{"id":419546,"date":"2026-01-19T16:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/419546\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T16:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T16:20:07","slug":"seven-game-point-streak-vaults-mammoth-ahead-in-playoff-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/419546\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven-game point streak vaults Mammoth ahead in playoff race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">With Hunter Crowther<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The story of this season has clearly been the parity amongst most of the teams, as they just couldn\u2019t find a way to create space. But recently, we\u2019ve seen the gaps start to form and teams now bunching up in smaller groups. How do I know? This week\u2019s power rankings may have been the most I\u2019ve had to enforce the five-point rule in its four-year history. You can\u2019t have close standings if a large number of teams are more than five points behind other teams! Or maybe that\u2019s just an indication that several good teams are losing and lots of bad teams are winning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter Crowther and I navigate through the season with another year of our co-op power rankings. I have my same old system in which I aggregate six stats (points %, 5-on-5 goal differential, 5-on-5 xGF\/60, 5-on-5 xGA\/60, power play xGF\/60, and shorthanded xGA\/60, all coming courtesy of Natural Stat Trick) to come up with a list that eliminates my own biases, along with a rule that no team can be above a team that\u2019s more than five points ahead of them in the standings, regardless of where the aggregate places them. On the other hand, Hunter goes off his own intellect and pure vibes, and together we find a way to combine it and meet in the middle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 33-5-8, +75<br \/>Last Week: 1st (0)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 1st<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 1st<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: For what I think is the first time this season, the Avalanche have not won a game in a calendar week. Yes, they only played two games, and one went to overtime, but we are in unprecedented times with this Avalanche team. In fact, the Avalanche have lost four of their last six games. Are they, dare I say, slumping? They can at least take solace in <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/nathan-mackinnon-hart-trophy-2025-26-midseason-nhl-awards-schaefer-calder-suzuki-selke-makar-norris-thompson-vezina-bednar-jack-adams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taking home three of our six midseason awards last week<\/a> (and they were a finalist for one more, four different players too).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: Is something wrong in Colorado? Has Jared Bednar lost the room?! I\u2019m just asking questions!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: In all honesty, there is probably some correlation to the Avs going 2-2-1 and losing Gabriel Landeskog to injury (2-3-1 if you want to include the Florida game where he played only nine shifts). Greg Wyshynski put it best on The Sheet that Landeskog acts as the base to the acid that is Nathan MacKinnon to the Avalanche\u2019s leadership, so perhaps that\u2019s played a role in their recent \u201cslump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 30-15-4, +27<br \/>Last Week: 3rd (+1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 3rd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 2nd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Look, it\u2019s the regular season. Any take with playoff implications really can\u2019t be determined until the playoffs. But the Hurricanes smacking the Panthers 9-1 on Friday is about as close as Carolina can get to taking the Eastern Conference crown from Florida in the regular season. That win was the biggest highlight amidst a 6-1-1 stretch in their last eight games, one that has also seen them never lose the 5v5 expected goal battle, and seen them finish with at least a 58% 5v5 xGF% in seven of the eight games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 30-13-4, +46<br \/>Last Week: 2nd (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 2nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 3rd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Lightning experienced their first defeat in 2026 with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Blues, which snapped an 11-game winning streak. Not to worry, they started what will likely be another 11-game winning streak with a 4-1 win over the Stars, a game they dominated at even strength. If they didn\u2019t lose six of their first seven games at the start of the season, they would be running away with the <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/teams\/standings\/2025\/division\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlantic Division<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hey, you want a cool stat to tell your coworkers so you seem interesting? In a 28-game span dating back to Nov. 15, Nikita Kucherov has recorded 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points, going pointless in just three games.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 24-11-12, +15<br \/>Last Week: 6th (+2)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 4th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 3rd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a streakier team in hockey than the Golden Knights. Their Saturday victory against the Preds now gives them seven straight wins, which was preceded by a five-game losing streak, and at different points through the season, they had two four-game winning streaks and two four-game losing streaks. What I\u2019m trying to say is: Vegas is a hard team to read. Adin Hill returned after a nearly three-month absence, and while he gave up five goals in his debut, he will provide some much-needed stability in the Vegas crease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Oh, and congratulations to Mitch Marner on the win against Toronto. Every professional athlete will tell you a game against their former team is \u201cjust another game,\u201d but every professional athlete is a liar.