The NHL All-Star rosters were released, and we got some new faces. Tage Thompson, Matty Beniers, Andrei Svechnikov, Elias Pettersson, and Jason Robertson. All well deserved. But quite a few notables are missing. Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews. Some will be added, but many will not. No team will have three, so I feel for Nylander and Nugent-Hopkins. Based on the rosters, I like the Atlantic and Central. Fan All-Star voting is available here https://allstarfanvote.nhl.com
Rosters are below courtesy of NHL.com.
Metropolitan Division (All-Star appearances)
F Sidney Crosby, PIT (5th) F Johnny Gaudreau, CBJ (7th) F Kevin Hayes, PHI (1st) F Jack Hughes, NJD (2nd) F Brock Nelson, NYI (1st) F Alex Ovechkin, WSH (8th) F Andrei Svechnikov, CAR (1st) G Igor Shesterkin, NYR (1st)
Atlantic Division (All-Star appearances)
F Nikita Kucherov, TBL (4th) F Dylan Larkin, DET (3rd) F Mitchell Marner, TOR (2nd) F Nick Suzuki, MTL (2nd) F Tage Thompson, BUF (1st) F Brady Tkachuk, OTT (3rd) F Matthew Tkachuk, FLA (2nd) G Linus Ullmark, BOS (1st)
Central Division (All-Star appearances)
F Kirill Kaprizov, MIN (2nd) F Clayton Keller, ARI (3rd) F Jason Robertson, DAL (1st) F Vladimir Tarasenko, STL (4th) D Seth Jones, CHI (4th) D Cale Makar, COL (2nd) D Josh Morrissey, WPG (1st) G Juuse Saros, NSH (2nd)
Pacific Division (All-Star appearances)
F Matty Beniers, SEA (1st) F Kevin Fiala, LAK (1st) F Nazem Kadri, CGY (2nd) F Connor McDavid, EDM (6th) F Elias Pettersson, VAN (3rd) F Troy Terry, ANA (2nd) D Erik Karlsson, SJS (7th) G Logan Thompson, VGK (1st)
Things I like
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The Carolina Hurricanes had their eleven-game winning streak snapped and have now lost three in a row. But the sky isn’t falling. They lost by a goal in a shootout and by extraordinary circumstances. That leads me to why they are in this section, Juuse Saros. The All-Star Nashville Predators goalie was on fire against the Hurricanes, making 64 saves, a franchise record. Surros has won three in a row but surprisingly has no shutouts this season. The Hurricanes also lost to the New York Rangers by two after being up by one in the third period. This was the first chance for the Hurricanes to avenge their playoff loss. They’ve now dropped three in a row to the Rangers. I think they might be in their head. They’ll play each other again in a month.
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Tage Thompson had a memorable 15-game span leading up to his first All-Star appearance. Thompson had 17 goals and 12 assists in 15 games, becoming only the fourth person in the past twenty years to do so. He joined Leon Draisaitl (4 times), Sidney Crosby (3 times), and Jarome Iginla (once). That’s some excellent company. This week, Thompson had four points against the Capitals, including the game-winner in the goat of the week section.
Things I don’t
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Connor Bedard just capped off a phenomenal 23-point performance in seven games en route to Canada winning the World Junior Championship. Some of those goals were things of beauty. Many teams are rightfully tanking for the honor of drafting him. Only there are a few problems with that. Firstly, the worst teams don’t always end up picking first. In the last seven years, the worst team has only picked first four times. Secondly, the larger problem is drafting the best player doesn’t mean anything. Connor McDavid is a generational talent. Yet, in seven seasons, he’s won no Stanley Cups and only been to the conference finals once. You still need to have a team. One player does not make a team. Jack Eichel was taken after McDavid and considered a top star, but the Buffalo Sabres have played better since he left. There are other factors, but it’s still true. I just hope whoever gets Bedard doesn’t think a Stanley Cup is a given. Columbus, Anaheim, and Chicago seem like his likeliest landing spot. Let’s just all hope it’s not Columbus.
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It’s been a tough time for some recent top picks. Former number-one pick Alexis Lafreniere was a healthy scratch for the Rangers last week and has only produced one point in four games since. Shane Wright has finally been reassigned to the OHL after playing in the World Juniors with Bedard. This was the best move all along. He really just needs to play and dominate. The Seattle Kraken don’t need him anyway, with how well they’ve been playing. Top defenseman Vince Dunn has gone from -21 plus-minus last season to 18 this season. Talk about a swing.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Keegan Kolesar vs Andreas Englund
Slow, but some nice uppercuts.
Trent Frederic vs Brendan Lemieux
Sloppy but much faster-paced with helmet shedding and a bit of a jersey over the head.
Goat of the Week
Washington Capitals
I have no idea what the Capitals are doing on this play. I don’t know why you would try a no-look drop pass when a defender is right on you. I don’t know what Darcy Kuemper was doing. His poke check had little effect, but it did take him out of position. I enjoyed the commentators, ha! A terrible way to lose a game in overtime. Tage Thompson had the goal.
Goal of the Week
Max Domi and Lukas Reichel teamed up for the overtime goal to beat the Calgary Flames. I love their effort on the play. The Chicago Blackhawks picked Reichel in the first round in 2020, and he’s playing in his third game this season. He had a goal and two assists. I bet they’d like to play with Bedard.
Stat Line of the Week
1/07/23 Columbus 4 vs. Carolina 3
| Skater | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K. Marchenko | 13:54 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
The Columbus Blue Jackets don’t have a lot of bright spots this season. But 2012 second-round pick Kirill Marchenko might become one. He has eight goals in 15 games, with his first career hat trick in this game. Two were on the power play, including a nice wrap-around. He has no assists this season. He’s making the most of his average ice time of 12 minutes. The Blue Jackets won in the shootout, where Marchenko had another goal.
Numbers, Numbers
502 – Career points for Auston Matthews, the fastest in Maple Leafs’ history to reach it
500 – Career assists for Connor McDavid
400 – Career assists for Leon Draisaitl
34 – Goals scored against the Montreal Canadiens the last six games
22 – Goals scored by the Seattle Kraken the last four games
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Boston
- Carolina
- Washington
- Los Angeles
- Minnesota
Bottom 5
- Chicago
- Montreal
- Columbus
- San Jose
- Arizona