NHL Week in Review: 12/4-12/10

Daily Headlines

Monday 12/4

• The Winnipeg Jets extend Nino Niederreiter for three years at $4 million per year. 
• Victor Hedman celebrates his 1,000th game as the Bolts snap their four-game skid with a 4-0 shutout win over the Stars.
• The Coyotes put five goals past Washington in the first period en route to a lopsided 6-0 win, their fifth straight game over the last five Stanley Cup champions. 

Tuesday 12/5

• Brady Tkachuk and Vladimir Tarasenko each net two goals to help the Senators dominate the New York Rangers 6-2. 
• Los Angeles scores three times in 6:15 to tie the Blue Jackets before Drew Doughty wins it in overtime to mark ten straight road wins for the Kings. 
• Jesper Bratt scores with 34 seconds left to avoid an epic collapse in the first Hughes Bowl, as Jack and Luke (2G, 2A) combine to take down Quinn (2A).
• Behind Tomas Hertl's hat trick, San Jose erases a 4-1 deficit in the third period, and William Eklund finishes the comeback in overtime to take down the Islanders 5-4. 

Wednesday 12/6

• Zach Hyman's hat trick paces an incredible night for the Oilers' offense as they run roughshod on the Hurricanes 6-1. 

Thursday 12/7

• Patrick Kane goes pointless in his Red Wings debut, San Jose erases a 4-0 deficit during an eight-goal second period, and Mikael Granlund wins it in overtime to help the Sharks win 6-5.
• The Kings set a new NHL record by winning their first 11 road games of the season, shutting out the Canadiens 4-0. 
• Alex Ovechkin becomes the 16th player in league history to record 1,500 points, but the Stars are able to take down the Capitals 5-4 in the shootout. 
• Simon Nemec's first career goal proves to be the difference as Akira Schmid makes 38 stops in a 2-1 win for the Devils in Seattle. 

Friday 12/8

• Evan Bouchard scores twice to extend his point streak to ten games, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assists on all four goals as the Oilers run their win streak to six games with a 4-3 win over the Wild. 

Saturday 12/9

• Patrick Kane nets his first goal as a Red Wing against the Ottawa Senators, but the Sens dominate the game for a 5-1 win. 
• Charlie Lindgren stones his brother, Ryan, and the Metro-leading Rangers in a 4-0 win in the U.S. capital.
• Jean-Gabriel Pageau completes a comeback with an overtime winner to snap the Kings' season-opening road winning streak. 

Sunday 12/10

• Connor McDavid and Evander Kane pick up a goal and an assist in the third period, and Evan Bouchard extends his point streak to 11 games as the Oilers take down the Devils 4-1. 
• Vegas avoids a near-disaster by winning 5-4 in a shootout after Mike Hoffman scores in the final minute to force overtime. 

Team of the Week- Edmonton Oilers

Firing Jay Woodcroft isn't the reason the Oilers have turned their season around. It's making the decision look really good, but the truth is that the players finally have a fire under them. They've made it back to .500 with a perfect 3-0-0 week, extending their win streak to seven games, and are knocking on the door for a Wild Card spot. The formula hasn't changed as they continue to rely heavily on their top performers, but now, it's working. Connor McDavid had seven points this week. Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had six. Zach Hyman had a hat trick against Carolina. The difference is in the net. Stuart Skinner has won his last six starts, allowing less than two goals per start since being pulled in Raleigh on November 22. Their 1.71 goals allowed per game is the lowest in the league since their loss to Carolina. They're trending in the right direction as they try to make up ground in the wide-open Western Conference. 

Disappointing Team of the Week- Carolina Hurricanes

Speaking of Carolina, I'm always going to be harder on the team I cheer for. If you're a Hurricanes fan like me, this week was a rough one to watch play out. Not only did they lose all four of their games to begin a road trip, but they did it in many different ways. In Winnipeg, they were goalie'd by Laurent Brossoit. In Edmonton, they were run out of the building 6-1. In Calgary, they blew a two-goal lead in the third period. In Vancouver, they worked back from a two-goal deficit, only to allow a soft goal and lose. Their goalies continued to be inconsistent. Their stars didn't show up to play, particularly Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Teuvo Teravainen. Their power play has been stagnant. All of this has the Canes in a rough spot as the rest of the division continues to string wins together. 