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 27-13-9, +24<br \/>Last Week: 4th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 6th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 5th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Stars have now lost 10 of their last 12 games, including three of four games last week. While the Lightning are one of the best teams in the league, and the Mammoth have been good in recent weeks, being the team that busted the Ducks\u2019 nine-game losing streak is not a great look for a top team. As a result, first in the division is nearly out of reach, and the only reason Dallas is still in second is because the Wild have been similarly cold recently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The Stars are in desperate need of an upgrade, especially on the back end, and the biggest name in that regard just got traded to another team in the conference. There are still some decent names like Justin Faulk and Mario Ferraro that are significant upgrades over what Thomas Harley has had to play with, but this isn\u2019t an ideal spot for them to be in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: How the hell can a team lose 10 of 12 and still have the fifth-best record in the league!? Yes I know, they were 25-7-5 before this recent skid, but this is still, somehow, Gary Bettman\u2019s fault.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Speaking of available defenseman, I thought Dallas would be a sneaky destination for Rasmus Andersson, even if they could only get him for the rest of the season like what Vegas appears to be doing, but c\u2019est la vie. Hey Jim Nill, might I interest you with a slightly used Dougie Hamilton? Or if the defensive market is thin, someone like Nazem Kadri would fit in nicely \u2014 but only if Tyler Seguin\u2019s season is over.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 30-16-4, +4<br \/>Last Week: 5th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 5th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 6th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: What more is there to even say about the Red Wings at this point? With six wins in their last seven, they keep putting more distance between themselves and most of the fringe playoff teams, and they\u2019re banking more points towards clinching a playoff spot. While the underlying numbers don\u2019t indicate a team that is bordering on top five, they\u2019re at least good enough to be in the playoffs. That said, Steve Yzerman needs to start exploring the trade market. These players have fought many years to get to this point, so try to help them to the finish line or in a way which boosts them in the long term.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 25-17-8, +12<br \/>Last Week: 10th (+3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 7th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 7th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I don\u2019t think enough people were talking about Connor McDavid\u2019s 20-game point streak. It was just the seventh time a player maintained a point streak that long in the salary-cap era, and he was averaging more than two points per game in that span with 46 points. If he kept that pace up all season, he\u2019d have 188 points! While he saw that streak end in a 1-0 loss to the Islanders, he got three points over the weekend as Edmonton beat the Canucks and Blues by a combined score of 11-0. And that performance was without Leon Draisaitl, who was <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/edmonton-oilers-leon-draisaitl-take-leave-of-absence-family-illness\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">away on a leave of absence<\/a>. This Oilers squad lacks the depth of the past two seasons, they\u2019re slowly rounding back into form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I was able to watch nearly all of Edmonton\u2019s wins over Vancouver and St. Louis last weekend, and McDavid made a dozen or so little plays that left you shaking your head or laughing out loud like a hyena. My god, he\u2019s so good. Having said that, it\u2019s promising to see depth options like Vasily Podkolzin get on the scoresheet with goals in each of their weekend wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 27-13-9, +15<br \/>Last Week: 7th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 8th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 8th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: It\u2019s been a little more than a month since the <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/vancouver-canucks-trade-quinn-hughes-minnesota-wild-marco-rossi-zeev-buium-liam-ohgren-first-round-pick-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wild acquired Quinn Hughes<\/a> from the Canucks, so let\u2019s take a temperature check: Hughes has held up his end of the bargain, averaging nearly 29 minutes per game and recording 18 points through 17 contests. But Minnesota have lost nearly half their games since he was added to the lineup, going 9-4-4 with five losses in their last seven. Kirill Kaprizov has just two goals in his last 10 games and Matt Boldy only has two in the new year. If Minnesota plans on extending Hughes beyond next season, GM Bill Guerin needs to pull off (at least) one more big trade before the Trade Deadline, especially as the infirmary overflows with Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin and more injured.