Ten players have taken more than 100 shots on goal this season, led by Brady Tkachuck of the Senators who has 141. Not surprisingly, Connor McDavid is second with 131 while the Golden Knights Max Pacioretty is third with 115.
The rest of the top-ten are as follows: Auston Matthews (112), Filip Forsberg (110), Patrick Kane (109), Aleksander Barkov (105), Nathan MacKinnon (103), Alex Ovechkin (102) and Viktor Arvidsson (101).
There are plenty of stars on the list with the biggest surprise probably being Arvidsson at 101.
As far as shooting percentage is concerned, with a minimum of 18 games, Joonas Donskoi is at 32 % scoring eight goals on only 25 shots, while Marcus Foligno is second with 29.2 % with seven goals on 24 shots. Daniel Sprong and Victor Rask are next at 28.6 and 28 percent respectively. Brandon Saad is the top player in double digit goals with 10 goals on 42 shots for a 23.8 percentage.[[ad:athena]]
The top scorers are rarely at the top of shooting percentage as they take so many shots as you can see.
WEEK OF MARCH 22-28
4 Games – Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, San Jose, St. Louis, Winnipeg
3 Games –Boston, Carolina, Minnesota, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Washington
2 Games – Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver
Arizona, Chicago, Dallas, Montreal and Philadelphia play four games at home.
Anaheim, Edmonton. Florida, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, and Winnipeg play four games on the road.
Boston, the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay play three games on the road.
Minnesota, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Washington play three games at home.
Any crossed off games have been postponed due to the coronavirus and are expected to be replayed at a later date.
INJURIES
John Gibson is out with a lower-body injury, (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
ANAHEIM
Games this week
@ Minnesota, @ Minnesota, @ St. Louis, @ St. Louis
Tired: None
Rested: @ St. Louis (Friday)
Notes
The Ducks future was on display in full force Thursday as Trevor Zegras scored his first NHL goal...It took him 11 games to do so...Defenseman Jamie Drysdale made his NHL debut Thursday after being the sixth pick in the 2020 Draft and he had a goal and an assist as the Ducks defeated Arizona 3-2 in overtime...With these two studs, the future looks bright in Orange County...Rickard Rakell snapped a four-game pointless streak with a pair of assists Thursday but Max Comtois continues to slump as he is pointless in his last five games...John Gibson is still out with a lower-body injury, forcing Ryan Miller to handle the goaltending duties the last two contests...Gibson has struggled of late, giving up five goals in each of his last three starts and is 6-12-5 with a 3.11 GAA and a .894 save percentage. Those are not Gibson-like numbers.
ARIZONA
Games this week
vs. Colorado, vs. Colorado, vs. San Jose, vs. San Jose
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Coyotes play a pair of back-to-back games so the net will be split this week...Unfortunately, both Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta are out with injuries, so the net now belongs to Adin Hill with Ivan Prosvetov as his backup...Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence but the hope is that Raanta is close to returning and could play this week...Conor Garland broke out of a five-game pointless streak on Thursday with a goal and an assist...He leads the Coyotes in points with 24 and is tied with Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak and Phil Kessel for the lead in goals with nine...Jakob Chychrun leads the Coyotes with 80 shots on goal, four better than Garland.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders, vs. New York Islanders, @ Buffalo, vs. New Jersey
Tired: vs. New Jersey (Sunday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Bruins play three games this week in four days as Tuesday’s game against the Islanders was postponed due to a COVID outbreak on the team...Tuukka Rask has been out of the lineup since March 7 with an undisclosed injury and if he is unable to play, Jaroslav Halak will get the call on two occasions while Daniel Vladar will get the crease once...If Rask is able to go, he will share the net with Halak...Sean Kuraly is on the COVID protocol list...David Krejci has only one goal this season but had a big three assist night against lowly Buffalo Thursday...Boston has won two in a row after going 4-7-2 in their previous 13 contests to tumble out of first place in the East...Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak lead the Bruins with 89 shots on goal, despite Pastrnak playing in seven less games than Bergeron’s 28.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ New York Rangers, @ Pittsburgh, @ Pittsburgh, vs. Boston
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Sabres play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Linus Ullmark is still out with a lower-body injury and is expected to be gone from the lineup until the end of March at the earliest, so the Sabres will rely on Carter Hutton and Jonas Johansson to share the net...Buffalo fired their head coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday after the Sabres losing streak hit 12 games and replaced him with interim head coach Don Granato...Things did not go any better for Granato on Thursday in a 4-1 loss to Boston as the losing streak hit 13 games...The Taylor Hall trade rumors are heating up as the winger, who signed a one-year deal in the off-season, should help a playoff-bound team as a top-six forward...Jack Eichel could be gone for the rest of the season with what is rumored to be a neck injury...Even if he does return to the lineup, it will be very late in the season.
