Wild West: Notes from New Year to All-Star Break

Grant Campbell

2024-02-05

Now that the All-Star festivities have come to Toronto and left, we can look at each team in the West to find players with notable production (good and bad) between the start of 2024 and the All-Star break.

Anaheim Ducks (5-7-2 in 2024)

Troy Terry was back to his point-per-game ways with 15 points in 12 games. He led the team with six goals during this period. Adam Henrique was just a little behind with five goals and 14 points in 14 games.

Lukas Dostal has outplayed John Gibson in 2024 with Dostal playing seven games and posting a 91.9 save percentage and a GSAA of 3.62 compared to Gibson having a save percentage of 89.2 and a GSAA of -2.73 in eight games.

Olen Zellweger made his much-anticipated NHL debut and has now played four games with one assist while averaging 16:20 per game.

Radko Gudas had 39 hits and 40 blocks in 12 games.

Arizona Coyotes (4-8-1)

Clayton Keller was the only Coyote with even close to a point per game as he had seven goals and seven assists in 13 games.

Dylan Guenther has had a strong 2024 with seven points in 11 games on 24 SOG and 15:19 of ice time. He's also been on the PP 57.5% of the time.

Matias Macelli has struggled a little with just five points in 13 games, posting a minus eight.

Michael Carcone has hit a slump with just one goal in 11 games and a measly six shots on goal.

Connor Ingram continued his strong season with a 91.0 save percentage and a GSAA of 1.86. Karel Vejmelka lost all four of his starts with an 87.4 save percentage and a GSAA of negative 3.81.

Calgary Flames (7-6-0)

The Flames traded Elias Lindholm to Vancouver for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 1st round pick in 2024 and a conditional 4th round pick in 2024.

Jacob Markstrom was lights out in eight starts, winning five times and posting a save percentage of 93.1 and a GSAA of 6.86.

Blake Coleman led the Flames with 14 points in 13 games, while Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich were right behind him with 13 points.

Mikael Backlund led the team with 47 SOG in 13 games but scored just two goals.

Jonathan Huberdeau showed some signs of life with 10 points in 12 games.

The Flames now have Kuzmenko, who had just two assists and 18 shots in his past 12 games. He should see some increased playing time in Calgary.

Chicago Blackhawks (3-11-0)

Petr Mrazek has been excellent in 2024. Although he's won just three of his 10 games so far, he's posted a save percentage of 92.5 and a GSAA of 6.22.

Not surprisingly, scoring has dried up for the Blackhawks with Connor Bedard out of the lineup. They have just 17 goals in their past 14 games.

Lukas Reichel might need some time in the AHL again as he had just one assist in his past 12 games.

Jason Dickinson led the team with seven points in his past 14 games, while Colin Blackwell and Boris Katchouk had five points each.

Colorado Avalanche (9-3-0)

Nathan MacKinnon had 12 goals and 26 points in 12 games (2.17/g), with 62 SOG and an average ice time of 23:38.

Mikko Rantanen has quietly put up 21 points in 12 games (1.75/g) in the shadow of MacKinnon.

Logan O'Connor has eight goals and 13 points in his past 12 games and looks to be a beneficiary of Valeri Nichushkin being out of the lineup.

Jonathan Drouin has five goals and 12 points in his past 12 games, with five of those points coming on the PP. He has averaged a staggering 22:36 per night.

Ryan Johansen has just three assists in 12 games and is a minus six. He has seen his faceoff percentage dip below 50 (48.7) and is only playing 12:55 per game.

Alexandar Georgiev won eight of his 11 starts but continues to struggle, with a save percentage of 89.5 and a GSAA of negative 2.72.

Dallas Stars (8-4-2)

Jake Oettinger returned from injury and started seven of the past 14 games. He was looking to find his form but has a save percentage of 89.8 and a GSAA of negative 1.36.

Scott Wedgewood had six starts and struggled with a save percentage of 88.2 and a GSAA of negative 3.68.

Thomas Harley received a big opportunity when Miro Heiskanen missed 10 games and he took advantage of it. In 14 games, he had three goals and 12 points while averaging 22:51 per night.

While Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz had 14 points in 14 games, it might be something to keep an eye on as Joe Pavelski dipped to just nine points in 14 games.

Jamie Benn has slowed with just six points in 14 games but has been a beast in the faceoff circle winning 66.7% of his draws.

