Hattie for Nash, Pavelec leaves game, Sedins strong, some shutouts, plus more…

In what turned out to be a wild game, Rick Nash scored his third goal of the game in overtime to give the Rangers a 5-4 win over the Panthers. If the Panthers didn’t score two goals in 39 seconds with Roberto Luongo pulled, Nash wouldn’t have his hat trick.

I mentioned Nash as a slumping scorer in my Puck Daddy article a few days ago (filling in for Dobber, since the article is usually his). Sure enough, his output in this game exceeded his entire total before Saturday’s game. In his case, if you shoot the puck more, it’s bound to go in. Nash took a very Ovechkin-like ten shots on goal in this game. His shooting percentage has now been raised to 8.8 percent and is usually in double-digits, so the regression to the norm isn’t quite finished. The bottom line from my Puck Daddy article, which bears repeating: Don’t bench your studs, even if they are slumping.

Also for the Rangers: Mats Zuccarello scored a goal and added two assists. With three 3-point efforts over his last five games, Zuccarello is tearing it up. He’s now in the top 10 in NHL scoring, but beware of the shooting percentage, which currently sits at 25 percent.

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The game I chose to watch from the Hockey Night in Canada menu today (for no rhyme or reason) was the Coyotes/Jets game. So I can tell you firsthand that the Shane Doan collision on Ondrej Pavelec looked downright scary. You can see Doan arguing the two-minute penalty he was assessed, saying he was pushed. I can see the push, but it looked like Doan took advantage of the opportunity a little too.  

Pavelec appeared to have some kind of leg or knee injury. Although he stayed in after the collision, he left the game at the end of the second period. Michael Hutchinson took over in the third period and earned the win. Pavelec reportedly left the game on crutches, so it’s up to Hutchinson and probably Connor Hellebuyck to attempt to improve a porous Jets’ goaltending situation that has allowed an average of over three goals per game. The Jets probably want to find out what they have with Hellebuyck, so you could consider adding him in non-keeper formats.

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Zdeno Chara scored a Chara special on Saturday, giving him four points in his last five games. I say “Chara special” because apparently the shot clocked in at 147 km/hr. You can watch below.

I tried to avoid Chara in fantasy drafts, assuming he was on his inevitable decline. But he now sits at 11 points in 17 games. But if the velocity of the shot is any indication, he’s still got something left in the tank. I’ll agree with Dobber now, who believes that 50 points is out of the question but 40 is within reach.

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Another game of poor results for Reto Berra, who allowed four goals to the Capitals before getting pulled. After quite a run earlier in the season, he’s really sliding now, allowing four goals in three consecutive games.

It was an even worse night for Calvin Pickard, who allowed three goals in relief prior to finding out after the game that he’s being reassigned to the AHL. That signals that Semyon Varlamov is ready to return and could start Monday against the Jets. With Berra’s recent struggles, I’d expect Varlamov to take over the lion’s share of the starts once he returns.

In case you’re wondering which Capitals had a big night against Avs’ goalies, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a goal and two assists while Jason Chimera added three assists. Apparently being removed from the Alex Ovechkin line to make way for Nicklas Backstrom still agrees with Kuznetsov. Here are the Capitals’ line combos from this game:

23.39%  EV           BACKSTROM,NICKLAS – OSHIE,T.J. – OVECHKIN,ALEXANDER

18.55%  EV           JOHANSSON,MARCUS – KUZNETSOV,EVGENY – WILLIAMS,JUSTIN

16.13%  EV           LAICH,BROOKS – LATTA,MICHAEL – WILSON,TOM

12.5%    EV           BEAGLE,JAY – CHIMERA,JASON – GALIEV,STANISLAV

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With two assists against Pittsburgh, that’s 1,001 career points for Patrick Marleau. But will he end his career with the only team he’s ever played for? I have to admit: I kind of like the idea of a player sticking with one team for his entire career.

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It’s not the SI curse, but last week’s Geek of the Week Jason Demers left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.