CALGARY
Games this week
@ Ottawa, @ Ottawa, vs. Winnipeg, vs, Winnipeg
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Flames play four games this week including three in four nights...Expect to see Jacob Markstrom play three times with David Rittich starting once...Markstrom did not have a good game Wednesday when he gave up seven goals on 30 shots against the Oilers...Noah Hanifin has three goals in the six games since Geoff Ward was let go...Elias Lindholm leads the Flames with 27 points in 30 games while Johnny Gaudreau is tops in goals with 12...Darryl Sutter is 3-1-0 since taking over behind the bench and outside of the game Wednesday, the Flames have been tougher defensively.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Columbus, @ Columbus, vs. Tampa Bay
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Hurricanes finish up four straight games against Columbus this week...The Carolina goaltending situation will be up in the air once Petr Mrazek returns but it will be for a good reason unlike so many other teams...Alex Nedeljkovic has been tremendous in goal and has taken over as the number one netminder of late from James Reimer...Nedeljkovic has a 6-2-2 mark with a 2.16 GAA and a .926 save percentage and is 4-0-1 in his March starts...Mrazek had the pins removed from his thumb this week but is still not close to returning to action...Sebastian Aho potted a couple of goals Thursday and has 13, tied with Vincent Trocheck for the team lead...Teuvo Teravainen is starting to skate as he recovers from a concussion. He has only played once since February 19 as he came back too soon.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Florida, vs. Florida, vs. Nashville, vs. Nashville
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Blackhawks play all four games at home this week, including three games in four nights...Kevin Lankinen should get three starts with Malcolm Subban getting one start...It has been a struggle for Dylan Strome who has been out a month with a concussion...The Blackhawks hope that he will be a go this week...Kirby Dach has been out all season with a broken wrist suffered during practice at the World Junior Championships in December and while he has no timetable to return, he is back skating and ‘closer than we thought’ to a return, according to coach Jeremy Colliton...Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with 42 points while Alex DeBrincat leads in goals with 15.
COLORADO
Games this week
@ Arizona, @ Arizona, vs. Vegas, vs. Vegas
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Avalanche play four games this week including three games in four nights...Philipp Grubauer will play three games with Hunter Miska playing once unless the Avs trade for a netminder...The Avs have been tough defensively of late as Grubauer has faced more than 20 shots on goal only once in his last six games...Grubauer is on a five-game winning streak...Colorado welcomed back defenseman Cale Makar on Thursday after he missed 12 games with an upper-body injury...Bowen Byram also returned to action Thursday for the first time since February 27 as Colorado’s blueline is now healthy once again...Mikko Rantanen has been red-hot of late with three goals and five assists in his last four games...He has 34 points to date, leading the Avs in the scoring race.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
vs. Carolina, vs. Carolina, @ Detroit, @ Detroit
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Blue Jackets play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins should share the net this week...Oliver Bjorkstrand assisted on all three Columbus goals Thursday and has 26 points in 31 games...Seth Jones had a pair of goals Thursday but that only gives him three this season...Jack Roslovic has five assists in his last four games...Max Domi seems to be turning things around as he has two goals and five points in his last four games...Cam Atkinson leads Columbus with 11 goals, one better than Bjorkstrand... Emil Bemstrom has not scored in over a year and is now out of action with a lower-body injury.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Florida, vs. Florida
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Stars play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Anton Khudobin and Jake Oettinger will likely share the net, although Oettinger has played the last four games...The Stars welcomed back Alexander Radulov after the winger missed 15 games with a lower-body injury...Tyler Seguin (off-season hip surgery) isn’t close to returning to practice and it appears that he will be out another four weeks...That should get him ready to return to the lineup in time for your fantasy playoffs if you play head-to-head...Ben Bishop (off-season knee surgery) is in the same predicament and should return to the cage in four weeks...Miro Heiskanen has three goals and six points in his last nine games.
