A black mark for Hockey
I read the report on the Chicago Blackhawks incident and I can not believe it took this long to come out in the open. It was pretty sickening.
Kudos to Kyle Beach for having the courage to publicly admit it was he who was sexually assaulted by the Chicago Blackhawks video coach Brad Aldrich back in 2010.
And shame on the Chicago Blackhawks for ignoring the situation then, as they were pursuing the Stanley Cup, which they eventually won.
Stan Bowman resigned Wednesday after the report was made public, and Al MacIsaac, a top executive with the Blackhawks was also dropped from the team.
Joel Quenneville, who was the head coach of Chicago at the time and was the head coach of the Florida Panthers, resigned on Thursday night after his meeting with Commissioner Gary Bettman. Kevin Cheveldayoff, the Blackhawks GM at the time, will not face any discipline from the NHL as Bettman determined that Cheveldayoff was not a member of the senior leadership team of the Blackhawks in 2010 and was not responsible for any of the decision-making of the Blackhawks.
As far as former team President John McDonagh is concerned, again, shame on you.
Not that the Players Association has anything to be proud about as they also failed Beach. They are supposed to protect him and they did nothing.
I’m not a big fan of Patrick Kane but I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know anything about the incident, especially with Kyle Beach saying he thought everyone on the team knew at the time. For Kane to say that he didn’t know John Doe’s identity until Beach came forward makes me skeptical that Kane is being fully truthful.
Hopefully the hockey world will embrace how courageous Beach was and is and I hope the hockey world is able to make amends and welcome Beach back.
And as far as the Blackhawks are concerned, I hope you make it good with Beach and not drag him through the courts.
Let’s get back to the ice.
Story continues
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WEEK OF NOVEMBER 1-7
4 Games – Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Ottawa, Vegas
3 Games – Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Calgary, Dallas, Edmonton, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, Winnipeg
2 Games – Boston, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Florida, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh
Nashville and Vegas play four games on the road.
Buffalo, Dallas, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and St. Louis play three games on the road.
Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, San Jose, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg play three games at home.
INJURIES
Nikita Kucherov is out eight-ten weeks after undergoing surgery to correct a lower-body injury. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. New Jersey, vs. Arizona
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Ducks only play twice this week…Troy Terry is off to a great start with eight points in his first seven games this season…Right behind him are defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and Jakob Silfverberg who each have seven in eight games…Max Comtois on the other hand, is off to a poor start with no points in seven games and he has been demoted to the fourth line…Sam Steel has struggled to get into the lineup. He has four games and been a healthy scratch in four, scoring a pair of goals in his first start on October 19 and nothing since…Former Duck Alexander Volkov has inked a four-year deal in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg after Anaheim and Volkov agreed to mutually terminate his contract when he was unable to crack the lineup and was sent to the AHL.
ARIZONA
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Anaheim, vs. Seattle
Tired: vs. Seattle (Saturday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Coyotes complete their six-game road trip and return home to face Seattle…The Coyotes are the worst team in the NHL with only one point in seven games…They brought up Ivan Prosvetov from the minors after Carter Hutton was injured on Monday and he made his seasonal debut Thursday, stopping 23 shots in a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay, not the easiest opponent in which to start your season against…Hutton is out two-four weeks with a lower-body injury, so it should be Karel Vejmelka’s net in Arizona for now…Conor Timmins is out 8-12 weeks with a lower-body injury as injuries have hit the Coyotes hard…Ryan Dzingel and Nick Schmaltz are also out of action…It will be a hard year in Arizona.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. Detroit, @ Toronto
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Bruins also have injuries so it is good that they only play twice this week…Nick Foligno ( upper body), Anton Blidh (upper body) and Craig Smith (undisclosed) are all out of action…They have lost back-to-back games this week, a 4-1 loss to Florida Wednesday and then 3-0 versus the Hurricanes the following night…Brad Marchand leads the way with seven points in six games, two better than linemate David Pastrnak…I liked the offensive potential of Matt Grzelcyk at the start of the season but he has yet to pick up a point in six games…Patrice Bergeron has yet to find the back of the net and has only three assists this season…Jeremy Swayman was sensational last season as a rookie with a 7-3-0 record to go with a 1.50 GAA and a .945 save percentage but he has come back to Earth this season as he is 1-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and a .893 save percentage.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ San Jose, @ Seattle, @ Detroit
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Sabres are nearing the end of a six-game road trip…They continue to be the biggest surprise in the early going as they are 5-1-1, good enough for second place in the Atlantic behind only the perfect 7-0-0 Florida Panthers…Craig Anderson has been playing like a 25-year-old, as the 40-year-old veteran is 4-1-0 with a sizzling 1.98 GAA and a .939 save percentage…I don’t know how long he can keep it up but ride the streak while you can…Victor Olofsson leads the way with four goals and eight points…The scoring has been spread around as 13 Sabres have at least one goal including every forward save tough guy John Hayden who has played only four times and Casey Mittelstadt, who has been injured since opening night…Jack Eichel could be filing a grievance through the NHLPA to force the Sabres to either allow him the surgery he wants, or perhaps inspire Buffalo to deal him.