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 27-15-7, +4<br \/>Last Week: 8th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 10th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 9th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Canadiens are similar to the Red Wings in that there\u2019s nothing about them that strikes me as a high-end team, but they\u2019re far from bad. While they haven\u2019t been quite as hot lately (they had lost three of four games before their comeback win over the Senators), they\u2019re banking points now and helping themselves in the long run of this playoff race when it feels so much harder to catch up. If their goaltending could just stabilize, this team could truly solidify their standing, especially when Cole Caufield is putting up his best totals yet, Lane Hutson has seen his defensive game take significant strides, and (for all the Habs fans in my mentions for the last year and a half, this one\u2019s for you) Nick Suzuki is playing Selke Trophy-caliber hockey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 22-14-11, +6<br \/>Last Week: 9th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 12th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 10th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Penguins lost two of three last week, and since their six-game winning streak was snapped on Jan. 10, they have fallen back to Earth. However, one bright spot for Pittsburgh fans with postseason hopes is the play of Stuart Skinner: Since giving up five goals in his first game with the Penguins, he\u2019s posted a .918 SV% and has given up just one goal in four of his past seven starts. While Tristan Jarry has dealt with injuries in Edmonton since the two <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/edmonton-oilers-pittsburgh-penguins-trade-tristan-jarry-stuart-skinner-brett-kulak-samuel-poulin-2029-second-round-pick\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">were swapped last December<\/a>, there\u2019s a good chance Skinner will end up being the better goalie for the remainder of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 25-19-3, -11<br \/>Last Week: 14th (+3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 9th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 13th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: As per tradition, the Panthers celebrated their Stanley Cup victory last week with a visit to the White House. Each of Florida\u2019s players, coaches and managers wore red ties, which you could say was just them donning (pun intended) their team colors, but with U.S. President Donald Trump in attendance, there\u2019s no such thing as coincidences. Matthew Tkachuk couldn\u2019t hide his enthusiasm when he saw Trump, saying \u201cThe two Cups (were) pretty good, but that walk with you might\u2019ve trumped it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The next day, the Panthers lost 9-1 to the Hurricanes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: \u201cThe two Cups (were) pretty good, but that walk with you might\u2019ve trumped it all,\u201d sounds like something I\u2019d hear in Heated Rivalry. I know Tkachuk was just stroking Cheeto Man\u2019s ego, but I wonder when his character will get called into question for not caring enough about winning. It\u2019s not slander (or in our case, libel)! He said it himself!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I mean, <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dvWVEddn0LM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">Trump DID warn us of this happening<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 24-19-6, +14<br \/>Last Week: 11th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 11th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 12th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Capitals have been in one hell of a slump for what has been almost half the season at this point. Since Dec. 11, the Capitals are 6-10-3, with their .395 point percentage in that span being the fourth-worst in the league. I\u2019ve talked about their defensive struggles in the past, but now their offense is taking a tumble, as they\u2019ve scored more than three goals just five times in that 19-game stretch. This was bound to happen at some point, as their offense was running too hot for too long and was destined for regression. Even Alex Ovechkin is turning human and dealing with the side effects, as he has just six goals in his last 21 games, and five of those came in a four-game stretch two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 25-20-4, +18<br \/>Last Week: 20th (+7)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 15th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 11th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: Scott (kind of) gave Karel Vejmelka his flowers <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/nhl-power-rankings-when-will-nightmare-end-ottawa-senators-canadiens-leafs-bruins-panthers-rangers-ducks-canucks-avalanche\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">last week<\/a>, and I\u2019ll do the same right now, as the Czech netminder has won <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/players\/stats\/goalies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">eight of his last 10 starts<\/a> with a 7.4 goals saved above expected (GSAx) during that span. As for the Mammoth, they won all three games last week in regulation, and dominated both the Leafs and Stars in terms of even-strength expected goals and Corsi. Utah now holds the <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/teams\/standings\/2025\/wildcard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">first Wildcard spot in the West<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 26-16-5, +9<br \/>Last Week: 13th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 14th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 14th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Sabres earned five of a possible eight points last week with wins against the Flyers and Canadiens, then an overtime loss to the Wild. However, their underlying numbers left much to be desired, losing the expected-goal battle at even strength in all four games. Tage Thompson had a breakout performance against Montreal, scoring three goals and two assists in a 5-3 victory. He now has 25 goals and 50 points on the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: At least the Sabres\u2019 dodgy underlying numbers won\u2019t be noticed by the city of Buffalo yet, as they\u2019ll be distracted by the Bills\u2019 deep playoff ru- oh wait, never mind. The Bills lost again, so all eyes are on you, Sabres. Those late pass interference calls were the second-most controversial thing involving a Buffalo Bills player and a Bronco in sports history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I think this just might be your masterpiece.