The Week Ahead: Hellebuyck shines

The NHL is just past the halfway mark in the season and Nathan MacKinnon leads the league in points with 68, five better than Leon Draisaitl, with Mikko Rantanen in third place with 60 points.

Connor Hellebuyck leads all goaltenders who qualify in wins, GAA and save percentage, and is set to win his second straight Vezina Trophy.

All statistics are through Saturday's games unless otherwise noted.  

WEEK OF JANUARY 13-19

4 Games – Calgary, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia

3 Games – Anaheim, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas, Washington,

Winnipeg

2 Games – Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Minnesota

Calgary plays all four games on the road.

Colorado, Nashville, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, Utah and Winnipeg play three games at home.

Anaheim, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles, the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, San Jose and Vegas play three games on the road.

ANAHEIM

Games this week: @ Washington, @ Tampa Bay, @ Florida

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Troy Terry has missed the last two games ahead of Saturday's game for the birth of his child. He should play all three games this week...Jackson LaCombe is on a four-game point streak with a pair of goals and two assists. He has eight goals and 18 points in 34 contests and has taken over quarterbacking the first power-play unit...Trevor Zegras has resumed skating and likely will return to action when the Ducks return home after this week.

BOSTON

Games this week: vs. Tampa Bay, @ Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Bruins were on a six-game losing streak before Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over Florida...It has not been Jeremy Swayman's year. The netminder missed all of training camp as an unsigned restricted free agent (RFA). When he did ink a deal at the end of camp, he entered the season behind everyone as far as conditioning was concerned. It has taken its toll on the Bruins as Swayman is 14-15-3 with a 2.91 GAA and an .895 save percentage.

BUFFALO

Games this week: vs. Carolina, vs. Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Jack Quinn had a pair of goals Thursday in Ottawa and has six goals and 11 points in his last 11 outings...Dylan Cozens also found the back of the net in the same game and is currently centering the top line, with Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker on his wings...Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 5-1-1 with a 2.41 GAA and a .917 save percentage in his last seven games, including one mediocre performance in Colorado where he gave up six goals on 29 shots.

CALGARY

Games this week: @ Chicago, @ St. Louis, @ St. Louis, @ Winnipeg

Tired: @ St. Louis (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Flames play a home-and-home series against the Blues...Look for Brayden Pachal or Martin Pospisil to add to their penalty minute totals if there are any fisticuffs...They also play four games this week, all on the road, including three games in four nights...Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar are expected to share the crease...Connor Zary is out of action indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered Tuesday. The good news is that he will not need surgery.

CAROLINA

Games this week: @ Buffalo, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Hurricanes only play twice this week...Dustin Tokarski picked up his first NHL shutout since the 2021-22 campaign, as he turned aside all 14 shots in a 2-0 win over Vancouver on Friday. Tokarski has been a pleasant surprise as the backup to Pyotr Kochetkov, going 4-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .907 save percentage thus far...Sebastian Aho has points in only one of his last six games, though he did manage a goal and two assists against the Penguins on Jan. 5.

CHICAGO  

Games this week: vs. Calgary, @ Nashville, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Vegas (Sunday)

Notes: Frank Nazar picked up his first goal of the season, a game-winner, Wednesday in a 3-1 win over Colorado. He has three points in 13 games and is seeing 1:58 of ice time on the power play. He was drafted 13th overall in 2022 and Chicago is giving him every chance to acclimate himself to the NHL this season...Petr Mrazek has had his woes of late, going 1-7-0 with a 4.32 GAA and a weak .858 save percentage over nine appearances.

COLORADO

Games this week: vs. New York Rangers, vs. Edmonton, vs. Dallas

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Edmonton (Thursday)

Notes: The Avalanche play all three games at home this week...Jonathan Drouin missed Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury but returned Thursday and picked up a pair of assists. He has three goals and seven assists in 10 appearances this season...Juuso Parssinen has moved up the depth chart to center the second unit, between Ross Colton and Artturi Lehkonen. Parssinen has a goal and an assist in his last three games.