CALGARY
Games this week
vs. Nashville, vs. Dallas, vs. New York Rangers
Tired: None
Rested: vs. New York Rangers (Saturday)
Notes
The Flames have received great goaltending from Jacob Markstrom and he was especially great Thursday as he stopped all 45 Pittsburgh shots in a 4-0 win. Markstrom is 3-1-1 with a 1.59 GAA and a .952 save percentage to start the year…Noah Hanifin is day-to-day with an upper-body injury…Johnny Gaudreau was pointless in the Flames opener against Edmonton but he has reeled off a six-game points streak with four multi-point games and leads the Flames with 10 points. It’s a contract year for Gaudreau…Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane each have seven goals in seven games…Sean Monahan continues to struggle with only one assist this season…Even Milan Lucic is having a better campaign as he has goals in each of his last two games and has three points on the year.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ Florida
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Hurricanes are perfect this season, as they are 6-0-0 after a 3-0 win over Boston…Frederik Andersen has seen action in every game to date and is 6-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and a .956 save percentage. Those are amazing stats…Antti Raanta has yet to play but should get a start on October 29 in the second game of back-to-back contests…Andrei Svechnikov has been off to a great start as well with six goals and 10 points…Jesperi Kotkaniemi has only a goal and an assist this season…Rookie Seth Jarvis, who was selected 13th overall in the 2020 Draft, has been a healthy scratch since the start of the season and should be sent back to Portland of the WHL where he can play a lot in junior hockey and dominate.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, vs. Carolina, @ Winnipeg, vs. Nashville
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Blackhawks four games this week but they are spread out every other day…It has been a horrible week in Chicago with the report noted at the top of the column coming out…The Blackhawks are 0-5-2, the second worst record in the NHL…The Blackhawks also have been dealing with a COVID outbreak as Patrick Kane, Henrik Borgstrom, Jujhar Khaira and Riley Stillman have all missed action with the illness…Jonathan Toews cleared COVID protocol and played Wednesday…Marc-Andre Fleury has been awful for Chicago as the Vezina Trophy winner from last season is 0-4-0 with a 5.75 GAA and a .839 save percentage…Seth Jones leads the Blackhawks with six assists in seven games but has a minus-nine rating, the worst on Chicago and fourth-worst in the NHL.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. Columbus, @ Columbus
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Avalanche play back-to-back games against Columbus as their only two contests this week…Cale Makar had a goal and an assist Thursday and has two goals and six points in seven games but if you play plus/minus, he is third worst in the NHL at minus-10…Mikko Rantanen missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury after leaving practice earlier in the day…Andre Burakovsky took his spot on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon while Logan O’Connor moved up to the second unit with Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog…Devon Toews (shoulder) is inching closer to getting back in the lineup as he has been cleared for contact in practice…Samuel Girard is also out of action as he has missed two games with an upper-body injury.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
@ Colorado, vs. Colorado
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Blue Jackets play back-to-back games versus Colorado this week as their only two games of the week…The Blue Jackets continue to get outstanding netminding from Elvis Merzlikins as he is 4-0-0 with a 1.47 GAA and a .952 save percentage…Max Domi (fractured rib) is expected to be back in the lineup on October 29 after missing less than two weeks with the injury…The Blue Jackets sent Justin Danforth to the minors…Gregory Hofmann scored his first NHL goal on Monday…Congratulations!…Adam Boqvist is not in the lineup as he ‘has some issues going on’ according to coach Brad Larsen…Oliver Bjorkstrand has three goals and nine points in just six games…Jakub Voracek has yet to score but does have five assists.