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out NBCSportsEdge Player News, and follow @NBCSEdge HK and @mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Nashville, @ Nashville, vs. Columbus, vs. Columbus
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Red Wings play four games this week including three games in four nights...Jonathan Bernier (if healthy) should get at least two starts and maybe three, while Thomas Greiss gets the remainder of the starts...Greiss faced only 18 shots Thursday against Dallas and gave up two goals but it was good enough for his second win of the season as he is 2-11-4 with a 3.46 GAA and a .883 save percentage...He replaced Bernier who suffered an injury Thursday in a scramble by the side of the net and needed help coming off the ice...Robby Fabbri had the natural hat trick Thursday to give him nine goals in 21 games...Filip Hronek saw his four-game points streak end Thursday. The Red Wings leading scorer had his only goal and seven assists in his previous four games.
EDMONTON
Games this week
@ Montreal, @ Montreal, @ Montreal, @ Toronto
Tired: @ Toronto (Saturday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Oilers play four games this week including three games in four nights...Mike Smith will likely get three starts with Mikko Koskinen getting the crease once...Connor McDavid continued his Hart Trophy pace on Thursday with both goals as Edmonton upended Winnipeg 2-1...McDavid has 20 goals, second in the NHL to Auston Matthews’ 21 and a league-leading 58 points, nine better than teammate Leon Draisaitl...Kailer Yamamoto missed Thursday’s game with an undisclosed injury...He was replaced on the top line by Jesse Puljujarvi as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played on the other side with Draisaitl moving down to center the second line...The Oilers continue to get excellent production from their blueline, especially Tyson Barrie who has four goals and 30 points, and Darnell Nurse who has nine goals and 23 points with a plus-17 rating.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ Chicago, @ Dallas, @ Dallas
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Panthers play four games this week including three games in four nights...The Panthers have been splitting the net of late with Chris Driedger and Sergei Bobrovsky so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see each play twice but if one is going to play three games, it will be Bobrovsky...It is quite a three-team race in the Central Division with Tampa Bay out in front with 44 points, followed by Florida and Carolina, each with 42...Aleksander Barkov had a three-game scoring streak end Thursday. He had four goals and seven points during the streak and has 12 goals and 34 points in 29 games in addition to being one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL...Jonathan Huberdeau leads with 35 points.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
@ San Jose, @ San Jose
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Kings only play a pair of games this week, both against the Sharks...Anze Kopitar is having an outstanding season with eight goals and 26 assists in 38 games. His 17 power play assists are best in the NHL, one up on Connor McDavid...Drew Doughty continues to impress with seven goals and 24 points in 28 contests as he has been one of the biggest surprises in the NHL among veterans this season...Dustin Brown has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury...Cal Petersen has been very good this season and it would be no surprise if he grabbed the starter’s job next season. He is 5-6-4 with a 2.54 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
Editor’s Note: Drafting is only half the battle! Get an edge on your competition with our Season Tools that are packed with rankings, projections, a trade evaluator, start/sit tools and much more. And don’t forget to use promo code PUCK10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Anaheim, vs. Anaheim, vs. St. Louis
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Wild saw their five-game winning streak end on Thursday in a 5-1 loss to Colorado, but you couldn’t blame goaltender Cam Talbot who made 50 saves as Colorado dominated Minnesota...The loss allowed Colorado to jump over Minnesota into second place in the West...The Wild were sans Soucy for Thursday’s game as he was suspended for one game after getting an elbowing major against Conor Garland of the Coyotes Tuesday...Kaapo Kahkonen is having a fabulous rookie campaign as he is 12-4-0 with a 2.05 GAA and a .927 save percentage. His competition for the Calder will be teammate Kirill Kaprizov who has captured the fancy of the voters at the halfway mark of the season as the talented Russian leads the Wild with 25 points.
