Hossa pots another two, Sharks drowning without Vlasic, Comeau returns and, oh yeah, that Evander Kane trade…

*

Remember when Marian Hossa's shooting percentage was woefully below his career average, which was why he made for a decent buy low? Three straight two-goal games later and Hossa's shooting percentage has jumped from 6.5% to 9.9%. That's wild. Also wild, he's still shooting below his career 12.7% rate. Does he have more magic in store for us?

It would certainly help if he kept seeing big power play minutes like he has the past few games. Hossa averages just 2:20 per game on the second power play unit. On some teams that would be top unit time so we can't complain too much but it's still second unit. He's been up on the top unit the past couple of games skating over four minutes in each contest. Two of his six goals in this streak have come on the power play. More power play time = more scoring. I'm not holding my breath though.

Brandon Saad got two points of his own last night thanks in part to skating over four minutes on the power play. This could be interesting if it becomes a trend.

A big reason why Saad and Hossa got so much power play time was because three of the Blackhawks' four power play chances came in the third period, which is when Patrick Sharp got benched skating just 3:56 in the frame. He didn't get a single shift in overtime.

Kris Versteeg returned to the Blackhawk lineup last night and started out on the third line. He eventually got back onto the second line with Patrick Kane and Brad Richards once Sharp was shuffled down the lineup. That's good news for Versteeg if it becomes permanent. Also terrible news for Sharp if they are taking away his top-six spot and his power play time. Could be a one-off so don't overreact but watch to see if it becomes a trend.

Kane scored three points last night putting him three up on Tyler Seguin and Jakub Voracek in the scoring race. That ticket I'm holding at 35/1 for him to win the scoring race is looking pretty damn good right now! The season ends in February right?

Corey Crawford has some weird splits guys, check it out:

Seems to be a one-year artifact as no other season in Crawford's career shows that kind of road favouritism. Just something interesting that I noticed. You rarely see a goalie who is better on the road. Sure enough, last night's game was in Chicago. Crawford allowed five and lost.

*

NEW: Late Thursday Prospect Ramblings from Brendan Ross. Analysis of the Buffalo-Winnipeg swap, breaking down Craig Button’s new draft rankings and a look at the Calder Trophy race.

*

Some balanced scoring for the Canucks last night. Been a while since they've gotten that with any consistency. Nick Bonino, one of the Canucks' early-season heroes was out of the lineup. Bo Horvat and Linden Vey both stepped up at center scoring goals.

Horvat is starting to come on a little with a boost in minutes. He has four goals and six points in the last 10 games. All but one of those games he has skated 10+ minutes in.

Two-goal night for Daniel Sedin including the overtime winner. He's got just 13 goals on the year but with four goals (and seven points) in the last seven games for Daniel it appears that rumours of the Sedins' demise may have been exaggerated. They are each on pace for 71 points this season.

*

The Penguins rolled over the Red Wings 4-1 chasing Petr Mrazek after two periods. Jimmy Howard made his return to the lineup in relief, coming on in the third. He faced only four shots but stopped them all. Good way to dip the toe back into the water.

This might be the last we see of Mrazek if Howard's good to go and Jonas Gustavsson returns shortly. Good run for the kid though.

*

Blake Comeau returned to the Penguins' lineup yesterday immediately jumping back onto Evgeni Malkin's wing. Check out the lines from yesterday courtesy of FrozenPool:

Comeau scored two points in his return despite skating just 12:50. As long as he's on Malkin's line he's got some relevance.

Beau Bennett got back into the lineup after a string of healthy-scratches. No points but a positive trend all the same.

Comeau's return facilitated Mark Arcobello getting placed on waivers. The Coyotes claimed Arcobello so at least he stays in the league. Pretty smart move by the Coyotes, actually. If you are going to tank you could do worse than acquiring failed Oilers centermen. They've got two now.

*