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks. Miller continues to be a massive addition to the Canucks’ lineup and helped them win their sixth game in a row with his second four-point game of the season. He opened the scoring with an early first period goal, then added three assists, including the lone assist on Adam Gaudette‘s game winning goal in a wild 7-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He has at least one point in five of the Canucks’ six games during this streak and continues to help push them toward a playoff spot. They paid a steep price to get him, but he has been worth it so far.

Other notable performances from Thursday

  • Pierre-Luc Dubois‘ overtime goal against the Boston Bruins helped the Columbus Blue Jackets improved to 8-0-4 in their past 12 games.
  • Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 38 shots to help the Tampa Bay Lightning pick up a huge 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
  • Jonathan Huberdeau remained hot and Evgeni Dadonov had three points as the Florida Panthers used a four-goal second period to storm by the Ottawa Senators.
  • Brent Burns scored an overtime goal and Aaron Dell made 36 saves to help the San Jose Sharks get a much-needed 3-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • All 12 Arizona Coyotes forwards recorded a point in their 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
  • Max Pacioretty continued to be a dominant force for the Vegas Golden Knights as he scored two more goals in their 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
  • Johnny Gadreau had a goal and an assist for the Calgary Flames as they beat the New York Rangers.

Highlights of the Night

It did not result in a win, but Patrik Laine finished with 13 shots on goal for the Winnipeg Jets and scored this beauty of a goal after turning Morgan Rielly inside out.

Thanks to this beauty of a Nico Hischier goal the New Jersey Devils were able to win their third game in a row. It is their first three-game winning streak of the season. Read all about it here.

Jack Eichel helps the Buffalo Sabres get a huge win by scoring the game-winning goal on a penalty shot in overtime.

Blooper of the Night

This is only a blooper in the sense that it should NEVER HAPPEN if you are the New York Rangers. They allowed Calgary’s Mikael Backlund to score a shorthanded goal in a 3-on-5 situation. That was the difference in a 4-3 Flames win.

Factoids

  • Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau became 12th, 13th, and 14th players in NHL history to play in four different decades in their NHL careers. [NHL PR]
  • David Pastrnak is the first Bruins player since Cam Neely during the 1993-94 season to score his 30th goal in 42 or fewer games. [NHL PR]
  • With his assist on Brent Burns’ overtime goal, Joe Thornton collected the 1,080th assist of his career to move him into sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list. [NHL PR]

Scores

Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Boston Bruins 1 (OT)
Buffalo Sabres 3, Edmonton Oilers 2 (OT)
Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Montreal Canadiens 1
New Jersey Devils 2, New York Islanders 1
San Jose Sharks 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (OT)
Florida Panthers 6, Ottawa Senators 3
Toronto Maple Leafs 6, Winnipeg Jets 3
Calgary Flames 4, New York Rangers 3
Arizona Coyotes 4, Anaheim Ducks 2
Colorado Avalanche 7, St. Louis Blues 3
Vancouver Canucks 7, Chicago Blackhawks 5
Vegas Golden Knights 5, Philadelphia Flyers 4

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Five great NHL performances sneaking under the radar this season

By Adam GretzDec 20, 2019, 6:25 PM EST

On Friday we looked at five players having slow starts this season and are no doubt looking for a fresh start with the new year.

Now we want to look at some players on the other end of the spectrum.

Players that have enjoyed great starts and are not really getting much attention for it.

1. Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes acquisition of Teravainen is one of the great steals of the decade.

All it cost was a couple of draft picks and the ability to take Bryan Bickell’s contract off Chicago’s hands.

In the years since, Teravainen has become one of the most important core players on one of the league’s best up-and-coming teams. Sebastian Aho is the superstar and Andrei Svechnikov makes the highlights, but Teravainen is the one helping drive the bus to success.

He scores at a top-line rate, is one of the best possession drivers among all NHL forwards, and is one of the most overlooked, impactful players in the league. How good is he at dictating the pace of play? When he is on the ice at 5-on-5, the Hurricanes give up just 46 total shot attempts per 60 minutes and controlling more than 60 percent of the total attempts. Both are best in the league.