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I may have no ground to stand on as a Miami Dolphins fan, but that won\u2019t stop me from throwing a few punches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 22-19-7, -4<br \/>Last Week: 17th (+2)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 13th\u00a0<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 18th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Senators now find themselves in a position where, if they\u2019re going to lose, it better be in overtime or a shootout. Between Nov. 27 and Jan. 10, Ottawa went 8-19-5 over a 32-game span \u2014 their last six losses being in regulation \u2014 and dropped from second in the Atlantic Division to last. The Sens earned six of a possible eight points last week, but for a franchise that hoped to build off last season\u2019s success, they\u2019re running out of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 22-17-8, -8<br \/>Last Week: 12th (-4)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 16th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 16th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The City of Brotherly Love just went through a week from hell: the Eagles lost in the NFL\u2019s Wildcard round, Major League Baseball\u2019s Phillies missed out on Bo Bichette, and the Flyers have lost six straight, with the last five coming in regulation. It\u2019s even worse when you consider that,\u00a0in each of Philadelphia\u2019s five regulation losses, they gave up at least five goals. The Flyers are still in <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/teams\/standings\/2025\/wildcard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Wildcard race<\/a>, but you can\u2019t go a full week without recording a point, especially when the Eastern Conference is as competitive as it is this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 28-19-2, +14<br \/>Last Week: 18th (+1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 19th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 15th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Curse the Rangers for waking up the Bruins again. While Boston\u2019s 10-2 drubbing of New York was the second game of their current streak, they\u2019ve won six games in a row and are leading the pack of middling Eastern Conference teams. That has put them in a buying position again, and by the sounds of reports out there, they were close to acquiring Andersson. As someone who still has a rooting interest in the Leafs, I was hoping the trade would go through so the Leafs\u2019 first was out of Boston\u2019s hands and there wouldn\u2019t be another repeat of Tyler Seguin. It\u2019s never too late to make another move, Don!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: It\u2019s the reunion we\u2019ve all been waiting for: Dougie Hamilton and the Boston Bruins!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Seriously, with their recent winning streak, the New England Patriots\u2019 win over the Houston Texans and the Boston Celtics currently second in the NBA\u2019s Eastern Conference, the long-suffering Boston sports fans are finally seeing some success. And thank goodness, because if there\u2019s any North American sports fan who has struggled, it\u2019s obviously those in Massachusetts. Can you believe there\u2019s babies born after June 2024 that haven\u2019t seen one of their teams win a championship? A travesty, I say!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: This recent success for Massachusetts sports teams was deserved after the Red Sox lost out on Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette in free agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: Imagine showing up for the World Series and hitting a home run in Game 7, resulting in one of the loudest pops in modern sports history \u2026 only to sign with the little brother of New York baseball? To each their own. Thanks for the memories, Bo.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 26-17-5, +7<br \/>Last Week: 15th (-3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 18th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 17th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: It\u2019s been an underwhelming road trip for the Islanders, highlighted last week by two losses against the bottom-feeding Jets and Flames. They needed a 35-save performance from Ilya Sorokin to get a 1-0 win over the Oilers, a game which saw New York get outshot 35-18 and crushed 4.5 to 1.7 in 5v5 xG. However, a lackluster Metropolitan Division means they\u2019re still second in the standings. They close out the road trip next week with games against the Canucks and Kraken.