NHL Week in Review: 1/8-1/14

Daily Headlines

Monday 1/8

• Toronto announces that William Nylander has signed an eight-year, $92 million extension, taking one of the biggest UFA names off the board. 
• The Flyers trade top prospect Cutter Gauthier to Anaheim for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 2nd in a sudden blockbuster deal.
• Elias Pettersson scores twice and adds a pair of assists to help the Canucks pick up a big win on the 6-3 over the Rangers. 
• Matt Murray makes his season debut and records his first career shutout, making 23 stops in a 4-0 win for Dallas over Minnesota. 

Tuesday 1/9

• Tampa Bay completes a comeback in the final eight minutes, scoring twice to force overtime before Nick Perbix wins it in overtime to take a 3-2 win over the Kings. 
• Mitch Marner's four-point night (2G, 2A) helps the Leafs hang seven on the Sharks in a dominant 7-1 victory. 
• Matthew Tkachuk records a natural hat trick to put the game away as the Panthers take down the Blues 5-1. 

Wednesday 1/10

• The Stars ruin the NHL debut of goalie Jesper Wallstedt, scoring seven times to win 7-2 over the Minnesota Wild.
• Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen combine twice on the power play to pace a 3-0 shutout win for the Avalanche over the Vegas Golden Knights. 

Thursday 1/11

• The Oilers extend their win streak to nine games as Darnell Nurse buries the winner in overtime in a 3-2 win in Detroit. 
• Sam Reinhart beats the buzzer in overtime, scoring his 30th of the season with less than a second left as the Panthers beat the Kings 3-2. 
• Auston Matthews scores twice, but the Islanders erase a 3-1 deficit as Mathew Barzal completes the comeback in overtime for a 4-3 win. 
• Winnipeg scores twice in the final 3:29 of regulation as Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers help the Jets stay hot in a 2-1 win over the Blackhawks. 
• Jordan Kyrou's hat trick helps the Blues run away from the Rangers in a 5-2 win for the Blues. 
• The Flames rout the Coyotes 6-2 behind Yegor Sharangovich's first hat trick with Calgary. 

Friday 1/12

• The Flyers erase a two-goal third-period deficit to force overtime, and Joel Farabee tips home the game-winner on the power play to prolong Marc-Andre Fleury's search for win #552. 

Saturday 1/13

• Vladimir Tarasenko breaks a 4-4 tie with less than five seconds left to help the Senators survive a scare, beating the Sharks 5-4. 
• Alexandre Carrier gets a fortunate bounce off a broken stick with seven seconds left before Nashville adds an empty-netter to help the Predators win a tight game 3-1 over the Islanders. 
• Samuel Ersson makes 35 stops to halt the Jets' point streak as the Flyers win 2-0 to keep pace in the Metropolitan Division. 
• Evan Bouchard's winner in overtime helps the Oilers set a new franchise record with their tenth straight win in a 2-1 victory over the Canadiens. 
• Colorado erases a 3-0 first-period deficit by scoring five unanswered, including Nathan MacKinnon's go-ahead goal with 3:25 left in a 5-3 win in Toronto. 

Sunday 1/14

• Andrew Copp scores with 1:40 left to help the Red Wings break a tie in Toronto as they finish the week with a 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs. 

Team of the Week- Seattle Kraken

I had been very low on the Seattle Kraken after winning just eight of their first 29 games. They went on a long eight-game losing streak but have miraculously turned it around. They have points in their last 13 games and have won their last nine, including three games this week. Joey Daccord is a big reason for that, going 10-0-2 during this stretch with a .950 save percentage and a pair of shutouts. While they haven't gotten much help with the Oilers also playing lights out, the Kraken are playing the best hockey they've played in three years of existence. They aren't going to run away from teams often, but they've turned into one of the stronger defensive teams to keep them within striking distance of a Wild Card spot. 

Disappointing Team of the Week- Minnesota Wild

For a moment, it looked like the Minnesota Wild had turned their season around after hiring John Hynes to replace Dean Evason. They went 11-3-0 following the coaching change, working their way into a good spot in the playoff races. However, they've fallen right back into their bad ways. They're 1-7-1 in their last nine games, including 0-3-1 this week. They were run out of the arena twice by the Stars, losing 4-0 and 7-2, before blowing a two-goal lead against Philadelphia and failing to score in a 6-0 loss to Arizona. Injuries to some key players haven't helped their situation, but they've now likely fallen out of the postseason with this recent patch of losses. 

Surprising Team of the Week- Calgary Flames

While being passed by the Oilers and Flames in the division race, the Flames are quietly starting to make a push for the postseason, too. They went 3-0-0 this week, outscoring their opponents 15-6, highlighted by a 3-1 win over Vegas on the road. Blake Coleman and Yegor Sharangovich had particularly strong weeks, with Coleman finishing second in scoring and Sharangovich tying Elias Pettersson for the most goals. This week leaves the Flames two points out of a playoff spot, though games in hand for Edmonton and Seattle could be an issue. 