You know who could really use a 25-year-old top-line forward signed to a cap-friendly deal for the next five years? The Blackhawks.

2. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks raised a lot of eyebrows over the summer when they traded a future first-round pick to Tampa Bay for Miller. He is a fine player, but did not seem to be enough to move the needle much in their rebuild. And given where there the team has finished in the standings the past few years there is always the possibility that draft pick could be very high.

But so far Miller has been a perfect fit for the Canucks and is putting together a career year.

Entering play on Friday he is on track to shatter all of his career highs offensively with underlying numbers that place him among the league’s elite forwards. His shot-attempt and expected goal differentials are both in the top-10 league wide.

He spends a significant chunk of his ice-time playing on a line with Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, and that certainly helps his cause, but there’s a lot to be said for being able to establish a chemistry with top-line players and take advantage of your minutes. Miller is doing exactly that.

3. Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights

At his peak Pacioretty was one of the most dangerous goal scoring forwards and one of the biggest salary cap steals in the league, and I don’t know that Montreal ever fully appreciated what they had with him. When they traded him to Vegas before the 2018-19 season they did so at a time where his career seemed to be heading toward its downward decline. But he is showing this season that he still has some elite hockey left, even after turning 31 in November.

He is in the middle of one of the most productive seasons of his career and is currently on pace for his first 30-goal season in three years. He is also producing at a near point-per-game clip, has the highest shot rate of his career, and is leading the Golden Knights — a top contender in the Western Conference — in every meaningful offensive category.

4. Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers

Provorov’s restricted free agent situation this past summer was one of the most intriguing ones in the league. The Flyers have used him like a top-pairing defender, but he has not always performed like one. Despite that, they still committed to him with a six-year, $40.5 million contract.

If he performs like the Flyers hope he can and expect him to perform, it’s a steal.

If he does not, it becomes a problem.

So far this season the former situation has played out. He’s been great for a Flyers team that has exceeded expectations and is hanging around in a wildly competitive division.

He is excelling offensively and has been the Flyers’ top performing defensive defenseman across the board.

5. Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators

Duclair is only 24 years old. He has top-six talent and was at one time a highly regarded prospect and the centerpiece of the trade that sent Keith Yandle from Arizona to New York. He has played more than 320 games at the NHL level and for his career has averaged a 20-goal pace per 82 games. And despite all of that, he is still playing for his fifth different organization in six years.

A lot of teams missed here (one badly) and right now Ottawa is benefitting from it.

Duclair is one of the bright spots in what is yet another dismal season of Senators hockey and with 20 goals in 36 games has already matched his career high and is on pace for 45 goals this season. The only players with more goals entering play on Friday are David Pastrnak, Jack Eichel, Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Sebastian Aho, and Leon Draisaitl.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

NHL Power Rankings: Metropolitan Division dominance

By Adam GretzDec 9, 2019, 2:57 PM EST
2 Comments

In this week’s PHT Power Rankings it is all about the Metropolitan Division which is proving itself to be the best, most competitive, and top-heavy division in the league.

It is so good right now that as of Monday five of the league’s top-11 teams in points percentage (Washington, New York Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carolina) all play in it, and four of those teams (Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh) are in the top-seven.

All five are also in the top-10 in goal-differential.

The Capitals look like they have a shot to win another Presidents’ Trophy and maybe a Stanley Cup, the Islanders are still locking things down defensively, the Penguins are playing like a legit contender even though they they have been the most injured team in the league, the Flyers are one of the hottest teams in the league, and the Hurricanes are quietly surging along with a blossoming superstar on their roster.

Those teams also dominate the top of this week’s Power Rankings.

Where do they — and the rest of the league — currently sit?

To the rankings!

1. Washington Capitals. John Carlson is on pace to be the first defenseman since the 1991-92 season to hit the 100-point mark and the Capitals are on pace to win their fourth Presidents’ Trophy since the 2009-10 season.

2. Colorado Avalanche. If they can get Taylor Hall they would be the clear favorite to win the Western Conference, and maybe the Stanley Cup. They might be the favorite for both even if they do not get Taylor Hall.