DALLAS
Games this week
@ Winnipeg, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Stars are on the road on week in Western Canada…Defenseman Miro Heiskanen has seven points in seven games to lead the Stars…Joe Pavelski had seven goals and seven assists in seven games last season but he has not been close to that this season with only one goal and one helper in seven games to date…Braden Holtby has had the crease for five of the seven starts and is 2-2-0, allowing only 10 goals on 164 shots as he has given the Stars excellent starting goaltending…Jason Robertson played in his first game of the season Wednesday and is ready to return to your starting lineup…The Stars also added Blake Comeau (elbow infection) from injury, sending Jacob Peterson to the minors…John Klingberg returned on Monday so the Stars are getting healthy.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Montreal, @ Boston, vs. Buffalo, vs. Vegas
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Red Wings play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week…Expect to see Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss split the net although Nedeljkovic will play three games if there is not a split…Greiss has started four of the seven games and is 3-1-0 with a 2.55 GAA and a ..917 save percentage while Nedeljkovic is 1-1-1 with a 3.40 GAA and a .897 save percentage…The Red Wings have been another surprise team in the Atlantic Division as they sit in third place with a 4-2-1 mark…Tyler Bertuzzi leads the way with six goals and nine points in six games but the entire first line has been great as both Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond each have eight points…Filip Hronek drew back into the Detroit lineup Wednesday after being a healthy scratch the previous two games…He was the Red Wings leading scorer last season but has been surpassed on the blueline by rookie Moritz Seider.
EDMONTON
Games this week
vs. Seattle, vs. Nashville. vs. New York Rangers
Tired: None
Rested: vs. Nashville (Wednesday)
Notes
As usual, it’s Connor McDavid leading the way with Leon Draisaitl right behind as the duo are first and fourth in NHL scoring with 15 and 12 points respectively…The Oilers have only played six games to date so the two are actually one-two in points-per-game…It looks like Jesse Puljujarvi is finally the player everyone thought he was when he was drafted fourth overall in 2016 as he has nine points playing on the top line…He is currently 16th overall in points from that class, behind such players like Jesper Bratt who had 130 points compared to Puljujarvi’s 72 despite being picked 162nd but he will rise through the ranks this season and hopefully the remainder of his career…Mike Smith is day-to-day with a lower-body injury…Mikko Koskinen has played in his stead and is 3-1-0 with a 2.62 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
FLORIDA
Games this week
vs. Washington, vs. Carolina
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Panthers are a perfect 7-0-0 to start the NHL season but the big news was off the ice as coach Joel Quenneville resigned Thursday night as part of the Chicago Blackhawks scandal from 2010 when he was their head coach…Andrew Brunette has been named interim coach but John Tortorella’s name has been bandied about as the new head coach…Jonathan Huberdeau has been on fire with three goals and nine points in seven games with seven other Panthers averaging a point-a-game heading into Friday night action…Anthony Duclair leads the team with five goals…The Panthers have been getting outstanding goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky who is 5-0-0 with a 1.79 GAA and a .946 save percentage…Spencer Knight is 2-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and a .923 save percentage and any team in the NHL would take that as well…Anton Lundell is day-to-day with an upper-body injury after missing the last two contests.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, vs. New Jersey
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Kings lost Drew Doughty for eight weeks with a right knee contusion after a knee-on-knee hit courtesy of Dallas defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, although it was not a deliberate hit…Matt Roy has moved up to quarterbacking the top power play with Doughty out of action but has yet to pick up a point in seven games…Brendan Lemieux was a healthy scratch on Thursday after he was taken off the COVID-19 protocol list…Anze Kopitar continues to lead the Kings with nine points including six goals…The Kings have floundered this season with a 1-5-1 record…Cal Peterson is 1-2 but has a 3.71 GAA while Jonathan Quick has yet to win at 0-3-1 but has four starts to Peterson’s three…Quick has a 2.75 GAA and has played well to date.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, @ Pittsburgh, vs. New York Islanders
Tired: None
Rested: vs. Ottawa (Tuesday)
Notes
The Wild have Mats Zuccarello and Rem Pitlick in COVID protocol and both missed Thursday’s game against Seattle…The Kraken beat Minnesota 4-1 with a couple of empty net goals as Cam Talbot picked up his first loss of the season…He is 5-1-0 with a 2.47 GAA and a .914 save percentage this season…Kirill Kaprizov was considered among the favorites for the Rocket Richard Trophy this season but has yet to tickle the twine in seven games…Fortunately for fantasy managers, Kaprizov does have six assists to give him some fantasy value…With Zuccarello out of action, Kevin Fiala replaced him on the top line with Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek…Connor Dewar played 8:44 in his NHL debut Thursday with a couple of shots on net and four hits.