COLUMBUS

Games this week: vs. Philadelphia, vs. San Jose, @ New York Rangers  

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Philadelphia (Tuesday)

Notes: The Blue Jackets lost Sean Monahan for a while with a wrist injury... Adam Fantilli moved up to the top line replacing Monahan, giving the 20-year-old sophomore a lot of fantasy value in the short-term...Luca Del Bel Belluz was recalled this past week and had a goal and an assist in his season debut. The Blue Jackets are quite high on the 21-year-old, who was selected 44th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. He had 17 goals and 20 assists to lead the AHL in scoring before his recall.

DALLAS

Games this week: @ Toronto, vs. Montreal, @ Colorado, vs. Detroit  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Stars complete a five-game road trip in Toronto...Dallas plays four games this week including three games in four nights...Jake Oettinger is slated to start three times with Casey DeSmith playing once...Evgenii Dadonov has three goals and five assists in his last eight games...I've been disappointed with the offensive play of Logan Stankoven, who has not found the back of the net (and has only five assists) in his last 24 outings.

DETROIT

Games this week: vs. San Jose, @ Florida, @ Tampa Bay, @ Dallas   

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Red Wings play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Cam Talbot should get at least two starts and is expected to share the net with Alex Lyon, if Lyon (upper body) is ready to play. Otherwise, Ville Husso should get at least one start...Patrick Kane is on a six-game point streak with four goals and seven assists. All of a sudden, his year-to-date stats look okay as he has nine goals and 25 points in 36 appearances.

EDMONTON

Games this week: vs. Los Angeles, @ Minnesota, @ Colorado, @ Vancouver

Tired: @ Colorado (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Oilers play three games in four nights, as part of their four-game week...Stuart Skinner should get three starts with Calvin Pickard playing once...Evander Kane has yet to play this season due to hip woes and he had another setback this week as he underwent knee surgery that will keep him out of the lineup for another 4-8 weeks...Mattias Ekholm has three goals and seven points in his last 12 games, including three goals and six points in seven home games.

FLORIDA

Games this week: @ Philadelphia, @ New Jersey, vs. Detroit, vs. Anaheim

Tired: @ New Jersey (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Panthers play four times this week, including three games in four nights...Sergei Bobrovsky will get at least two starts and possibly three, while Spencer Knight will get the remainder of the starts...Aaron Ekblad has missed two of the last three games with an undisclosed injury...Eetu Luostarinen has four goals in his last 10 appearances...Aleksander Barkov has only one goal and three points in his last seven outings.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week: @ Edmonton, @ Vancouver, @ Seattle

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Kings had their game versus Calgary postponed Wednesday due to the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles...The game has yet to be rescheduled...Darcy Kuemper has won his last four games, allowing only five goals on 113 shots. He is 12-2-5 with a 2.16 GAA and a .919 save percentage, as he has put his poor performance last season with Washington behind him...Kevin Fiala has four goals in his last 11 games, but he has not had an assist.

MINNESOTA

Games this week: vs. Edmonton, @ Nashville  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Wild are still without Kirill Kaprizov, who will have missed nine straight games heading into their tilt with Edmonton to start the week...Marc-Andre Fleury has looked good in his last two starts, turning aside 43 out of 46 shots in garnering a pair of wins...Matt Boldy has two goals and five points in his last 10 games, including two goals and four points in his last three contests.

MONTREAL

Games this week: @ Utah, @ Dallas, vs. Toronto, vs. New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Canadiens play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Jakub Dobes and Sam Montembeault should share the crease...Dobes has won all three starts to begin his NHL career. He has not had the easiest of opponents as he has defeated Florida, Colorado and Washington, all on the road. He has a 0.97 GAA and a .959 save percentage. The Canadiens may have found their goaltender of the future...Patrik Laine missed four games with the flu but returned Saturday and scored his ninth goal of the season in 14 games, all on the power play.