3. Boston Bruins. Imagine how good they can be when they get Patrice Bergeron back.

4. Philadelphia Flyers. In any given week it feels like they could be a top-five team or a bottom-five team. Right now? Top-five. Losing Travis Konecny for now is going to be tough.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins. The way they are playing through significant injuries should make the rest of the Eastern Conference worried about what they are capable of when they start getting people back — including Sidney Crosby.

6. New York Islanders. They have come back to earth a little bit since that 17-game point streak came to an end, which is to be expected. Should not be a cause for concern yet.

7. St. Louis Blues. They could still use a little more offense, but the goaltending has been good enough to mask their flaws.

8. Winnipeg Jets. Forget the Vezina Trophy, Connor Hellebuyck is building himself an MVP case right now. Not saying he will win it, but he is building an argument.

9. Carolina Hurricanes. Andrei Svechnikov is starting to become a monster, leading the team in goals, points, and averaging more than a point-per-game. He is only 19 years old.

10. Arizona Coyotes. They are off to one of the best starts in franchise history while getting minimal goal-scoring from three of their top players (Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson). If they can get going they might be on to something here, especially with that goaltending duo.

11. Dallas Stars. With this goaltending they can make a lot of noise, assuming the goaltending keeps playing the way it has.

12. Minnesota Wild. A season that looked lost a little more than a month ago is now on the verge of being salvaged. The Wild have earned a point in 14 out of their 17 games (10-3-4) since the start of November and are climbing back up the standings.

13. Edmonton Oilers. There are a lot of cracks in the foundation. Still no depth, and since their 7-1 start they have managed to win just 11 out of 24 games. They are going in the wrong direction.

14. Vancouver Canucks. I don’t think even they expected J.T. Miller to be as impactful as he has been since they acquired him.

15. Calgary Flames. They have started to turn things around the past couple of weeks, and even Milan Lucic is on a two-game goal-scoring streak.

16. Tampa Bay Lightning. Two things have hurt their spot in the standings. The first is they have played a league-low 27 games. The second is they have been wildly inconsistent in the 27 games they have played.

17. Florida Panthers. Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are incredible. The goaltending is still incredibly bad.

18. Toronto Maple Leafs. Every team in the Atlantic Division behind Boston is a jumbled mess of mediocrity, and I don’t think the Maple Leafs expected to find themselves in that pile. They have shown signs of going on a run since the coaching change, but it has not all come together yet.

19. Buffalo Sabres. Jack Eichel is having a dominant, breakout season. Hopefully the Sabres can do enough around him so it does not go to waste.

20. New York Rangers. They are hanging in there and have given a lot of teams headaches lately. I don’t know if they are as good as their record, but having a superstar like Artemi Panarin and two outstanding goalies playing the way they are it is going to give a team a chance.

21. Vegas Golden Knights. Something is just off here. This team should be better than it currently is.

22. Nashville Predators. The usually dependable goaltending duo of Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros is sinking their season at the moment.

23. San Jose Sharks. Speaking of teams that should be better than they currently are, the Sharks are in a lot of trouble after a miserable road trip through Florida. Teams that get blown out as often as this team does do not typically do very well.

24. Montreal Canadiens. They simply do not have enough depth to overcome the injuries to Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

25. Chicago Blackhawks. Robin Lehner has been a great addition and helped give an otherwise awful defensive team a chance to win. He just can not stop anything in the shootout.

26. Columbus Blue Jackets. We knew the goaltending would be a question mark, but the offense has dropped off even more than it was expected to.

27. Ottawa Senators. After a brief surge in the middle of November the Senators are back to their struggles. The biggest thing to watch here is where Jean-Gabriel Pageau ends up.

28. Anaheim Ducks. They have three wins in their past 15 games. Somehow two of those wins have been against the Blues and Islanders.

29. New Jersey Devils. John Hynes may not have been the right coach for the Devils, but he also wasn’t the biggest problem.

30. Los Angeles Kings. What do you do with Jonathan Quick? Trading him does not seem to be an option given his play. A buyout will be a significant salary cap hit for a long time. He also has shown no sign that his career is on the verge of turning back around.

31. Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings are trending toward “historically bad” territory this season.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Canucks’ Miller scored an awesome water bottle breaker in OT

By James O'BrienDec 7, 2019, 7:50 PM EST
3 Comments

Over time, you can become jaded as a sports (and specifically hockey) fan.

Stories about abusive coaches, lockouts, fans booing players for simply no longer being on their teams — it can sap some of the joy of the game.

Thankfully, we have highlights, and I can’t think of many simpler joys than someone scoring a goal and absolutely obliterating the goalie’s water bottle in the process. (As long as no one gets too dehydrated in the making of such films.)

Vancouver Canucks winger J.T. Miller did it one better on Saturday: he scored an important goal that way. Miller presented the ultra-rare OTBBGWG (overtime bottle-breaking game-winning goal) as the Canucks beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in OT.

Bask in the glory of that goal in the video above this post’s headline. Here’s a fun alternate angle:

By the way, Miller continues to be a deadly offensive weapon for the Canucks. This one-goal, one-assist output extended his current point streak to an impressive eight games (5G, 6A for 11 points). Overall, Miller has 31 points in 30 games during his first season in Vancouver.

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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.

It’s early, but the Canucks might be really good

By Adam GretzNov 1, 2019, 3:22 PM EDT
4 Comments

The Jim Benning era in Vancouver has been an easy one to criticize because, quite frankly, none of it has made much sense.

They have never been truly terrible, they have never really been good, and every offseason seems to focus on adding more and more depth players on long-term contracts in free agency in an effort to maintain some level of consistent mediocrity instead of actually building a championship contending organization.

This is how it has all looked from a distance, anyway. And maybe all of that criticism has been justified (and will continue to be justified in the future) but we have to at least acknowledge something about the 2019-20 Canucks — they might actually turn out to be pretty good.

Entering Friday’s game in Anaheim the Canucks are 8-3-1, have earned at least a point in nine of their past 12 games, and are one of the most surprising teams in the league. Even better for Canucks fans is there is plenty of evidence to suggest that all of it is for real. If nothing else things seem to at least be trending in the right direction. 

Skeptics might point to the fact that Vancouver had a strong start last year (9-6-0 through their first 15 games) before falling off a cliff over the next four months, and hey, maybe that happens again. But everything about the way the Canucks were playing last year pointed to that start being a fluke and not something that was going to be sustained. Over their first 15 games they were getting caved in from a shot attempt standpoint, getting badly outscored at 5-on-5, and getting by based on nothing more than luck and good fortune.

This year’s early positive results are being driven by a positive process that at least has the look of something that might be sustainable long-term.

The 5-on-5 numbers through the first month paint a strikingly different (and more optimistic) picture this year. They are the ones pushing the pace of the play, they cut down the number of shot attempts they give up defensively, and as a result their goal differential has experience a massive positive swing.

One thing the Canucks have had going for them is they do have the most important pieces in place, and that is high-end, impact players. Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser were rookie of the year contenders the past two years (Pettersson actually won it) and are both off to great starts this season. Their early success should not be a surprise because they are on track to be great players and have excelled from the moment they arrived.

Editor’s note: Need Canucks tickets? Click here

But the real game-changer has been the presence of their newest Calder Trophy contender, defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Hughes was always going to be the X-factor on this team because he has the ability to play a role and be the type of player that can really swing the rebuild in a positive direction. He’s already playing 20 minutes a night, he’s driving possession, and he’s producing offense. The Canucks were lacking that sort of impact player on their defense, and Hughes has stepped right into that role and has yet to look out of place, even as a 20-year-old rookie.

Add the presence of J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat entering what should be his peak years, and some strong goaltending and suddenly the Canucks are starting to look like a team that might be on to something.

The roster still has flaws, and there is still valid reason to question some of the contracts they have signed and made their salary cap situation needlessly complicated, but for the first time in four or five years the arrow finally seems to be pointing in the right direction.

Where they go from here this season remains to be seen, but they have at least given themselves a shot this year and seem to have a chance to build on something.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.