Editor’s Note: The Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights face off Sunday on NBCSN starting at 5:30 pm ET. Livestream all the action here.
MONTREAL
Games this week
vs. Edmonton, vs. Edmonton, vs. Edmonton, vs. Ottawa
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Canadiens play four games but they are spread out every other day...Expect to see Carey Price play three times while Jake Allen will get the other start...Montreal is 1-2-1 in their last four games as they have reverted back to their old form after going 3-1-3 after the firing of Claude Julien...Montreal’s big problem has been overtime and the shootout as they have taken play into extra time on eight occasions and have yet to win...Tyler Toffoli continues to excel with 18 goals and 27 points...His goal total is third overall in the NHL, trailing only Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. That is heady company that Toffoli is keeping...Ben Chiarot is out for six-eight weeks with a broken hand...Jeff Petry has 11 goals, tops among defensemen.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. Detroit, @ Chicago, @ Chicago
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Predators play four games this week including three games in four nights...Pekka Rinne and Jusse Saros should share the net this week as Saros returned to action Thursday from an upper-body injury and stopped 40-of-41 shots in a 2-1 upset win over Florida...The Mattias Ekholm rumors continue to fly as he is the number one trade target for many teams. The defenseman has four points in his last four games and has five goals and 13 points in 23 games for the Predators with a plus-eight rating...Filip Forsberg is the Predators leading scorer by far with 27 points in 30 games with Roman Josi second with just 16...The Preds need help in scoring and other than Calle Jarnkrok and Eeli Tolvanen, there isn’t a lot there this season.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Washington, @ Washington, @ Boston
Tired: None
Rested: @ Philadelphia (Tuesday), @ Boston (Sunday)
Notes
The Devils play four games this week and three occur in four nights...Mackenzie Blackwood should pick up three starts with Scott Wedgewood getting one...Wedgewood has been terrific in three of his last four starts, giving up only two goals on 42 shots Thursday picking up a shutout on March 7, stopping 40 shots against the Bruins...The Devils don’t have a lot of offense this season, scoring 68 goals in 27 games with Miles Wood leading the way with nine goals...Pavel Zacha is finally having a good season with seven goals and 17 points in 26 games as he leads the Devils in points...He missed Thursday’s game after being slashed Tuesday by Buffalo’s Colin Miller...Nico Hischier had successful surgery on a frontal sinus fracture and will be out another three weeks.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Boston, @ Boston, @ Pittsburgh
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Islanders were scheduled to play four games this week including three games in four nights but Tuesday’s game against Boston has been postponed due to a COVID outbreak on the Bruins...Semyon Varlamov will play twice with Ilya Sorokin getting the other start...Anders Lee is out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery...The Islanders will be in the market for a top-six forward to replace Lee as they have Stanley Cup aspirations...Oliver Wahlstrom has goals in three of his last four games and should be looked at in deeper leagues as six of his 12 points have come on the power play...Kieffer Bellows has three goals in the four games since Lee was injured...Nick Leddy is second on the Islanders with 21 points, three behind Mathew Barzal.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, @ Philadelphia, @ Philadelphia, @ Washington
Tired: @ Washington (Sunday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Rangers play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week so look for Igor Shesterkin, if healthy, to play three times with Alexandar Georgiev to play once...Shesterkin has missed the last two weeks with a groin injury and could be ready to go as early as this weekend...Mika Zibanejad has been in a season-long slump but exploded in the second period Wednesday with three goals and three assists to tie former Islander Bryan Trottier for the most points in one period. The six-point effort gave Zibanejad six goals and 17 points this season as the Rangers embarrassed the Flyers 9-0 on NBCSN’s early game...It has been a tough rookie season for Alexis Lafreniere who picked up his first point in seven games Wednesday with an assist. Lafreniere, the first pick in the 2020 Draft, has only four goals and eight points in 31 games. Plenty of future stars had tough rookie seasons in the NHL (Joe Thornton is one of the notables) so do not forget about him next season...The Rangers coaching staff are in COVID protocol and will not be allowed to be behind the bench on the weekend of March 20.
