Last night, I stayed up a bit past my bedtime to watch the rare dual-shutout game between the New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche.  Two comments – first, the outstanding save by Ilya Sorokin with just six seconds left in OT, just wow.

https://www.puckfeed.com/videos/14322753

Second, Evan Rodrigues won the night's first star for his shootout goal, but he was arguably the best skater on the ice for long stretches of time. It looks like he heard about the Denis Malgin trade and wants to solidify his claim to a top-six role. 

I'm sure others will write far more accolades for Alexander Ovechkin, as he chases Wayne Gretzky's record 897 goals (none on Monday).  But I tend to look backwards at such events, so let's do some math to try to understand what a major accomplishment #800 represents.   The second-highest active goal-scorer is Sidney Crosby. Sid, with 534 markers, would need to average 47.3 goals per 82-games through 2027-2028, as he'd approach his 41st birthday.    This, just to reach 800. Gretzky's 897, no way. Steven Stamkos (next highest, 497 as of today), a 39.7 scoring pace for the next 7+ seasons would hit 800.   Evgeni Malkin (454), Eric Staal (442), and Patrick Kane (434) are #'s 3-5, and their required numbers defy the possibility.   Potentially, for those fans with patience, Auston Matthews "only" needs a 36-goal average FOR FIFTEEN MORE YEARS. And to reach #897 would take a 41.5 average. Yeah, Matthews has been prolific, but the enemies of Father Time and of hockey injuries often take their tolls. 

So, give Ovi his due. Eight hundred is a massive milestone. But only for #8, it's a bump in the road. Gretzky will be passed in 2025.

Tonight for DFS, there are two very different teams playing the back end of B2B games, and both on the road. The similarity ends there, however. St. Louis is 5-0-0 for these "second" games this season, a statistic that's impressive but clearly isn't sustainable. They face the overachieving Seattle Kraken in a game that calls for an "over" bet. I'd play Vladimir Tarasenko ($5600), Pavel Buchnevich ($5400), and Torey Krug ($5200), but a hard pass on goalkeeper Thomas Greiss. Jordan Kyrou may miss this one, injured late after his hat trick against the Canucks.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, also B2B, are 16th and last in the Eastern Conference, and while their Philadelphia hosts aren't much higher in the standings, the Flyers' best player by far has been Carter Hart ($8100), a really solid option. Philadelphia's PP duo of Travis Konecny ($6300) and Tony DeAngelo ($5000) complete my secondary stack. 

Last three spot starters are centers Pierre-Luc Dubois ($6100), and Jordan Staal ($2700), then Tampa's Brandon Hagel ($5200).   Hagel has been on a major heater, with 5G-4A- 9 points in his last five games. Even with all the Bolts' offensive weapons healthy, he's on the top line and power play. I resisted the Anaheim Ducks' duo of Trevor Zegras ($5400) and Mason McTavish ($3400), which could surprise.  

@dokhockey