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 24-16-8, +4<br \/>Last Week: 16th (-3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 17th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 22nd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Leafs started the week perfectly, handing the Avalanche just their third defeat of any kind at home. But after a lopsided defeat to Utah, Toronto blew a late lead and lost in overtime to the Golden Knights \u2014 their first game against former franchise superstar winger Mitch Marner. Every fan and pundit then took a chance to complain about <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/toronto-maple-leafs-auston-matthews-backcheck-vegas-golden-knights-overtime-eichel-marner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Auston Matthews\u2019 (lack of) backcheck<\/a> on the OT-winner \u2014 as if you can take 3-on-3 hockey seriously \u2014 and some complained about his comments on Marner <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/toronto-maple-leafs-auston-matthews-enough-of-the-mitch-marner-questions-for-the-day-matchup-against-vegas-golden-knights\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">during his Mark Masters interview<\/a> before puck drop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">When I first read Matthews\u2019 Marner comments, I thought it was taken out of context, but when I saw the clip, I felt relieved. We beg athletes to be honest and give us something beyond the mundane, then when they finally do it, we crucify them and tell them to smarten up and stand up straight. I\u2019m glad the Leafs have a captain who says what\u2019s on their mind, and as a reporter who has done thousands of interviews, thank goodness there\u2019s at least one athlete who can string together a full-length sentence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">And for all the talk from talking heads over how in the old days, athletes didn\u2019t like each other and there were real rivalries, and you could feel the hatred between two teams \u2026 an awful lot of them thought the Leafs\u2019 captain was \u201crude\u201d when he talked about his former teammate. It\u2019s obvious that if they won that game, they would be hailing Matthews as a true leader. This fanbase and the team\u2019s media ecosystem will eat its own tail, repeatedly denying the narrative of it being a toxic environment for players, then without irony, go from singing praises to calling for their execution within days.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 324-21-3, -14<br \/>Last Week: 23rd (+3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 20th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 21th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: The Ducks snapped their nine-game losing streak with three wins last week, pausing their freefall in the Western Conference standings. <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/players\/stats\/goalies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lukas Dostal<\/a> is starting to look like his old self; after giving up four or more goals in six of his previous seven starts, he stopped 50 of 53 combined shots last week against Dallas and LA. If Anaheim wants to compete for a playoff spot, the Czech netminder will have to be on top of his game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 19-16-13, -11<br \/>Last Week: 19th (-2)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 22nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 19th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I know we\u2019ve talked a lot about how bad this Kings offense has been this season, but I swear I always learn a new fact as to how bad they are. This week: they\u2019ve only had 12 games this season where they\u2019ve scored more than three goals. That\u2019s only 25% of their games. Even worse, they\u2019ve scored two or fewer in 26 of them, which is 54.17% of their games. MORE THAN HALF THEIR GAMES! The weirdest thing about their lack of scoring is that they have yet to be shut out of a game. Even if this team sneaks into the playoffs at this point, they aren\u2019t anywhere close to the underwhelming Kings teams from the previous four seasons, so who\u2019s to say they\u2019ll do anything this time. How does Jim Hiller still have a job?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: That\u2019s a great question, Scott! The Kings have a 5-8-6 record since Dec. 8 and now find themselves outside of the playoffs. As of the publishing of this story, LA has more overtime\/shootout losses (13) than regulation wins (12) \u2014 a statistic so ridiculous, I had to triple-check on three different websites.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hey, you have to give Ken Holland credit: You can\u2019t lose to the Oilers in the first round if you don\u2019t make the playoffs to begin with.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: If only the Kings were allowed to spend over the salary cap, they could improve this team. We all know what happens when a Los Angeles sports team has the ability to spend however much money they want!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 22-19-7, -12<br \/>Last Week: 24th (+2)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 23rd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 20th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: Can you imagine the shock Dean Evason must have experienced after learning he was <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/columbus-blue-jackets-fire-coach-dean-evason-rick-bowness-named-as-replacement-nhl-news\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">fired as head coach of the Blue Jackets<\/a>, just one day after an overtime win over the Mammoth? Well, we don\u2019t have to imagine, because Evason shared his reaction with <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6977373\/2026\/01\/16\/blue-jackets-dean-evason-blindsided-fired\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">The Athletic\u2019s Aaron Portzline<\/a>, telling him he was \u201cblindsided\u201d by the move.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">\u201cWhen you go through this as a coach, you can feel it coming,\u201d Evason said. \u201cBut I\u2019ll be honest with you: I didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">There\u2019s no doubt Columbus struggled, posting a 6-10-7 record after Dec. 4 and falling to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. But the lack of production from younger players like Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger, as well as a step backwards for Adam Fantilli, was enough for GM Don Waddell to pull the trigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">The Blue Jackets have won all three of their games under new head coach Rick Bowness, and while it feels like they\u2019re too far back to catch up in the Wildcard race, Bowness may be here to provide Columbus an evaluation of what they have \u2014 and what they can move on from.