OTTAWA
Games this week
vs. Calgary, vs. Calgary, vs. Toronto, @ Montreal
Tired: @ Toronto (Thursday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Senators play four games this week including three games in four nights...Matt Murray (if healthy) should get three starts as Joey Daccord suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s third period with Filip Gustavsson next in line to get one start although Anton Forsberg, who was claimed off waivers from Winnipeg, could also get the start...Murray has been out since the weekend with an upper-body injury...The Senators sent Erik Brannstrom to the minors to get in some playing time...Colin White is day-to-day with an upper-body injury...Josh Norris is centering a line with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle in what could be one of the NHL’s best lines in a couple of seasons.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders, vs. New Jersey, vs. New York Rangers, vs. New York Rangers
Tired: vs. New Jersey (Tuesday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Flyers play all four games on the road in New York this week, including three games in four nights...Carter Hart continues to struggle this season but Brian Elliott’s start against the Rangers was horrible as well so the slumping Flyers could have both share the net...Hart has two wins in his last three appearances but has given up 11 goals on 65 shots and going even further, has given up 16 goals on 86 shots in his last five times in net...Shayne Gostisbehere’s defensive deficiency’s has gotten him a seat in the press box the last two games...Oskar Lindblom scored twice Thursday after being a healthy scratch Wednesday, his first goal in 22 games and first point since March 4, seven games ago.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, vs. Buffalo, vs. New York Islanders
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Penguins placed Evgeni Malkin on the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury...He could return this week as he will be eligible beginning the start of the week...Jared McCann is due to return to action from his upper-body injury as he has been practicing with the team...Same goes for Mark Friedman who is close to returning...Tristan Jarry saw his four-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday. He has really picked up his game after a very slow start to the season as he is 12-8-1 with a 2.90 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He gave up nine goals in his first two starts of the season on only 33 shots and gave up less than three goals in his first nine starts only once...Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 12 goals, one better than Sidney Crosby.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
vs. Los Angeles, vs. Los Angeles, @ Arizona, @ Arizona
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Sharks play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Martin Jones and Devan Dubnyk should share the net...Tomas Hertl had two assists Wednesday and also had his first NHL fight as he battled the Golden Knights Mark Stone who dished out a big hit on Timo Meier before Hertl came to his defense...Marcus Sorensen missed 10 days as he was on the COVID protocol list and was upset as the results were a false positive and had to sit out the time because of a county rule in San Jose...Erik Karlsson is not interested in the Sharks rebuilding the team as he stated he did not sign with the Sharks to do what he did in Ottawa and that was be a part of a rebuild.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ Vegas, @ Minnesota, vs. Anaheim, vs. Anaheim
Tired: vs. Anaheim (Friday)
Rested: None
Notes
The Blues play four games this week so expect to see Jordan Binnington play three times and Ville Husso once as they play three games in four nights...Jaden Schwartz could be back in the St. Louis lineup as early as March 19 after being out since February 12 with a lower-body injury. The Blues certainly could use his skill as a top-six forward as they have fallen to fourth place in the West...Colton Parayko has started to do some light skating as he has been out since February 15 with an upper-body injury...The Blues did get Tyler Bozak back in the lineup Wednesday for the first time since January 26, a span of 21 games, due to a concussion...With Tarasenko and Bozak back and the imminent return of Schwartz, the Blues are ready to move up the standings.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
@ Dallas, @ Dallas, @ Carolina
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Lightning moved into sole possession of first place in the Central with a 4-2 win Thursday over the Blackhawks...Victor Hedman has continued his Norris Trophy pace and leads the Lightning with 29 points in 29 games, one better than Steven Stamkos and two on top of Ondrej Palat and Brayden Point...Hedman picked up his 500th career point Tuesday...Pat Maroon had a pair of fights Monday and has 44 minutes as well as three goals and 10 points...The Lightning will likely need a new backup goaltender as Curtis McElhinney has not done the job this season...He is only 2-3-1 with a 3.19 GAA and a .874 save percentage and is not providing Andrei Vasilevskiy much in the way of relief...Vasilevskiy by the way, is 19-3-1 with a 1.90 GAA and a .932 save percentage.