Edmonton Oilers (11-0-0)

Stuart Skinner had nine wins in his nine starts with a 95.3 save percentage and a league-best GSAA of 12.38.

Connor McDavid was back to doing Connor McDavid things, posting 19 points in 11 games, with seven goals on 50 SOG. He also had 16 hits.

Leon Draisaitl had 17 points in 11 games. He had six goals on 24 shots (2.2 shots/g), which is down from his season average of 2.8. He hadn't been below 3.0/g over the four previous seasons.

Evan Bouchard has slowed slightly with seven points in his past 11 games. Three of those points came on the power play.

Los Angeles Kings (3-7-5)

Cam Talbot was winless in eight starts, with a save percentage of 87.3 and a GSAA of negative 7.34. He was at the All-Star game.

David Rittich on the other hand won three of his seven starts, posting a save percentage of 92.0 and a GSAA of 3.46.

The Kings fired head coach Todd McLellan and replaced him with assistant coach Jim Hiller. The Kings' record under McLellan this year was 23-15-10.

Alex Turcotte scored his first NHL goal at the age of 22. The 5th overall pick in 2019 now has two points in two games while averaging just 8:55 per game.

Arthur Kaliyev went pointless in eight games while averaging 11:19 per game. He had 18 SOG.

Anytime a 36-year-old player goes through a tough stretch it's natural to wonder if time is starting to catch up with them. Anze Kopitar has one goal and seven points in his past 15 games with four of those points on the PP. The whole team struggled, not just him, but this is still something to keep an eye on.

Minnesota Wild (5-8-1)

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Filip Gustavsson struggled mightily after returning from an injury. In seven starts, he had a save percentage of 87.5 and a GSAA of negative 6.03. Look for Marc-Andre Fleury to start 60% of the time until Gustavsson plays a little better.

Brock Faber has become a favorite to win the Calder, or at least give Connor Bedard a run for his money. Faber had 13 points in 14 games, with seven of the points on the PP. He averaged 25:24 per game and has elevated himself into a top-two defender with the Wild. His defensive game has slipped a little, but his production has increased.

Even though he missed six games and played just eight, Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with six goals (tied with Joel Eriksson Ek) since the New Year. Eriksson Ek led the team with 14 points in 14 games.

Nashville Predators (6-7-1)

At 33 years of age, Roman Josi continues to produce and play at a very high level. In his past 14 games, he put up 16 points, 10 hits and 28 blocks.

Filip Forsberg has begun to slow a little with 10 points in his past 14 games, but still leads the Predators with six goals this calendar year.

Tommy Novak has hit a bit of a wall with just six points in his past 14 games, posting a minus-six. Overall, his point-per-game rate is down to 0.58, compared to 0.84 in 51 games last season.

With 64 hits in his past 14 games, Jeremy Lauzon reached 200 in 51 games, leading the NHL by a wide margin. The next highest has 143 hits.

San Jose Sharks (5-7-2)

Mackenzie Blackwood has been excellent over his past eight games, with a record of 4-3-1, save percentage of 92.3 and a GSAA of 5.46. He's taken the lion’s share of starts from Kaapo Kahkonen.

Shakir Mukhamadullin played his first NHL game and now has one assist, three hits and 11 blocks through three games, averaging 21:09 per game. He will be back in the NHL this season and should stay.

William Eklund led the Sharks with eight points in his past 14 games, all at ES. The Sharks have only scored two PPGs in those 14 games.

Calen Addison has gone pointless in nine games and has been a healthy scratch five times. He still saw the PP 49.7% of the time, but he might be running out of time.

Fabian Zetterlund led the Sharks with 40 SOG and had four goals in 14 games while averaging 20:07 per game.

Seattle Kraken (7-5-1)

Joey Daccord continues to enjoy a breakout season with the Kraken. In his past 12 starts, he is 7-4-1, with a save percentage of 93.1 and a GSA of 9.94.

Jared McCann led the Kraken in points (13) and goals (six) over the past 13 games, while averaging 15:27 of ice time.

Jordan Eberle had a good stretch of games with five goals and 12 points in 13 games, while averaging 16:33 per game.

Kailer Yamamoto was a healthy scratch in seven of the 13 games and had just one assist in the six games he played.

