NHL Week in Review: 2/5-2/11

Daily Headlines

Monday 2/5

• Alexis Lafreniere helps the Rangers win a tight one 2-1 against the Avalanche, scoring the game-winner in overtime after Artemi Panarin tied the game in the third period. 
• Pierre Engvall stuns his former team, scoring with 2:02 left as the Islanders return from the break with a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Tuesday 2/6

• The NHL announces that next year's Winter Classic will feature the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field.
• Edmonton falls one game short of tying the NHL record for the longest win streak, losing 3-1 to the Golden Knights to snap their 16-game win streak.
• Elias Lindholm scores twice on the power play in his Canucks debut as Vancouver beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in Raleigh.
• Andrei Kuzmenko finds the back of the net in his first game as a Flame in a 4-1 win for Calgary over the Bruins in Beantown.
• Tristan Jarry stops 23 shots to post his league-leading sixth shutout of the season as the Penguins down the Jets 3-0. 

Wednesday 2/7

• In a battle between the Folignos, Marcus scores the game-winner midway through the third period to help the Wild take down the Blackhawks after Nick tied the game in the second.

Thursday 2/8

• Martin Necas' natural hat trick in the first period and Teuvo Teravainen's four assists pace the Hurricanes' 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
• Boston scores twice short-handed, and Linus Ullmark stops 17 shots as the Bruins shut out the Canucks 4-0 in a battle of the conference's leaders.

Friday 2/9

• Marc-Andre Fleury plays what could likely be his final game against the Penguins, stopping 34 shots in a 3-2 win for the Wild.
• Evander Kane notches another hat trick, helping the Oilers take a 5-3 win over the Ducks in Anaheim.

Saturday 2/10

• Alex Ovechkin passes Wayne Gretzky for the most empty-net goals in NHL history as the Capitals shut out the Bruins 3-0. 
• MacKenzie Weegar scores his first hat trick and takes the league lead in goals for defensemen as the Flames knock off the Islanders 5-2 on Long Island. 
• The Red Wings erase a two-goal deficit in the third period before Jake Walman buries the game-winner on a penalty shot in overtime to secure a 4-3 win over the Canucks.
• Pyotr Kochetkov stops 34 shots, and Sebastian Aho knocks the puck out of mid-air in overtime as the Hurricanes hold off the Devils 1-0.
• Sparks fly late in the game as the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 after Morgan Rielly cross-checks Ridly Greig in the head.

Sunday 2/11

• Jordan Kyrou scores twice, and Torey Krug adds five assists as the Blues trample the Canadiens 7-2 in Montreal.
• JT Miller capitalizes on a late overtime mistake to bury the game-winner as the Canucks win 3-2 over the Capitals.

Team of the Week- Philadelphia Flyers

There were a lot of undefeated teams to pick from this week, but I said some things about the Philadelphia Flyers during the break and they proved me wrong in the first week back. One of the biggest areas of their game I critiqued was their goaltending, saying that Samuel Ersson and Cal Peterson aren't a sustainable duo. They combined to allow four goals this week, including back-to-back one-goal games from Ersson. Their offense didn't run away with games, but they were consistent, scoring nine goals in three games. Travis Konecny and Ryan Poehling scored twice each. They picked up wins against two of the best in the league, beating Florida and Winnipeg. With New York and Carolina playing well, they did everything they could to maintain their spot in third place. 

Disappointing Team of the Week- Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche weren't given a fun schedule after the All-Star Break, beginning a long six-game road trip along the East Coast. It hurts even more when you only earn one point in four games. They opened with a tough loss in overtime to the Rangers on Monday, but were outscored 14-5 in regulation losses to New Jersey, Carolina, and Florida. It doesn't help when your best players aren't scoring. Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon only combined for two goals in four games, while Sam Girard led the team with three points. Girard was the only player with two goals. Alexandar Georgiev didn't get much help, but he didn't do much to help the situation, either. The Avalanche are still in a good spot, but it's not going to get any easier for them.

Surprising Team of the Week- Calgary Flames

With the recent run of the Edmonton Oilers and other strong performances in the Pacific Division, the Calgary Flames have gotten lost in the shuffle. They've been playing .500 hockey for most of the season, and they've already started to unload some of their pending UFAs by sending Elias Lindholm to Vancouver. Andrei Kuzmenko, who they received in the Lindholm deal, made an immediate impact with a pair of goals. Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri had five points each. MacKenzie Weegar scored a hat trick. Jacob Markstrom was perfect, winning all three of their games. They still have some work to do to get back into the picture, but playing like this could help that along.

Three Stars of the Week

3rd Star- Alex Ovechkin (WSH)- 4 goals, 1 assist in 4 games

It's no secret that this hasn't been the type of season we're used to seeing from Alex Ovechkin. As the chase to catch Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record continues, he did pass The Great One for the most empty-net goals in NHL history. He scored a goal in all four games the Capitals played this week, pushing his goal streak to five games. Ovechkin also has points in his last six. He's starting to find his scoring touch, which could be problematic down the stretch.

2nd Star- Jacob Markstrom (CGY)- 3-0-0, .939 SV%, 2.00 GAA, 2 assists in 3 games

One of the hottest goalies on the market as we enter the trade deadline season is Jacob Markstrom. After weeks like this, he's only adding to his value. Markstrom won all three of his starts during Calgary's road trip, earning wins in Boston, New Jersey, and New York. He was the only goalie in the league to win all three of his starts. It didn't hurt that he also added two assists, making him a threat in the offensive and defensive zone.

1st Star- Nick Suzuki (MTL)- 4 goals, 2 assists in 3 games

The season might not be going well for the Montreal Canadiens, but Nick Suzuki has been putting in some work lately to lead them. Suzuki led the league with six points this week, tying Alex Ovechkin for the lead in goals with four. He has points in seven straight games and five goals in his last five games. His big performance of the week was a two-goal, three-point performance in Washington, D.C., coming out of the break. 

My Top 16 (* denotes a new entry)

1. Vancouver Canucks (-)

2. Boston Bruins (-)

3. Dallas Stars (+2)

4. Florida Panthers (-)

5. Vegas Golden Knights (+2)

6. New York Rangers (+4)

7. Carolina Hurricanes (+2)

8. Colorado Avalanche (-5)

9. Edmonton Oilers (-3)

10. Winnipeg Jets (-2)

11. Detroit Red Wings (+2)

12. Philadelphia Flyers (+4)

13. St. Louis Blues (+5)*

14. Los Angeles Kings (-)

15. Nashville Predators (-)

16. Tampa Bay Lightning (-5)

Still On Top- The Vancouver Canucks held their top spot for the fifth straight week after a 2-1-1 week out of the break. They opened with a win in Raleigh but stumbled in their next two games, including a shutout loss to the Bruins. They saved it by beating the Capitals in overtime on Sunday. The only reason Boston didn't jump them, despite a head-to-head win, was the fact that they lost their next two games. If they didn't hold a three-point lead in the Eastern Conference, I probably would've moved them down further.

High Risers- Several teams made major moves this week. The Blues made the biggest jump within the Top 16, moving up five spots. The Rangers and Flyers each saw decent movement, taking a four-spot jump. 

Falling Hard- The Colorado Avalanche had a rough week, losing all four of their games and managing to secure just one point. The Tampa Bay Lightning also fell five spots after a 1-2-0 week.

The New Guy- The St. Louis Blues are the only new team in the Top 16 this week. This move was likely overdue as they've started to find their game. They've won six of their last seven games as they've planted themselves in a Wild Card spot.