TORONTO
Games this week
@ Ottawa, vs. Edmonton
Tired: None
Rested: @ Ottawa (Thursday), vs. Edmonton (Saturday)
Notes
The Maple Leafs play only two games this week for the second week in a row...They have lost five of their last six games but are still in first place in the North...The Leafs get the rare opportunity this season to be the rested team both times this week as they will face Ottawa and Edmonton who both will have played the night before...Jack Campbell has played sensationally for Toronto this season, the problem being that injuries have kept him from playing in all but three games. He is scheduled to return this weekend and could split games with Frederik Andersen...Wayne Simmonds is also due back as he has been out since February 6 with a broken wrist...Look for Alex Galchenyuk to get his opportunity in Toronto shortly but the Maple Leafs will not rush him...Auston Matthews continues to lead the Rocket Richard race but has seen his lead in goals shrink to one, over Connor McDavid.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. Winnipeg, vs. Winnipeg
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Canucks have been receiving great goaltending from Thatcher Demko of late as he has taken over the number one job in Vancouver. He has played twice as much as Braden Holtby and deservedly so...Demko is 11-10-1 with a 2.69 GAA and a .920 save percentage and outside of giving up five goals in a loss to Montreal on March 10, he has won his other seven games in March, giving up only nine goals on 246 shots to get the Canucks back in the playoff picture...Brock Boeser is having a great season with 15 goals and 30 points as well as a plus-one rating...Elias Pettersson has missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury ...Quinn Hughes has only four assists in his last 11 contests.
VEGAS
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, @ Colorado, @ Colorado
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Golden Knights placed Alex Pietrangelo on the long-term injured reserve list with an upper-body injury that has kept him on the shelf since March 6...Shea Theodore has taken over running the power play since Pietrangelo’s absence and has a five-game scoring streak on the line with two goals and eight points...Robin Lehner has returned to the Vegas lineup, albeit as the backup goalie Wednesday as he has recovered from a concussion suffered on February 7...He will lighten the load on Marc-Andre Fleury who has been tremendous this season...Mark Stone is having an outstanding season and should get some consideration for the Hart Trophy as he has led the Golden Knights on the ice and on the scoresheet with 34 points in 26 games.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
vs. New Jersey, vs. New Jersey, vs. New York Rangers
Tired: None
Rested: vs. New York Rangers (Sunday)
Notes
The Capitals have a nice goaltending battle on their hands with rookie Vitek Vanecek and second-year player Ilya Samsonov...It should bode well for the remainder of the regular season for Washington but a tough decision may have to be made before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs as almost all contenders tend to run one goaltender in the post-season...Congratulations go out to Alex Ovechkin who scored his 718th career goal Tuesday, passing Phil Esposito for sixth place all-time in NHL goal scoring...Ovechkin has been hot of late with goals in four straight games and five of the last six...The Capitals have not ruled out a return to the lineup of Henrik Lundqvist this season as the veteran goaltender is recovering from open-heart surgery in early January and has been skating for almost a month.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ Vancouver, @ Calgary, @ Calgary
Tired: None
Rested: None
Notes
The Jets play four games this week including three games in four nights so look for Connor Hellebuyck to get three starts with Laurent Brossoit picking up one...Kyle Connor has a pair of two goal games this past week, giving him 16 in 30 games thus far with eight coming on the power play...Mark Scheifele remains firmly entrenched in the top-10 of NHL scoring with 37 points as he sits fifth overall while Nikolaj Ehlers is 14th with 31 points...Pierre-Luc Dubois had a three assist night on Wednesday and has four goals and 10 points in 15 games with the Jets after picking up one point in five games with Columbus before he was traded to Winnipeg.