Three Stars of the Week

3rd Star- Thatcher Demko (VAN)- 3-0-0, .942 SV%, 1.97 GAA in 3 games

No goalie faced more shots this week than Thatcher Demko. Not only did he face a lot of shots, he stopped most of them. Demko allowed six goals on 103 shots, including a 26-save shutout against the Sabres on Saturday in a 1-0 win. Demko was also named to the All-Star Game after being voted in by the fans. 

2nd Star- Blake Coleman (CGY)- 4 goals, 3 assists in 3 games

The Flames went 3-0-0 this week, with Blake Coleman playing a major part in it. Coleman finished second in points and tied for third in goals with four others. He had multi-point outings in all three wins, scoring twice against Ottawa and recording three points against Arizona. He is high on my list of snubs for the game in Toronto as he continues to put together a strong season. 

1st Star- Elias Pettersson (VAN)- 5 goals, 4 assists in 4 games

I try to avoid putting two players from the same team in my Top 3, but I had to make an exception this week because Elias Pettersson was on fire. While he finished his week pointless against Buffalo, Pettersson had a pair of two-goal, four-point games against the Rangers and Penguins. He was also in the crop of Canucks to be voted into the All-Star Game. 

My Top 16 (* denotes a new entry)

16. Toronto Maple Leafs (21-12-8/1-2-1 last week) (-3)

15. Los Angeles Kings (20-11-8/0-1-2 last week) (-6)

14. Seattle Kraken (19-14-9/3-0-0 last week) (+4)*

13. New Jersey Devils (22-15-3/1-0-1 last week) (-1)

12. Philadelphia Flyers (23-14-6/3-1-0 last week) (+3)

11. Nashville Predators (24-18-1/2-1-0 last week) (-)

10. Edmonton Oilers (23-15-1/3-0-0 last week) (+4)

9. Vegas Golden Knights (24-14-5/1-2-0 last week) (-2)

8. Dallas Stars (25-12-5/3-1-0 last week) (+2)

7. New York Rangers (27-13-2/1-3-0 last week) (-3)

6. Carolina Hurricanes (24-13-5/2-0-0 last week) (+2)

5. Colorado Avalanche (28-12-3/3-0-0 last week) (+1)

4. Boston Bruins (25-8-9/1-0-3 last week) (-2)

3. Florida Panthers (27-13-2/2-1-0 last week) (+2)

2. Winnipeg Jets (28-10-4/2-1-0 last week) (-1)

1. Vancouver Canucks (29-11-3/4-0-0 last week) (+2)

For the third week in a row, there is a new team at the top. The Canucks completed a perfect 4-0-0 week to jump to #1 in the midst of a seven-game road trip. The week included a convincing win over the Rangers as they swept their way through New York and Pittsburgh. Vancouver jumped over the Jets, who had a good week, too. The only blemish on the ledger was a 2-0 loss to the Flyers on Saturday. The Florida Panthers moved to #3 as they pushed their win streak to nine games. They did have the streak broken on Saturday, but this recent run has them knocking on Boston's doorstep at the top of the division. Speaking of the Bruins, they earned points in all four of their games, though three of them were losses in extra time. The Avalanche round out the Top 5 after winning all three games they played this week. They erased the big loss to Florida last weekend to take down Boston, Vegas, and Toronto.

The Carolina Hurricanes have earned points in 13 of their last 14 games to pull within three points of the Rangers for first place in the Metropolitan Division. They won both of their games this week during a long homestand. The Rangers still hold the division lead, but they lost three of their four games this week. They saved themselves from falling further by beating the Capitals on Sunday. The Stars maintained close ties near the top of the Central Division by picking up six points. They outscored the Wild 11-2 in two meetings before splitting with Nashville and Chicago this weekend. The Golden Knights can't seem to find their footing as their slide continues. They struggled to score this week, recording just three goals in three games. On the other side of things, the Edmonton Oilers are on a roll. They've won ten straight games, setting a new franchise record, and have clawed their way into a Wild Card spot for now. 

The Nashville Predators maintained their position by winning two of three. They suffered a tough home loss to the Ducks to begin the week but won back-to-back over the Stars and Islanders to end the week on a positive note. Despite my assumption they'd fall off, the Flyers continue to make waves in the Metro. They won two games in extra time before shutting out the Jets on Saturday. The Devils aren't in a playoff spot at the moment, but they're right on the cusp of it. They earned three of four points this week as they sit two points out of a Wild Card spot. 

It has been a month since the Seattle Kraken lost a game, and it has been even longer since they didn't earn at least one point in a game. They're on a 13-game point streak and a nine-game win streak as they moved into the Top 16, the only new team to join the ranks. The Pacific Division has been very streaky of late because the Kings are trending in the opposite direction. They're winless in their last eight, though they picked up two points via overtime losses this week. The Toronto Maple Leafs come in at #16 after another tumultuous week. They beat the breaks off San Jose 7-1 but blew leads in their three losses, including multi-goal leads to New York and Colorado.