After Jonathan Quick started three consecutive games for the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin was back between the pipes on Friday. Shesterkin hadn't been his usual self recently, as he had been tagged with five really bad starts during January and a 3.25 GAA and .863 SV% in 2024 entering Friday's game. Fortunately, the Blackhawks represented a get-well card for Shesterkin, who improved to okay in allowing three goals on 31 shots in a 4-3 overtime win for the Rangers.

The Rangers have a lot invested in the season, so they have to continue to weigh whether to play the hotter hand over the so-called established starter. The 38-year-old Quick, thought to be fading at this point in his career, has had at least one last hurrah recently with three wins and four quality starts over his last four games. Rostered in just under half of Yahoo and Fantrax leagues, Quick deserves a waiver-wire pickup by teams in need of goaltending. Shesterkin doesn't seem to be out of the woods yet, since he allowed three goals to a team that has had major scoring issues (more on that in a bit).

Here’s an explanation on where specifically Shesterkin seems to be struggling:

Shesterkin looking to get back on track. A couple of areas to watch which have dropped significantly compared to last year – his save percentage on shots off-the-rush and his save percentage on high glove shots.

Last season, Shesterkin had an .878 save % on rush shots – 6th best… https://t.co/iwS5szbj0Q pic.twitter.com/epGuIdjWdr

— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) February 9, 2024

With the overtime winner, Mika Zibanejad snapped a seven-game goal drought. The goal is just his second of 2024, neither of which is a 5-on-5 goal. He is still picking up the assists, but his overall production is down from last season and has dipped below a point per game.

The Blackhawks scoring three goals in a game is a notable accomplishment, as they had failed to reach that number in their previous five games. Entering Friday's game, they had scored at least two goals in a game only twice in their last 11 games. You can pretty well start any goalie against the Blackhawks risk-free right now.

In fact, this is the kind of season's it's been in Chicago:

A lot happening here. 😅 pic.twitter.com/VRrWZ8zu7R

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 10, 2024

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Marc-Andre Fleury delivered on his tribute night against his former team. Fleury stopped 33 of 35 shots he faced in backstopping the Wild to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. Fleury played his 1000^th game on December 31, and he passed Patrick Roy with his 552^nd career win on January 15. With the win on Friday, Fleury is now up to 553 career wins. Fleury is mainly a backup to Filip Gustavsson in what might be his final NHL season, so this win was nice to see.

Brock Faber continues to be hot. With an assist on Friday, Faber now has 11 points over his last nine games. He's surpassed 26 minutes in each of his last four games. He's far and away the rookie leader in average icetime, and he's already in the top 10 in average icetime per game among all players. In fact, he's now only two points behind the injured Connor Bedard for the lead in rookie scoring. The longer Bedard is out, the more likely Faber is to grab the Calder Trophy. Consider the Calder a two-horse race even when Bedard returns. For more of a deep dive on Faber, check out last week's The Journey.

Sidney Crosby scored one of the Penguins goals against his former teammate, extending his point streak to nine games. Over that span he has 11 points.

Jake Guentzel, the subject of trade rumors and on the final year of his contract, has a four-game point streak including an assist on Friday.

Because I'm sure you really want to know, Jesse Puljujarvi has no points in two games with Pittsburgh, averaging just over 10 minutes per game. One of my leagues is so deep that someone just made a trade for him. Huh. I guess it's worth mentioning that Pool Party has nine points in 13 AHL games this season, which isn't bad. I honestly think he had some potential, but the Oilers threw him into the deep end of the pool way too early and that killed his confidence. Maybe he still has a semi-decent NHL career, but he'll never live up to the billing of a fourth overall pick.

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What time is it, Mr. Wolf? It's Dustin Wolf time! That's all I have for kids game references today. Wolf has been recalled because Dan Vladar has been placed on IR with a lower-body injury. Jacob Markstrom has been rumored to be on the trade block because the Flames appear set on a retool and have three potentially NHL-level goalies. Although the Flames don't play any back-to-back games until March, watch for Wolf to receive at least a few starts as the Flames give him more of an extended look.

Goalies aren't easy to trade, especially ones with a $6 million cap hit. As well, a potential Markstrom trade could be tied to how long Vladar is out. The Flames could push for the playoffs anyway despite potentially selling players such as Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin. Although the Flames' chances of making the playoffs would be undermined, remember that players and coaches compete regardless of the situation. The Flames have also won three games in a row, with the last two on the road.

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Here are some notable Islanders after the Patrick Roy hire:

Mathew Barzal: 6 GP, 8 PTS, 23:05 ATOI

Bo Horvat: 6 GP, 5 PTS, 21:43 ATOI

Noah Dobson: 6 GP, 8 PTS, 26:19 ATOI

Barzal in particular seems to be benefitting the most, as his icetime has increased about three minutes per game with Roy as coach. Horvat is up nearly two minutes. The boring, defensive-minded Islanders as we've come to know them might be on the way out with Roy, who has been quoted as saying that he doesn't want the Islanders to be a "defensive team." The best defense can be a good offense that controls the puck, so it's worth mentioning that the Islanders allowed just 20 shots to the Lightning in their 6-2 win on Thursday.

Fantasy Take: Roy Back in NHL with Islanders

Before Roy was hired, Barzal was already on pace to surpass last season's scoring total. Yet the way he's being deployed under Roy, Barzal could see a further uptick in value. His career high is still 85 points from his rookie season of 2017-18. He's currently on pace for 89 points. Barzal is also averaging three shots per game for the first time in his career. Not a bad return on investment for a player with an ADP of 155 in Yahoo leagues.

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In the very late game, Evander Kane posted a hat trick to go with a plus-4 and seven shots, leading the Oilers to a 5-3 win over Anaheim. Prior to that, Kane had scored just one goal since the start of January – a span of 12 games. He's still a valuable multicategory player, but his shot total has dipped a bit (3.1 SOG/GP), and his offense has also declined a bit over the past two seasons in Edmonton. That appears to be a result of appearing on the second power-play unit. Kane has 5 PPP this season, but he registered just 2 PPP in 41 games last season.

Connor McDavid recorded three assists, giving him 12 points in his last five games. Remember when we were a bit worried about him early in the season? He's now back in the top 5 in scoring. And the Oilers now have a one-game winning streak not long after their 16-game win streak was snapped. Life is good in Edmonton again.

In a losing cause, former Oiler Ryan Strome scored a pair of goals. Strome entered this game with just one point (a goal) in his previous eight games.

Adam Henrique registered two assists, extending his point streak to seven games. Henrique is hot with 11 points over those seven games. On the final year of his contract, Henrique is increasing his trade value with his recent run.

Troy Terry also entered the game with a six-game point streak (10 points over that span). However, Terry was held without a point on Friday and was also a minus-4.

The Ducks were without Mason McTavish for this game because of an upper-body injury. John Gibson also left this game after two periods with a lower-body injury. The Ducks don't play again until Tuesday, which should give Gibson some time to rest if this is something minor.

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