April 21 — Silver Linings, Scoring Races & the Savings Club

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Yesterday’s NHL Scores

Last Night’s News 📰

FEELING A DRAFT (LOTTERY): Those hoping to grab the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft in Montreal may want to circle May 10 on their calendar, as that is when the NHL Draft Lottery will take place. The reveal of the draft order will take place remotely. Expect Kingston Frontenacs star Shane Wright and Slovakian Olympic hero Juraj Slafkovsky to be two of the top picks in this summer’s draft.

KESSEL TO THE PENGUINS: As in, Amanda Kessel. The decorated American women’s hockey star will join the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new executive management program, which could put her on the fast track to an NHL front office job. The three-time Olympic medalist hopes to follow the path of female hockey executives like Cammi Granato, Émilie Castonguay, and former teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield.

OVECHKIN TIES GRETZKY & BOSSY: For the ninth time in his career, Alexander Ovechkin scored 50 goals in a season, tying Wayne Gretzky and the late Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons in the NHL. Ovechkin’s two tallies marked the 158th multigoal game of his career, which ties Brett Hull for second place behind Gretzky (189). 

WILD WEDNESDAY: Alex Vlasic and Nathan Smith traded first career goals, while Alex DeBrincat notched his 40th in the Chicago Blackhawks’ overtime victory over the Arizona Coyotes. Connor McDavid retook the scoring race lead as the Seattle Kraken held off the Avalanche in the four games across the NHL Wednesday night. 

Who Said It

1) “It’s been good, very easy to fit in. The fans have been awesome through social media and the media room, before and after games, and there are 25-30 covering the team. I’m very extroverted and it’s been fun to talk to a lot of different people…”

A. Frank Vatrano
B. Claude Giroux
C. Scott Wedgewood

2) “The top three worst things I’ve seen in hockey? The invention of the trap. The invention of the morning skate. And the invention of the extremely ugly uniform.”

A. Tie Domi
B. Eric Lindros
C. Brett Hull

3) “My jersey hanging from the ceiling is going to be a symbol of the hard work of the people I played with.”

A. Mark Messier
B. Martin Brodeur
C. Jaromir Jágr

Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.

By the Numbers: 10K-Save Club

On Tuesday night, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy reached 10,000 career saves in the Lightning’s 4-3 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The 27-year-old is 35-18-5 with a 2.49 goals-against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage (SV%) in 59 games this season and became the 101st goalie in NHL history to reach the milestone. Here is a look at some remarkable numbers regarding the 10,000-save club.

22 – Active players, including Vasilevskiy, with at least 10,000 career saves. Of those 22, Minnesota Wild netminder Marc-André Fleury is at the top with 24,306 career saves and is fifth all-time.

361 – Games it took Vasilevskiy to get to 10,000 saves. He currently sits at 10,023, which is 167 fewer than the next person on the list. Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner has 10,190 saves through 363 games.

.922 – Dominik Hašek’s SV% is the best of any goaltender with at least 10,000 career saves. He also has the lowest GAA (2.20) of any player in the club. Hašek played 16 seasons in the NHL (1990-2008), spending most of his time with the Buffalo Sabres. He finished his career with 18,648 saves, the 19th-most all-time, before his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

3 – Players in the 10,000-save club whose careers lasted shorter than 10 seasons. Tim Thomas (11,795 saves) and Jonas Hiller (10,262) each played in the NHL for nine years, while Ken Dryden (10,213) played for eight years. Six active players with 10,000 saves have yet to reach 10 seasons in the NHL, including Vasilevskiy, who is in his eighth year. Of those six, Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Anderson has the most saves (12,094 in nine seasons), and Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck has played the least (seven seasons, 10,565 saves).

28,928 – Saves New Jersey Devils legend Martin Brodeur made during his 22-year NHL career, which is the most of any goaltender in league history. Brodeur also leads all goalies in games played (1,266), shots faced (31,709), and goals allowed (2,781). The next-closest person on the all-time saves list is former Florida Panthers star Roberto Luongo, who had 28,409 saves in 1,044 career games.

Late Season Silver Linings

Through our “Have a Good Summer” series, we’ve tried to spare a thought for those sitting on the sidelines as the postseason begins in less than two weeks. However, playoff spots aren’t the only motivation driving teams at this time. Some are trying to wash out the taste of a disappointing season with some encouraging late play, while others are looking to young players to seize opportunities through late-season tryouts.

While everyone wants to be the Florida Panthers or Colorado Avalanche right now, some teams are still experiencing positive gains without necessarily poring over the NHL standings each day. Let’s look at some clubs finding silver linings late in a season that won’t last beyond the next 10 days. And no, I don’t mean in a “better odds for the No. 1 pick” way.

New York Islanders

You can already see articles about the New York Islanders being early sleepers for the 2022-23 season. While it was too little, too late to mean anything for their once-promising Stanley Cup hopes for this year, the Isles’ 15-8-2 mark since March 3 signals that the club has moved past whatever the heck was going on with them over the first half of the season.

Seattle Kraken

In what might be the most significant organizational development of the Seattle Kraken’s expansion season, Matty Beniers is good. Like, really good. In just four NHL games to date, the 2021 No. 2 overall pick has two goals and two assists while sparking a renewed energy into the Kraken fan base. Beniers looks like a lock to stick with the big club next year, even if he won’t turn 20 until November.

The Spoilers

Shout-out to those finding their own ways to impact the playoff picture by making life tough on other postseason hopefuls. In just the past few days alone, the Ottawa Senators knocked off the surging Vancouver Canucks in overtime, and the New Jersey Devils shocked the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s easy to dismiss the value of these wins on also-ran teams, but winning games against talented, motivated teams is bound to build character and confidence.

Who Said It Answers

1) Scott Wedgewood
2) Brett Hull
3) Mark Messier

NHL Standings

NHL’s Leading Scorers

Today’s NHL Schedule