MONTREAL
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. New York Islanders, vs. Vegas
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Canadiens return home from the West Coast and play all three games this week at home…Jake Allen was outstanding on Thursday as he turned aside all 45 shots on net in a 4-0 win over San Jose…That really helped his stats as he is 2-5-0 with a 2.60 GAA and a .913 save percentage…Cole Caufield continues to struggle this season with only one assist in eight games…Try to trade for him from a disgruntled owner as he is a great talent…Jonathan Drouin leads the Habs with six points in eight games…Nick Suzuki has yet to score this season and has four assists…Mathieu Perreault had the hat trick Saturday as Montreal won its first of the season, 6-1 over Detroit.
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NASHVILLE
Games this week
@ Calgary, @ Edmonton, @ Vancouver, @ Chicago
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Predators are on the road for all four games this week including three games in four nights…Juuse Saros will get three starts with Connor Ingram picking up the start in the other contest if David Rittich has not returned from being on the COVID protocol list…Ingram made his NHL debut on Saturday and stopped 33 shots in a 5-2 win over the Wild…Roman Josi continues to have a nice comeback season after he had only eight goals and 33 points last season as he has nine points in seven games…He has two goals and seven points in his last three games…Matt Duchene has been hot of late with a goal and three assists in his last two games…Eeli Tolvanen played Tuesday after missing one game with an upper-body injury.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ San Jose
Tired: @ San Jose (Saturday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Devils are in California all week…The Devils have been playing with Scott Wedgewood and Nico Daws as their goaltenders with Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier on the shelf but sent Daws back to the minors on Thursday, which indicates one of Blackwood or Bernier are ready to return…Blackwood received his first vaccination this past week and should be fully vaccinated by December 3 when the Devils enter Canada for the first time this season…Jack Hughes has missed three straight games with a should injury and has yet to practice but coach Lindy Ruff did say that Hughes was feeling better every day…The Devils are in last place in the Metropolitan but have a winning record at 3-2-0.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
@ Montreal, @ Winnipeg, @ Minnesota
Tired: None
Rested: @ Winnipeg (Saturday)
Notes
The Islanders continue on the road like I have written for the first four weeks of the season and that will continue for another two weeks as they play the first 13 games of the season away from home as their new arena is getting ready to open…Semyon Varlamov has declared himself good to go and should get a start this week as the Islanders play three games in four nights with Ilya Sorokin picking up two starts…Sorokin has two straight shutouts, stopping 26 shots against Arizona and then 42 shots versus Vegas the next night…He is 3-2-1 with a 2.33 GAA and a .933 save percentage…Zach Parise is day-to-day after his back tightened up at practice Thursday…Anders Lee has only one goal in five games after returning from knee surgery that ended his season last year.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ Edmonton, @ Calgary
Tired: @ Calgary (Saturday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Rangers play all three games in Western Canada this week…Kaapo Kakko practiced on a line with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome on Thursday and could be ready to go on October 29 after missing almost two weeks with an upper-body injury…Ryan Reaves was placed on the injured reserve list on Thursday with a lower-body injury…Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers with a goal and six points in seven games…Igor Shesterkin is off to a great start with a 3-1-1 mark to go with a 2.17 GAA and a .933 save percentage despite giving up five goals on 37 shots to Calgary to garner his first loss of the season Monday…He is the number one goalie in New York with Alexandar Georgiev only 1-1-0 this season with a 3.51 GAA and a .873 save percentage…Morgan Barron was returned to the minors earlier in the week.