NASHVILLE

Games this week: vs. Vegas, vs. Chicago, vs. Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Predators continue to confound the pundits and you have to wonder if they are ready to throw in the towel on this season and trade away pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) Gustav Nyquist...Filip Forsberg snapped an 18-game goalless drought, though he did have 16 helpers during the streak...Luke Evangelista is out for four weeks with a lower-body injury...Roman Josi has seven goals and 27 points in 37 games. While that's a great season for most, Josi had 85 points last season.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week: vs. Florida, @ Toronto, vs. Philadelphia, vs. San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Florida (Tuesday)

Notes: The Devils play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Jacob Markstrom should get at least two starts and maybe three, while Jake Allen will get the rest of the starts...Markstrom has been everything the Devils could have hoped for when they dealt for him in the offseason to cure their goaltending woes. He is 21-8-3 with three shutouts, a 2.19 GAA and a .911 save percentage after Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over Tampa Bay...Timo Meier has only 14 goals and 29 points in 44 contests.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week: vs. Ottawa, vs. Philadelphia, vs. San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Islanders played Ilya Sorokin in 14 out of 15 games, but he missed Saturday's game with an illness, allowing Marcus Hogberg to get a rare start...Noah Dobson has only five goals and 21 points in 41 games, a far cry from last season when the blueliner had 10 goals and 60 assists in 79 outings...Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist Thursday, his first goal in 18 games. Nelson had only four assists during the 17 games, making him a non-factor in fantasy leagues.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week: @ Colorado, @ Utah, vs. Columbus, @ Montreal

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Rangers play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Igor Shesterkin should get three starts with Jonathan Quick playing once...Chris Kreider was placed on injured reserve (IR) with an upper-body injury...Adam Fox has five points in his last three games heading into action Saturday. He has had three straight seasons of double-digit goals but has only two thus far in 41 contests.

OTTAWA 

Games this week: @ New York Islanders, vs. Washington, vs. Boston, @ New Jersey

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Senators play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Linus Ullmark is still questionable with a back injury and may get one start near the end of the week. Anton Forsberg should get a pair of starts with Leevi Merilainen getting the remainder if Ullmark is unable to play...Shane Pinto got off to a horrid start with only a goal and two assists in his first 20 games. He has come back in the last four weeks with seven goals and nine points in 13 appearances.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week: vs. Florida, @ Columbus, @ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey

Tired: @ Columbus (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Flyers play four games this week, including three games in four nights...Their goaltending situation is currently in shambles as Samuel Ersson, Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov have not played well. Ersson will likely get at least two starts with Fedotov likely to get the remainder...Joel Farabee was a healthy scratch Saturday, halting his consecutive games played streak at 216...Jamie Drysdale scored his second goal of the season on Saturday.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week: vs. Seattle, @ Buffalo, @ Washington

Tired: @ Washington (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: Evgeni Malkin has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury...Alex Nedeljkovic patiently waited his turn after Tristan Jarry started eight out of nine games from Dec. 7-28. Nedeljkovic has started five of the last seven contests and could easily be considered the No. 1 goaltender in Pittsburgh at this time...Rickard Rakell has been on fire of late with 10 goals and 18 points in his last 14 outings.

SAN JOSE

Games this week: @ Detroit, @ Columbus, @ New York Islanders

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sharks continue to get outstanding goaltending performances from rookie Yaroslav Askarov. The 22-year-old was 3-2-2 with a 2.30 GAA and a .923 save percentage ahead of Saturday's tilt with Minnesota...Tyler Toffoli has 15 goals and 26 points in 44 contests...Jake Walman returned to action Saturday after missing eight games. The Sharks missed his offensive spark as he has five goals and 26 points in 32 games.