That didn’t matter for the Stars. Jamie Benn scored another two goals (what else is new) and Antoine Roussel scored to become the highest-scoring player in NHL history from France.

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There were numerous clean sheets for goalies on Saturday, which I’ll cover over the next few paragraphs.

Craig Anderson took care of the Flyers with 36 saves. Anderson is now one of the league’s hotter goalies with two consecutive shutouts. If you’re planning on using him next week, keep in mind that he has a tough schedule ahead. Teaser: I plan to list him in my goalie starts/sits article for Sportsnet, which will be posted on Monday. But you’ll have to wait until then to find out where I list him.

Tuukka Rask had an easier time, stopping 22 Leaf shots in a 2-0 shutout. Rask has settled down a little after some shaky early-season play, and his goals-against average is finally below 3.00.

Ben Bishop stopped 30 shots in the Lightning’s 5-0 win over Anaheim. After he and Andrei Vasilevskiy flip-flopped starts earlier this month, Bishop has now started four of the last five games. I don’t think he’s in any danger of losing the starter’s job. (Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov each picked up three points.)

Antti Niemi made 22 saves in a 3-0 Stars’ win over Buffalo. Boy, am I glad I swapped out Reto Berra to put him into my lineup on one of my teams. Disaster averted.

Devan Dubnyk stopped 23 shots in the Wild’s 4-0 win over Nashville. In case you were worried about whether Dubnyk was a half-year wonder, he is tied for the NHL lead in both wins (11) and shutouts (3).

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One goalie who didn’t get a shutout on Saturday was Frederik Andersen. I thought he might be okay going forward after stopping 24 of 25 shots against Florida on Thursday. But in allowing five goals on 24 shots, he is apparently not out of the woods yet. With Anton Khubodin playing well, this could turn into a real goaltending battle.

Maybe they’ll turn it around at some point, but right now the Ducks don’t look like a team that could win even a weak Pacific Division. Case in point is Ryan Kesler, whose new extension of six years at $6.8 million kicks in next season. What has he done this season to earn that contract? Try one goal and a -10 in 21 games. Hopefully he’s on your bench, if he’s even still on your team.

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Look at the Vladimir Tarasenko goal below. There are a lot of superlatives that could describe the way he plays. But whenever I see him score a highlight reel goal like this, he reminds me so much of Pavel Bure.

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What a night for the Sedins. Three goals (and about as many hats thrown on the ice afterward) and one assist for Daniel Sedin, and five points for Henrik Sedin. As a Canucks’ fan, I just wish they had one of those games against Chicago during the playoffs a few years ago.

I drafted both Sedins in the Dobber Hockey Experts League, and they’ve helped me pull my team up from second-worst to the middle of the pack over the past few weeks. I know the other guys in the league passed on the Sedins because of the inevitable age-related decline. Although I know that will happen at some point, I’ll keep drafting them at somewhere like 67 and 119 until the signs are there.

As for the Hawks, they appear to be trying to spread out their scoring, particularly on their second and third lines.

21.2%    EV           ANISIMOV,ARTEM – KANE,PATRICK – PANARIN,ARTEMI

20.74%  EV           GARBUTT,RYAN – SHAW,ANDREW – TOEWS,JONATHAN

8.29%    EV           DESJARDINS,ANDREW – HOSSA,MARIAN – KRUGER,MARCUS

5.07%    EV           DANO,MARKO – KERO,TANNER – MASHINTER,BRANDON

Andrew Shaw and Ryan Garbutt will provide energy for the Jonathan Toews line. But will they provide the scoring touch that Toews’ owners need?

I also don’t like Marian Hossa’s line situation. Hossa’s shots per game are down again this season (2.88), as is his shooting percentage (6.1). So it’s no wonder that Hoss is stuck at three goals.

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Finally, a Dainius Zubrus sighting and signing. Damien Cox reported on Hockey Night in Canada that Zubrus is going to sign with the Sharks next week following his PTO. We’ll have to see how the veteran fits in on a team with lots of veterans.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Sunday.