OTTAWA
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ Minnesota, vs. Vegas, vs. Tampa Bay
Tired: @ Minnesota (Tuesday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Senators play four games this week including three games in four nights…Matt Murray is on the shelf so expect to see Anton Forsberg and Filip Gustavsson share the net…Josh Norris has goals in back-to-back games and has three goals this season…Drake Batherson had the hat trick and an assist Monday in a 7-5 loss to Washington…Shane Pinto is out another week or so with an upper-body injury…The Senators picked up Dylan Gambrell from the Sharks for a 2022 seventh round pick this week…Austin Watson could return this week from an ankle injury that has sidelined him all season…Brady Tkachuk has not scored in three games but has two assists and 17 penalty minutes with 18 hits and eight shots on goal.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Arizona, @ Pittsburgh, @ Washington
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Flyers are getting good goaltending this season after not doing so last year…Carter Hart is 2-1-1 with a 2.73 GAA and a .915 save percentage while veteran Martin Jones, in his first season with the Flyers, is a perfect 2-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and a .941 save percentage…The Flyers top line of Sean Couturier between Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny has been firing on all cylinders with Couturier leading the team with nine points while Giroux has eight and Konecny six, all in just six games…Cam Atkinson has six goals and an assist in six contests as the trade from Columbus has agreed with him…Ryan Ellis has missed the last three games with an undisclosed injury but should be back this week, if not sooner.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. Philadelphia, vs. Minnesota
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Penguins ‘could’ be getting back Sidney Crosby this week…The superstar center has been out of action since undergoing wrist surgery before the start of training camp and was a full participant in practice Wednesday…He is very close to returning…The Penguins have had an outbreak of COVID and Kris Letang and Jeff Carter have yet to be cleared as of Friday morning…Bryan Rust is still out with a lower-body injury and has started skating but not practicing…The Penguins have scored only once on 74 shots in their last two games…Danton Heinen, Evan Rodrigues and Drew O’Connor (not exactly the cream of the crop of NHL forwards) lead the Penguins in scoring with three goals and five points…Jason Zucker also had three goals for the Pens…Tristan Jarry has been great in net with a 3-1-1 record to go with a 1.78 GAA and a .933 save percentage.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, vs. St. Louis, vs. New Jersey
Tired: None
Rested: vs. St. Louis (Thursday), vs. New Jersey (Saturday)
Notes
The Sharks complete a five-game homestand this week…Logan Couture and Timo Meier lead the Sharks with nine points apiece in seven games…Couture saw his six-game points streak end on Thursday…The Sharks are 4-3-0 this season but have dropped their last three games in a row…James Reimer has been strong as the Sharks backup goaltender as he is 1-1-0 with a 1.19 GAA and a .961 save percentage…Adin Hill has play well as well, as he is 3-2-0 with a 2.96 GAA and a .893 save percentage…Nikolai Knyzhov underwent surgery to repair a core muscle tear and will be out for months…The Sharks are sitting third in the Pacific with eight points…Erik Karlsson is having a nice comeback season with six points in seven games but Brent Burns only has three assists in seven contests.
SEATTLE
Games this week
@ Edmonton, vs. Buffalo, @ Arizona
Tired: None
Rested: @ Arizona (Saturday)
Notes
The Kraken are 2-1 at home with back-to-back wins over Montreal and Minnesota after losing their home opener to Vancouver…They are 3-4-1 and tied for fourth in the Pacific and have been competitive for most of the season…Hadyn Fleury had a couple of goals Thursday in the 4-1 win over the Wild…Brandon Tanev is off to a great start with the Kraken as he has six goals in eight games…Jared McCann has three goals and seven points in eight games…Mason Appleton is out for a while with an undisclosed injury…Philipp Grubauer got off to a rough start this season but is working on back-to-back wins in which he has given up only one goal in each game while stopped 53 shots…He is 3-3-1 with a 2.93 GAA and a .897 save percentage.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ Los Angeles, @ San Jose, @ Anaheim
Tired: @ San Jose (Thursday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Blues head to California this week where they play all three games…The Blues lost their first game of the season Thursday after a 4-3 loss to Colorado…They still are in first place in the Central with a 5-1-0 record…Vladimir Tarasenko is off to a great start with four goals and eight points in six games while Jordan Kyrou still leads the team with nine points…David Perron leads with six goals in six games…Ivan Barbashev has points in all six games this season with three goals and three assists…Ryan O’Reilly missed Thursday’s game as he is in COVID protocol and the Blues placed Brayden Schenn on the first line between Perron and Klim Kostin while Tyler Bozak moved up to take Schenn’s spot on the second line between Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich…Brandon Saad is still out in COVID protocol.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
vs. Washington, @ Toronto, @ Ottawa
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Lightning are in fourth in the Atlantic with a 4-3-1 record…Nikita Kucherov will miss 8-10 weeks after needing a procedure to correct a lower-body injury…Steven Stamkos is off to a great start as he has 12 points in eight games…Alex Killorn had two goals and an assist Thursday and leads the Lightning with six goals in eight games…The Lightning placed Remi Elie on waivers…Andrei Vasilevskiy is turning things around and is 4-2-1 with a 2.53 GAA and a .911 save percentage…The blueline is led by Victor Hedman who has eight assists, and Mikhail Sergachev who has two goals and six points in eight games…Corey Perry has yet to pick up a point in eight games and is a minus-five but has had one fight this season.