Surprising Team of the Week- Chicago Blackhawks

The general sentiment is that Chicago is a bottom-tier team as they continue to rebuild. At times this season, we've seen that come through on the ice. They're an inconsistent team that struggles much more than they dominate. They often struggle to create offense and have a tougher time keeping the puck out of their net. However, there are times when they show flashes of brilliance throughout their young core. Connor Bedard continues to play as advertised, leading all rookies in scoring and tying for the team lead in points with three this week. Petr Mrazek had an incredible week, allowing one goal on 76 shots, including a 37-save shutout against Anaheim on Thursday. I'm not saying they'll make a run this season because they aren't. I'm just telling you that they're fun to watch from time to time. 

Three Stars of the Week

3rd Star- Sam Reinhart (FLA)- 1 goal, 7 assists in 3 games

The Panthers continue to prove that last season's postseason run wasn't a fluke, and Sam Reinhart is in the middle of it. Known more for his goal-scoring this season, Reinhart led the league in points this week with eight, thanks in large part to his league-high seven assists. He currently sits tied for fourth in goals (17) and tied for fifth in points (37). 

2nd Star- Juuse Saros (NSH)- 3-0-0, ,949 SV%, 1.62 GAA in 3 games

There were a ton of solid goaltending performances this week. Juuse Saros was one of three goalies to win all three starts, allowing five goals on 98 shots. His 93 saves were the second-most in the league. He capped his strong week with a 36-save performance in a 2-1 win for the Predators in Montreal on Sunday. 

1st Star- Carter Hart (PHI)- 3-0-0, .958 SV%, 1.30 GAA in 3 games

At the top of the list is Carter Hart, who propelled the Flyers to a 3-0-0 week with three solid performances. He picked up wins over Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Colorado this week, allowing no more than two goals in any of his starts. His GAA and save percentage were the second-best of any goalie this week with multiple starts, trailing only Petr Mrazek in both categories. 

My Top 16 (* denotes a new entry)

16. Arizona Coyotes (13-11-2/1-2-0 last week) (-1)

15. New Jersey Devils (14-11-1/3-1-0 last week) (+2)*

14. Washington Capitals (14-8-3/2-1-1 last week) (-1)

13. New York Islanders (12-7-7/2-0-1 last week) (+1)

12. Philadelphia Flyers (15-10-2/3-0-0 last week) (+4)

11. Detroit Red Wings (14-8-4/1-1-1 last week) (-1)

10. Toronto Maple Leafs (14-6-4/2-0-0 last week) (+2)

9. Dallas Stars (15-8-3/1-3-0 last week) (-3)

8. Colorado Avalanche (16-9-2/1-2-0 last week) (-1)

7. Florida Panthers (17-8-2/3-0-0 last week) (+2)

6. Winnipeg Jets (16-8-2/3-0-0 last week) (+5)

5. Los Angeles Kings (16-5-4/2-1-1 last week) (-)

4. Vancouver Canucks (18-9-1/2-1-0 last week) (-)

3. New York Rangers (19-6-1/1-2-0 last week) (-2)

2. Vegas Golden Knights (19-5-5/3-0-1 last week) (+1)

1. Boston Bruins (18-5-3/1-1-0 last week) (+1)

There was a small shakeup to the Top 3 this week. The Boston Bruins regained the top spot after a quiet week in which they split their two contests. Vegas also moved up a spot after picking up seven of a possible eight points following a slight lull in their play. The Rangers didn't fall too far, dropping to #3. They suffered back-to-back four-goal losses in Ottawa and Washington but recovered to hand the Kings their first regulation loss on the road on Sunday. Vancouver stayed in the same spot after winning two of three games this week. Los Angeles broke the NHL record for the best road start to open a season, going 11-0-0, only to lose both games in New York to end the week. The Winnipeg Jets sit tied atop the Central Division at the moment as they ride a four-game win streak. The Panthers joined the Jets with a perfect week to move up two spots. Colorado only moved down one spot after losing two of three this week at home. The Stars took a larger tumble, falling three spots as Jake Oettinger hat a ready tough week, going 0-3-0 and allowing 15 goals. Toronto rounds out the Top 10 with two wins in two games, but a high-ankle sprain for Joseph Woll dampened the mood a little. Patrick Kane made his debut for the Red Wings this week, scoring in his second game as the Wings picked up three of six possible points. The Flyers were the third team to win all three games this week, allowing a league-best 1.33 goals per game. The Islanders recovered from blowing a game to the Sharks early in the week to win their next two games, including a comeback win over the Kings on Saturday. A weekend back-to-back sweep helped save the Capitals following a 6-0 loss to Arizona and a 5-4 loss in the shootout to Dallas. The only new team in the Top 16 this week is the New Jersey Devils. If not for a loss to Edmonton on Sunday, they'd have completed a perfect Western road trip. Arizona sits at #16, falling one spot after losses to Philadelphia and Boston to close the week.