St. Louis Blues (8-4-1)

Jordan Binnington is vital for St. Louis if they wish to make the playoffs. He had a very good nine games going 6-2-1, with a save percentage of 93.0 and a GSAA of 6.92.

Before being injured, Scott Perunovich had six points in 10 games, with four of those on the PP.

Torey Krug had just three points and was minus-nine in 13 games, but with Perunovich out, he should get his role back on PP1.

Pavel Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou all had five goals to lead the Blues, while Robert Thomas led the team with 13 points in 13 games.

Colton Parayko was an effective fantasy player with two goals, seven points, 14 hits and 39 blocks, while averaging 24:31 per night.

Vancouver Canucks (10-1-2)

There is a risk of tiring out Thatcher Demko as he played 10 games out of the past 13. He went 9-1-0 with a save percentage of 92.6 and a GSAA of 7.2. We might see a 35/65 split between him and Casey DeSmith going forward, rather than the current 25/75.

Elias Pettersson led the Canucks with 14 goals in 13 games, tied for the league lead with Sam Reinhart. Pettersson had a shooting percentage of 34.1 on 41 SOG, which will be difficult to sustain.

Newcomer Elias Lindholm comes to the Canucks with one goal and nine points in his last 13 games, but added 11 hits, 13 blocks and a 56.9% in the faceoff circle.

Pius Suter enjoyed six goals and 10 points in his past 13 games, with two of those points on the PP. He should be okay at ES, but his time on PP1 is probably over.

Quinn Hughes led the Canucks with 15 assists in his past 13 games, followed by J.T. Miller who had 13. Both had seven of those assists on the PP.

Ilya Mikheyev was goalless in 13 games, with just three assists. However, he did have 29 SOG while averaging 14:42 per game. He might benefit from Lindholm in the lineup.

Vegas Golden Knights (7-5-1)

The good news for Vegas is that Adin Hill returned from his injury. The bad news is that Jack Eichel was injured and has missed the past eight games.

Jonathan Marchessault led Vegas with eight goals in 13 games on 49 SOG.

Marchessault and Nicolas Roy shared the team lead in points with 13. Roy has benefitted from Eichel's absence and has seen his ice time at 16:40.

Ivan Barbashev has seen an uptick as well, with four goals and 11 points in his past six games after going pointless in the seven games before that.

The PP for Vegas has dried out, with just four goals in the past 13 games, and two in the past eight since Eichel has been out.

Winnipeg Jets (8-3-1)

The Jets have shut down the opposition over the past 12 games, allowing just 19 goals against (1.58/g). They have scored just 31 goals for (2.58/g) and are hoping that Mark Scheifele is back soon.

The Jets sent a 1st round pick in 2024 and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2027 to Montreal for Sean Monahan.

Monahan had four goals and 14 points in his last 13 games with the Canadiens.

Josh Morrissey has slowed considerably with both Scheifele and Kyle Connor out of the lineup at various times over the past 12 games. He has just a goal and three assists, with zero points on the PP. He has seen his pace drop to 0.72/g which would be 59 points in 82 games.

Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit continue to shine, with Hellebuyck getting nine starts to Brossoit's three over the past 12 games. Hellebuyck had a save percentage of 94.0 and a GSAA of 9.44 while Brossoit was at 96.6 and 5.54.

Thank you very much for reading and if you have any comments, please leave them below or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15

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UPCOMING GAMES

Dec 22 - 12:12 NYR vs CAR
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Dec 22 - 17:12 UTA vs ANA
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Dec 22 - 20:12 EDM vs OTT
Dec 22 - 20:12 COL vs SEA

Starting Goalies

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  Players Team
PATRIK LAINE MTL
LANE HUTSON MTL
JACKSON LACOMBE ANA
ALEX TURCOTTE L.A
DYLAN GUENTHER UTA

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  Players Team
JESPER WALLSTEDT MIN
KAREL VEJMELKA UTA
MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD COL
LEEVI MERILAINEN OTT
FILIP GUSTAVSSON MIN

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20.0 MATS ZUCCARELLO MARCO ROSSI KIRILL KAPRIZOV
17.3 MARCUS JOHANSSON FREDERICK GAUDREAU MATT BOLDY
17.1 MARAT KHUSNUTDINOV RYAN HARTMAN MARCUS FOLIGNO

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