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: If you asked me in September who would be the first coach fired this season, I\u2019d probably name at least 10-15 coaches before I got to Evason. The more surprising thing to me is that we didn\u2019t have a single firing in the first half of the season. For a market that is a tad bit overreactive, we got a rare stretch of calm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 23-21-4, -23<br \/>Last Week: 22nd (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 21st<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 23rd<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: On one hand, the Predators gave the Avalanche their first regulation loss at home, led by a Ryan O\u2019Reilly hat trick and a 39-save performance from Juuse Saros in a 7-3 win. On the other hand, they gave up five goals in a 10-minute span against the Golden Knights, losing 7-2. Talk about peaks and valleys, eh? Still, Nashville enters this week just one point back of a Wildcard spot and kick offs a three-game homestand Tuesday against the Sabres.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 21-22-6, -18<br \/>Last Week: 21st (-3)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 24th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 24th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I know I cursed the Rangers for waking up the Bruins, but I also want to give a shoutout to them: they\u2019ve just made the trade deadline so much more interesting. We were looking at a McDonald\u2019s menu of trade options in March, especially after Andersson was traded yesterday, so the Rangers releasing The Letter 2.0 just gave us a few better options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Artemi Panarin is the obvious one as a pending free agent, and teams will certainly get into a bidding war for his services, but New York has the potential to get very spicy if they want to, possibly throwing Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad, or Vincent Trocheck into the fold and seeing what offers they\u2019ll get. Maybe Adam Fox will request a trade after his GM and coach didn\u2019t go to bat for him for the U.S. Olympic team? Who knows!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">I doubt we get all of this considering the Rangers plan to only retool, but it\u2019s certainly much more interesting than *checks notes* Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn, Kiefer Sherwood and Steven Stamkos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I swear, someone is going to overpay for Sherwood, then he\u2019s going to struggle to produce in the playoffs, and will still get a long-term contract on July 1. It\u2019s a great living if you can get it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 24-22-2, -22<br \/>Last Week: 25th (0)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 25th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 25th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Are we getting a Dougie Hamilton revenge tour? After the defenseman was healthy scratched last week, he\u2019s put up four points in three games, with the Devils winning two of the three. I\u2019m sure New Jersey doesn\u2019t mind that he\u2019s increasing his trade value, but I think he\u2019s reminding the team that he isn\u2019t the problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 27-17-9, -11<br \/>Last Week: 26th (0)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 26th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 27th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: If you want a great illustration of how middling the Western Conference is after the Avalanche, Stars, Wild, Golden Knights and Oilers, the Kraken have maintained third in the Pacific Division after losing three games in a row last week. They continue to get significantly outplayed by their opponents, and the only reason why they\u2019re in a playoff spot this year as opposed to no-man\u2019s land is because Phillipp Grubauer is giving them competent goaltending this season. It\u2019s not that he\u2019s taking over the crease from Joey Daccord, but it helps that every night off for him isn\u2019t a scheduled loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 21-23-4, -17<br \/>Last Week: 28th (+1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 27th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 26th\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: Well folks, the thing we were all waiting for finally happened: The Flames beat the Blackhawks, earning a 3-1 victory Thursday, their first against Chicago since January 2025. What a great performa- <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/calgary-flames-trade-rasmus-andersson-vegas-golden-knights\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">wait, what happened?!<\/a> To Vegas?!? Good Lord. What was the return? Really? I mean, no, that\u2019s not bad, I just \u2026 I don\u2019t know, I would have expected more? Or maybe that\u2019s just the state of the current market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">(If you want to read a far better evaluation of the Flames-Golden Knights trade that sent Rasmus Andersson to Vegas, <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/rasmus-andersson-calgary-flames-vegas-golden-knights-trade-grades-whitecloud-picks-nhl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">read Mike Gould\u2019s trade grades<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Hey man, don\u2019t overlook Zach Whitecloud!