Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra started his first game in nearly two weeks at home against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. He allowed three goals on 23 shots, resulting in a 2-3 loss. In his second consecutive start on Saturday against Carolina, he got pulled 16:50 into the first period after giving up three goals. Relief goaltender Calvin Pickard shut out the Hurricanes for the rest of the night and lead his team to a 4-3 win. After those two games, the Avs still are the 7th and last placed team in their division, one point behind the Dallas Stars.
Minnesota Wild
Nino Niederreiter and his Minnesota Wild hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday and got their first win of the week with a 4-3 overtime win. Niederreiter opened the scoring with a power play marker, a bit more than two minutes into the game. He finished the game with a goal and a minus-2 rating in 14:48 TOI. He picked up another two points in his teams’ next game in Philadelphia (3-2 win), where he scored another PP goal to open the scoring, this time midway through the second period, before he set up teammate Marco Scandella for the 2-1 go-ahead goal early in the third. Along with his two points, he had a plus-1 rating and two shots on goal in only 12:53 of ice time. They travelled on to Florida and played in Tampa on Saturday. Niederreiter saw 16:04 of ice time and had four shots on goal, but couldn’t score for the third game in a row (even rating).
Nashville Predators
The Predators opened their week with a bang and tied their franchise record with the nine goals they scored in a 9-2 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Center. Roman Josi scored a goal to push the score to 8-0 only 5:14 into the third period. He had six shots on goal, a plus-three rating and saw 24:26 of ice time. After a day off, they got back to work in Ottawa on Thursday, where they lost 2-3 after giving up three goals in the second period. Josi assisted on the opening goal in the first period and had a minus-2 rating in 25:30. Back home, they hosted Florida and got back to their winning ways with a 3-2 shootout win. Josi remained scoreless and finished with a minus-1 rating and three shots on goal in 26:34. The Predators lead the Central Division with 28 points in 20 games and are 7-3-0 in their last ten games.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
Calgary continued their homestand with three games at the Saddledome in Calgary. They first hosted Anaheim and kept the win in Calgary in a close game with a 4-3 shootout win. Both Sven Bärtschi and Raphael Diaz were kept off the scoresheet in 7:10 TOI and 15:06 TOI respectively and finished the game with a minus-1 rating. Jonas Hiller made 24 saves and improved his record to 9-4-1. Hiller also got the start in their next game but couldn’t prevent a 3-4 loss and only had a .818 save percentage. Diaz’ ice time declined to 11:28, while Bärtschi again saw less than 10 minutes of ice time with 9:53. Both didn’t get points and finished with a minus-1 rating. In their last game of the week, Hiller sat out and backed up Karri Ramo, while Raphael Diaz was a healthy scratch. Sven Bärtschi only played a season-low 6:35 and remained scoreless. The Flames are 2nd in the Pacific, a point behind the Anaheim Ducks, who have played one game less.
San Jose Sharks
Mirco Müller’s San Jose Sharks continued their road trip in Carolina and picked up another win. Müller played 16:50 and had one shot on goal. In their last game of the roadtrip, they travelled to Buffalo and lost 1-4 in front of only 6200 people due to a snowstorm in the Buffalo area. Müller saw 18:14 of ice time and finished the game with a minus-1 rating. The Sharks returned home, but couldn’t keep the two points in California (2-3 shootout loss to Florida). Müller had an even rating and two shots on goal in 15:36. On Saturday, the Sharks’ lost their seventh game in their last 10 with a shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes (3-4). Müller had a good game though and finished the game with a plus-2 rating and had one shot on goal in 16:19. San Jose has 24 points in 23 games and is ranked 5th in the Pacific division, two points behind LA.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks only played twice this week, one game in Edmonton and another one at home against division leader Anaheim. Yannick Weber had a big night in Edmonton, contributing one goal and one assist in 17:18 TOI to Vancouver’s 5-4 win at Rexall Place.
The home game marked the return of Ryan Kesler to Vancouver, the first game after the trade that brought Luca Sbisa to British Columbia. Conveniently, Luca Sbisa gave his comeback after missing a few games with a lower-body injury. He had one shot on goal and a -1 rating in 24:25, while Weber also remained scoreless along with a minus-2 rating and one shot on goal in 16:22. Vancouver has one game in hand on leader Anaheim and sits third in the division, two points behind the Ducks.
Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils
Damien Brunner and the New Jersey Devils started their four-game road trip in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Brunner saw 10:40 of ice time and had an assist on Patrik Elias’ game-winning goal on the power play. Nonetheless, he was a healthy scratch in his teams’ other two games this week. The Devils have 21 points in 21 games and sit fourth in their division, already seven points behind the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Philadelphia Flyers
Mark Streit’s Philadelphia Flyers started the week with a derby against the New York Rangers. His team got shut out by Rangers back-up goaltender Cam Talbot, while Mark Streit had four shots on goal in 26:47. They hoped for a better game the day after, when they hosted Nino Niederreiter’s Minnesota Wild. Mark Streit answered Niederreiter’s opening goal and tied the game at one at 34:31. He had a plus-1 rating and six shots on goal in 21:23. Still, his team dropped another game and lost 2-3. On Saturday, they bounced back with a 4-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Streit had another goal, along with a plus-1 rating and four shots on goal in 20:01. The Flyers are fourth in the Metropolitan Division, 10 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders.
AHL – Quick Look:
Sven Andrighetto (Hamilton Bulldogs – MTL) had four assists, a combined -2 and six shots on goal in three games this week. Cody Almond didn’t play this week. Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) scored in all three games this week, racking up four assists and a plus-4 rating over this stretch. Teammate Joel Vermin scored a goal and an assist in those three games, but only had a combined -1 rating.