TORONTO
Games this week
vs. Vegas, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Boston
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Maple Leafs continue to flounder and needed overtime to beat a bad and injury-riddled Chicago team…Jack Campbell has been great with a 2.31 GAA and a .918 save percentage to go with a pedestrian 3-2-1 record…The Leafs hope to get Petr Mrazek back this week as they need both goaltenders to be at full strength…Auston Matthews has a measly goal and an assist in five games while Mitch Marner, who was fourth in NHL scoring last season, has only two assists in eight games…If you can get him from a disgruntled owner, make the move…David Kampf scored Wednesday and it was his first point in a Toronto uniform…The supposed high-flying Maple Leafs have been an offensive nightmare in the early going with only 16 goals in eight games…Changes may be needed in Toronto if things do not turn around quickly.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. New York Rangers, vs. Nashville, vs. Dallas
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Canucks are home for all three as they will near the end of a seven-game homestand…Connor Garland has been a great acquisition this season as he has three goals and eight points in eight games and has been a constant pest for the opposition…Travis Hamonic could be back soon as he was on a leave of absence for personal matters…He has been seen on the ice before practice for Abbotsford of the AHL and could see action shortly…Quinn Hughes is on a four-game points streak and has two goals and six points in seven games to lead all Vancouver blueliners…Nils Hoglander has yet to score in eight games and has three assists…Elias Pettersson has struggled in the early going with a goal and four points in eight games…J.T. Miller has eight goals in eight games.
VEGAS
Games this week
@ Toronto, @ Ottawa, @ Montreal, @ Detroit
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Golden Knights play three games in four nights as part of a four-game week with everything taking place on the road…Robin Lehner should get three starts with Laurent Brossoit getting one… The Golden Knights signed Zach Whitecloud to a six-year deal worth $16.5 million…The Golden Knights also signed defenseman Ben Hutton to a one-year deal…Chandler Stephenson centered the top line last season and is now leading the team in goals and points with three and seven respectively…He has been doing it without Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty as both have missed the last five games…Alec Martinez returned on Wednesday after missing the previous three games…The Golden Knights have a 3-4-0 record and are in sixth in the Pacific, five points in arrears of Calgary and four back of Edmonton with the Oilers holding a game in hand.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
@ Tampa Bay. @ Florida, vs. Philadelphia
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Capitals lost T.J. Oshie to a lower-body injury which will keep him out of action for a while as he is week-to-week…This came after Oshie, who had a hat trick in a 7-5 win over Ottawa Monday, was injured against the Red Wings Wednesday…Alex Ovechkin is second in points in the NHL with 13. He leads the NHL with eight goals in seven games…Evgeny Kuznetsov is off to a great start with 10 points in seven games…John Carlson is struggling in the early going with a goal and three points thus far…Vitek Vanecek is once again the better goalie this season as he is 2-0-2 with a 2.26 GAA and a .911 save percentage while Ilya Samsonov is 2-0-1 but his peripherals are not good as he has a 3.32 GAA and a .885 save percentage…Tom Wilson has seven assists this season but has yet to light the lamp.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
vs. Dallas, vs. Chicago, vs. New York Islanders
Tired: vs. New York Islanders (Saturday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Jets are lucky to have Kyle Connor as once again he has been outstanding this season with six goals and 13 points in seven games…His 13 points are tied for second in the NHL with Alex Ovechkin and two behind Connor McDavid…Pierre-Luc Dubois had a horrible go of things in Winnipeg last season after his trade from Columbus, but you couldn’t tell that now as he has six goals and nine points including all six goals the last six games as he was pointless in the opener and has not been held off the scoresheet since…Mark Scheifele is out of COVID protocol but missed Thursday’s game…It has not been a great start to the season for Connor Hellebuyck who is 3-2-1 with a 3.67 GAA and a .891 save percentage…Eric Comrie picked up his first start of the season Thursday and knocked off the Kings 3-2, stopping 30 shots.