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 24-20-3, -20<br \/>Last Week: 27th (-1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 28th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 29th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: The Sharks continue to exceed expectations, they make for one of the most entertaining watches in hockey, and Macklin Celebrini is one of the best players in the league. We all know that, so I want to focus on something else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Monday and Tuesday will see San Jose end one of the weirder stretches of hockey I\u2019ve ever seen, as they\u2019ll have played eight games in a row where the games were paired into back-to-backs. Jan. 6 &amp; 7, 10 &amp; 11, 15 &amp; 16, and 19 &amp; 20. Have you ever seen anything like that? Between this and the Kings\u2019 playing several teams twice in a row at home, the compacted schedule in an Olympic year has produced some weird results.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 19-22-8, -48<br \/>Last Week: 30th (+1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 29th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 28th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I\u2019ve said it before, but hockey is a funny sport. The Blues defeated the Hurricanes and Lightning last week, getting absolutely pummelled in every category except the actual goals, with Joel Hofer stopping 67 of 69 combined shots. Then Jordan Binnington came in Sunday against the Oilers, and in an evenly matched contest, Edmonton won 5-0. Now that\u2019s what I call pure comedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 19-22-6, -4<br \/>Last Week: 31st (+1)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 30th<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 30th<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: I mentioned in <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" hreflang=\"en\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyfaceoff.com\/news\/which-nhl-team-furthest-away-from-winning-stanley-cup-leafs-jets-kraken-blues-canucks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">our roundtable earlier this month<\/a> that while I don\u2019t think the Jets are a good team, I think they have too much talent to be this bad. They\u2019ve proved me right since then, as they won four games in a row before blowing a two-goal lead to the Leafs and losing in overtime, which is still nine of 10 points in that stretch. They\u2019re seven points out of a playoff spot right now, and it\u2019s possible that may be too much to overcome, but they also need just four points to get themselves out of the top-five lottery odds, with all the teams in their way being clear sellers. The path to a playoff spot may be cloudy, but the path to ruining their draft pick certainly isn\u2019t!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Hunter: I couldn\u2019t agree more. This team has too many quality players to be a bottom feeder. But as Scott mentioned, the seven-point gap may be too much for them to make up for, and it may be prudent for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to take the loss on the chin and start selling assets. However, part of me wonders if, due to the unique circumstances of a market like Winnipeg, where season-ticket sales <a class=\"text-secondary underline underline-offset-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsbusinessjournal.com\/Articles\/2025\/09\/30\/winnipeg-jets-see-sharp-season-ticket-rebound-following-slump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" hreflang=\"en\">are well short of their target<\/a> and the risk of losing out on playoff-gate revenue is too alarming, maybe they\u2019d rather take a shot and fall short instead of throwing in the towel?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 19-22-7, -21<br \/>Last Week: 29th (-2)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 32nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 31st\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: It\u2019s too bad Connor Bedard\u2019s injuries and illnesses will keep him out of the general conversation as one of the top players this season. Pundits won\u2019t see his name at the top of the scoring leaders, but he\u2019s still tied for eighth in points per game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">That said, these next few weeks could be massive for Bedard\u2019s career. Brayden Point\u2019s injury opens up the possibility of a replacement if he\u2019s not healthy in time, and while many think it\u2019ll be Sam Bennett that goes, I don\u2019t know if Hockey Canada will want to replace one of their top scoring threats with another grinder-type. I mean, they might, it\u2019s Hockey Canada, but in this case, the spot in the lineup opening up is that of a top scorer. If Bedard can put together a few great weeks, maybe he can still make the Olympic roster after all. He\u2019s the most logical option to replace Point, but logic doesn\u2019t guarantee reality when it comes to Canada (and USA) optimizing their rosters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Record: 16-27-5, -50\u00a0<br \/>Last Week: 32nd (0)\u00a0<br \/>Hunter\u2019s Rank: 32nd<br \/>Scott\u2019s Rank: 31st<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Scott: Fun fact: the Jets, who are second-last in the league, are seven points out of a playoff spot. The Canucks, who are last, are seven points behind the Jets. I did not realize it had gotten this bad in Vancouver. After they won their first four games of the post-Quinn Hughes era, the Canucks have lost 12 of 13 games. Is it possible for Hughes to win the Hart Trophy as a Canuck this season considering how valuable he was to that team?<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">Anyways, I\u2019m excited to see Vancouver maintain this poor play all season, only for the lottery to drop them down to third. You know it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">_____<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg\">SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Hunter Crowther The story of this season has clearly been the parity amongst most of the teams,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-419546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}