NHL Week in Review- 11/13-11/19

Daily Headlines
Monday 11/13
  • In Kris Knoblauch's first game behind the bench, Leon Draisaitl scores four points to lead the Oilers to a win over the Islanders. 
Tuesday 11/14
  • Sidney Crosby nets his 16th career hat trick in a 5-3 win for the Penguins over the Blue Jackets, extending their win streak to five games. 
Wednesday 11/15
  • Carter Hart returns from a five-game absence by stopping 31 shots as the Flyers take down the Hurricanes in Raleigh 3-1. 
  • Evander Kane scores twice in the third period and completes the natural hat trick in overtime to help Edmonton overcome a 3-1 deficit in a 4-3 victory over the Kraken. 
Thursday 11/16
  • Down 4-0 early in the second period, Lucas Raymond kickstarts a four-goal comeback in his home country, but Tim Stutzle bats a puck out of mid-air in overtime with 2.0 seconds left to begin the NHL Global Series in Stockholm with a 5-4 win for the Senators.
Friday 11/17
  • Toronto comes back from a 2-0 deficit behind three-point games from John Tavares and Swede William Nylander to win the second game of the NHL Global Series 3-2 over Detroit. 
Saturday 11/18
  • Anton Forsberg stops a penalty shot and records an assist en route to a 2-1 shootout win for the Ottawa Senators over the Minnesota Wild as they win both games in Sweden during the NHL Global Series. 
  • The Hurricanes and Rangers each use three-goal third periods to win division games against the Penguins and Devils, respectively. 
  • The Avalanche rattle off six unanswered goals after falling behind 3-0 to secure a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars. 
Sunday 11/19
  • William Nylander finishes the NHL Global Series in style in Stockholm, scoring the game-winner in overtime to help the Maple Leafs top the Wild 4-3. 
  • Alex Nedeljkovic stops all 38 shots thrown at him by the defending champions, helping Pittsburgh to a 3-0 win over the Golden Knights. 
Team of the Week- Colorado Avalanche
Of the three teams to go 3-0-0 this week, only one of them averaged over six goals per game. That team was the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado was far and away the leader in goals with 19, but they also played well defensively, allowing six goals in three games. The Avalanche began its week with a 5-1 win in Seattle, which would be the least impressive of their three wins. They put up eight goals against the Ducks on Tuesday before erasing a 3-0 deficit in Dallas with six unanswered goals to win 6-3. Cale Makar led the league with eight points during the week, Valeri Nichushkin led the team with four goals, and Alexandar Georgiev backed all the wins. 

Disappointing Team of the Week- Columbus Blue Jackets
More often than not, I'm looking for a good team that had a bad week to fill this spot. This week, it was hard to ignore the Columbus Blue Jackets. It's not just that they lost four games, but that they've lost their last nine games. Granted, they lost to some good teams. However, San Jose is the only other team to have a 0-4-0 week this season. Add Patrik Laine being a healthy scratch on Sunday, and it was a recipe for disaster in Columbus. 

Surprising Team of the Week- Philadelphia Flyers
The rollercoaster ride continues for the Flyers as they seem to be back on an upswing. The Flyers currently have the league's longest win streak at five games after going 3-0-0 this week. They handled business against the Hurricanes, then beat the Golden Knights and Blue Jackets on consecutive days to finish. No one had a flashy week, though Ryan Poehling did lead the way with four points. Carter Hart was phenomenal against Carolina, then helped his team squeak a victory against Vegas. They're second in the division, though several teams behind them have games in hand. 

Three Stars of the Week
3rd Star- William Nylander (TOR)- 2 goals, 3 assists in 2 games
It felt like most of the Swedish players performed well in Stockholm during the NHL Global Series this week. None performed better than William Nylander. He started with a three-point performance to help Toronto come back from 2-0 down to beat Detroit. Then, he finished with the overtime winner in the final game of the series to help take down Minnesota. He's been on a roll to start the final year of his contract, putting even more pressure on Toronto to figure it out. 

2nd Star- David Pastrnak (BOS)- 1 goal, 5 assists in 2 games
While the Bruins only played two games, David Pastrnak's handy work was all over both wins. He had consecutive three-point performances against Buffalo and Montreal, finishing tied for the third most points this week. Half of his production was on the power play, helping Boston convert on 37.5% of its attempts. He's one point behind the trio that leads the league with 27 while also in the top ten for goals and assists. 

1st Star- Cale Makar (COL)- 1 goal, 7 assists in 3 games
The Team of the Week also had the 1st Star of the Week. Cale Makar led the league with seven assists and eight points across Colorado's three games. He was a multi-point performer in all three, including back-to-back three-point games against Anaheim and Dallas. Makar trails only Quinn Hughes in points and assists for defensemen while sitting tied for eighth overall. He's recorded at least one point in all but one game in November. 

My Top 16 (* denotes a new entry)
16. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-8-0/2-2-0 last week) (-1)
15. Tampa Bay Lightning (8-6-4/2-1-0 last week) (+7)*
14. New Jersey Devils (8-7-1/1-2-0 last week) (-2)
13. Philadelphia Flyers (10-7-1/3-0-0 last week) (+5)*
12. Washington Capitals (9-4-2/2-0-0 last week) (+2)
11. Carolina Hurricanes (10-7-0/1-1-0 last week) (-4)
10. Winnipeg Jets (10-5-2/3-0-0 last week) (+6)
9. Toronto Maple Leafs (10-5-2/2-0-0 last week) (-)
8. Colorado Avalanche (11-5-0/3-0-0 last week) (+3)
7. Florida Panthers (11-5-1/2-1-0 last week) (+1)
6. Los Angeles Kings (10-3-3/2-0-0 last week) (-)
5. Dallas Stars (11-4-1/1-1-0 last week) (-) 
4. Vancouver Canucks (12-5-1/1-2-0 last week) (-)
3. Vegas Golden Knights (13-4-2/1-2-1 last week) (-2)
2. New York Rangers (12-2-1/1-0-0 last week) (+1)
1. Boston Bruins (13-1-2/2-0-0 last week) (+1)

There's a new team at the top of my rankings for the first time this season. The Boston Bruins jumped into the top spot after a perfect week and have picked up points in 15 of their first 16 games. The New York Rangers only played one game this week, and they won it, moving them up to #2. The defending champs are starting to fall back to reality, losing two games in regulation this week and another in extra time. The Vancouver Canucks also got a reality check, losing two of three games, but I'm keeping them at #4 because of their overall start. The Stars and Kings also stayed in the same spots. Florida is still a little behind Boston, but they've been on fire. The Avalanche played a perfect week as their offense started to breakthrough with some big numbers. Participating in the NHL Global Series, the Maple Leafs shone in Sweden, winning both of their games. The Winnipeg Jets jumped into the Top 10 with a 3-0-0 week, earning serious consideration for Team of the Week. I will always be hard on the Carolina Hurricanes, who salvaged their week with a great win over the Penguins on Saturday. The Capitals continued their impressive stretch with two wins. Philadelphia re-joined the Top 16 with a three-win week, including an impressive win in Raleigh on TNT. Jack Hughes returned to the lineup for the Devils and made an immediate impact. The Tampa Bay Lightning are the second team to re-enter the rankings, going 2-1-0 last week. The Pittsburgh Penguins round out the group of 16, splitting their four games and earning a shutout win over the defending champions on Sunday. 

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