SEATTLE

Games this week: @ Pittsburgh, @ Winnipeg, vs. Los Angeles

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Kraken moved Kaapo Kakko to the top line alongside Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers and he responded with a pair of goals on Saturday, giving him seven markers this season...Chandler Stephenson is riding a five-game point streak with two goals and six points. The Saskatoon native has five goals and 24 assists in 42 games this season...Vince Dunn has eight goals and 18 points in 23 appearances this season but has gone without a point in each of his last three games.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week: vs. Calgary, vs. Calgary, @ Utah

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Calgary (Tuesday)

Notes: The Blues play back-to-back games at home versus Calgary...If there is any rough stuff, look for Brayden Schenn, who leads the Blues with 37 penalty minutes, to be involved...Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues with 19 goals and 38 points...Dylan Holloway has to be considered a great RFA signing. Holloway wasn't getting a lot of ice time with the Oilers and when St. Louis signed him to an offer sheet in the offseason, Edmonton did not match. Holloway has 15 goals and 32 points in 44 games, providing the Blues with another scorer.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week: @ Boston, vs. Anaheim, vs. Detroit

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Nikita Kucherov has a four-game point streak after going the previous two contests without a point...Michael Eyssimont snapped a 14-game goalless drought Thursday with his fourth goal of the season...Andrei Vasilevskiy has not allowed more than three goals in 13 straight games, dating back to Nov. 30...Brayden Point has 25 goals and 47 points in 36 contests...Victor Hedman has six goals and 31 points in 38 appearances, including a goal and 12 helpers on the power play.

TORONTO

Games this week: vs. Dallas, vs. New Jersey, @ Montreal

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Maple Leafs are hoping to get Anthony Stolarz (knee surgery) back in the next two weeks...The goaltending situation in Toronto is now reliant upon Joseph Woll and while he has played well for most of the season, he was beat up a bit Thursday in a 6-3 loss to Carolina...Auston Matthews had three goals and eight points in four games before he and the Maple Leafs were blanked 3-0 versus Vancouver on Saturday.

UTAH

Games this week: vs. Montreal, vs. New York Rangers, vs. St. Louis

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Utah suffered a big loss this week when Dylan Guenther was declared to be out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. The talented 21-year-old has 16 goals and 34 points in 40 games...Connor Ingram is back with the team after missing almost two months...The netminder dealt with an upper-body injury as well as the death of his mother. Our condolences to the Ingram family...Josh Doan was recalled from AHL Tucson.

VANCOUVER

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Edmonton

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Canucks look to be in shambles and yet knocked off the Maple Leafs on the road Saturday by a 3-0 count as Kevin Lankinen turned aside all 20 shots...Lankinen is one reason the Canucks are even in playoff contention as he is 16-7-6 with three shutouts, a 2.51 GAA and a .906 save percentage. That's a lot better than the Canucks thought they were getting when he inked a one-year, $875,000 contract just before the start of training camp...Tyler Myers has only two goals and 12 points this season, but he has a goal and three helpers in his last six games.

VEGAS

Games this week: @ Nashville, @ Colorado, @ Chicago

Tired: @ Chicago (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: Saturday saw the return of Ivan Barbashev to the lineup. Barbashev missed 10 games with an upper-body injury and was immediately put back on the top line, alongside Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, though he did not see any time on the top power play...Tanner Pearson was moved down the depth chart from the first line to the fourth with the return of Barbashev...Shea Theodore has four goals and 33 points in 41 games and is easily on pace to smash his career high in points as he had 52 during the 2021-22 campaign.

WASHINGTON

Games this week: vs. Anaheim, @ Ottawa, vs. Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)

Notes: The Capitals will rely on Logan Thompson this week as Charlie Lindgren was placed on IR with an upper-body injury suffered in a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal on Friday...Alex Ovechkin has 19 goals and 31 points in 27 games, but has gone four consecutive games without a goal...Ethen Frank has a goal and an assist in his first two career NHL games.

WINNIPEG

Games this week: vs. Vancouver, vs. Seattle, vs. Calgary

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Jets play all three games at home this week...They continue to be led by their top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi, but are also getting a strong performance from Nikolaj Ehlers, who has 14 goals...Connor Hellebuyck continues to have another Vezina Trophy-type season. He kicked out all 22 shots Saturday against Colorado for his sixth shutout of the season. Hellebuyck is 26-6-2 with a .928 save percentage.