1
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Hurricanes
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Martin Necas is unconscious right now. He’s on a 13-game points streak that dates back to Oct. 22, and he has 13 goals and 10 assists in that span. Rewind just a few months and Necas’ name was coming up in trade rumors all over the place before he ultimately signed a two-year, $13 million contract. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make.
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1
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13-4-0
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2
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Jets
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For the first time all season, the Jets looked mortal in a couple games against the Lightning and Panthers. They did well to respond with a dominant win over the defending champs on Tuesday night to stop the bleeding. I’m still not totally sure what to make of Winnipeg’s 48.3% five-on-five expected goals share, which ranks 22nd in the NHL.
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1
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16-3-0
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3
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Wild
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Is Matt Boldy taking yet another step forward in his development? It certainly seems that way. Through 18 games, Boldy already has 10 goals and 19 points, and his five-on-five numbers are outstanding. Boldy’s 56.7% expected goals share is second on the team, and the Wild have a plus-8 goal differential with him on the ice. The 23-year-old is well on his way to NHL stardom.
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1
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12-3-3
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4
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Capitals
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There’s a lot to love about the Capitals this season, but a lot of that has been overshadowed by Alex Ovechkin’s leg injury. Thanks to a vintage Ovi heater, the Washington captain was leading the NHL with 15 goals, but he is now out week-to-week with a leg injury. For the sake of the Capitals and hockey fans everywhere, hopefully Ovechkin is back sooner rather than later.
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1
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13-4-1
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5
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Rangers
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For all the stars in New York, the line consisting of Filip Chytil between Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko might be the most effective. Those three have played just over 123 minutes together at five-on-five and outscored opponents 11-0 in that time. In total, that trio has combined for 13 goals and 21 assists on the season. That’s a quality bottom-six line.
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1
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12-4-1
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6
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Golden Knights
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With the holidays approaching Jack Eichel is in a giving mood. Eichel already has 23 assists this season, second only to Nathan MacKinnon’s preposterous total of 27. Eichel has been especially generous on the power play, where he’s recorded 11 helpers. Thanks to this hot start, Eichel is on pace for 104 assists, which would nearly double his current career high of 54.
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1
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11-5-2
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7
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Panthers
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Sam Bennett has been great since the Panthers acquired him in the 2020-21 season, but he has still never topped 50 points in a single season. That might change this year because Bennett already has 18 points in 18 games. Bennett flashed some of this offensive pop when he scored seven goals in 19 playoff games last year, and now he’s carried it over to the regular season.
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4
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12-6-1
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8
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Stars
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The Stars have the eighth-best record in the NHL, and their two best forwards haven’t played anywhere near their best hockey. Jason Robertson, who tallied 189 points in the previous two seasons, has four goals and hasn’t scored in almost a month. Roope Hintz, who has at least 65 points in each of his last three seasons, is on pace for 48. Once those two get going, Dallas is going to take off.
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—
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11-6-0
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9
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Devils
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Just as we all predicted in the preseason, Johnathan Kovacevic and Jonas Siegenthaler have been the Devils’ most effective defensive pairing. Those two have been dominant when on the ice, posting a plus-9 goal differential and a 57.8% expected goals share at five-on-five. Turns out New Jersey didn’t even need to sign Brett Pesce. Totally kidding … I think.
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2
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12-7-2
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10
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Maple Leafs
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The downfall of John Tavares might have been somewhat exaggerated. Tavares took a step back last year as a 33-year-old, and it looked like he might be on the downslope of the aging curve. This season, at 34, Tavares is defying Father Time with nine goals and eight assists in 17 games. On top of that, his five-on-five metrics remain strong. Never doubt the power of mystical amulets.
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2
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11-6-2
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11
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Lightning
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Roughly one year after returning from back surgery, Andrei Vasilevskiy once again looks like one of the best goalies on the planet. Vasilevskiy is seventh in the NHL with 6.86 goals saved above average, and his .919 save percentage ranks 12th. It’s good to see Vasilevskiy operating at full capacity after a down year.
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4
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10-6-1
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12
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Canucks
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I’ve noted Elias Pettersson’s early-season struggles a couple of times already, so I need to give him some credit for fighting through them. Pettersson has four goals and four assists in his last six games, and he’s up to 13 points on the year. Vancouver will need Pettersson to keep it rolling because the team just announced that star forward JT Miller will be out indefinitely due to personal reasons.
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2
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9-6-3
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13
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Oilers
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Last week, Connor McDavid recorded his 1,000th point in his 659th game. He became the fourth-fastest player to reach that milestone, behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy. That’s just another reminder that what we see from McDavid every night is borderline superhuman.
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1
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10-8-2
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14
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Kings
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Quinton Byfield finally came into his own last season, and I was hoping to see more of the same from him this season, but that just hasn’t happened yet. Byfield has just two goals and seven assists in 19 games, the Kings are barely breaking even with him on the ice at five-on-five. That said, there is hope for a breakthrough. Byfield is only shooting 5.4%, and he’s created just over four expected goals.
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5
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10-6-3
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15
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Avalanche
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The Avs continue to lean on their big guns, and it keeps working because players like Mikko Rantanen can completely take over a game. Rantanen is up to 12 goals on the season, and he has 10 points in his last five games. Rantanen has been especially lethal on the power play, where he’s now up to four goals and six assists. Colorado’s depth leaves a lot to be desired, but that’s okay when Rantanen is mauling opponents in his minutes.
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2
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10-9-0
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16
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Flames
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The Flames have exactly one player on pace for more than 50 points this season. Rasmus Andersson is on track to reach 51 points, but the next closest player is Jonathan Huberdeau. He has two points in his last eight games and is now on pace for 43 points. Despite all that, the Flames are above .500 and in the playoff picture with Thanksgiving on the horizon.
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3
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10-6-3
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17
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Kraken
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Jordan Eberle had six goals in his first eight games, and he hasn’t scored since. That means Eberle has now gone nine straight games without lighting the lamp, and that lack of offense is a big reason why Seattle has been stuck in neutral. The Kraken have allowed 55 goals and scored 55 goals. They’re tied for 11th in the former category and tied for 19th in the latter.
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7
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9-9-1
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18
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Senators
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At what point are we allowed to be concerned about Linus Ullmark? Because I’m starting to get there. The Senators’ new No. 1 goalie has struggled outside the strong defensive environment in Boston. Ullmark has allowed 4.33 goals above average, and his .884 save percentage ranks 55th in the NHL.
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2
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8-9-1
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19
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Sabres
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Zach Benson, the No. 13 overall pick in 2023, failed to record a point in his first seven games of the season. It was a disastrous start for the highly-touted youngster in his second NHL season, but he may have put that behind him. Benson now has goals in three of the Sabres’ last five games, and he has potential to improve their secondary scoring.
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4
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8-9-1
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20
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Flyers
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The Flyers are 4-1-1 in their last six games, and Travis Konecny is a big reason for this mini-run. Konecny is shouldering most of the offensive burden in Philly with six goals and seven assists in his last seven games. If the Flyers are going to keep this rolling they’ll need someone else to aid Konecny in the offensive zone.
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5
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8-9-2
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21
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Islanders
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The Islanders are Islander-ing very hard again this season. They’re scoring under 3.0 goals per game, but decent defense and Ilya Sorokin are keeping them in most games. I need this team to shake things up a little bit because things have gotten very stale on the island.
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—
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7-7-5
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22
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Bruins
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Jim Montgomery became the first coach to get fired yesterday, despite a .715 win percentage through 184 games in Boston. I’m very skeptical that firing Montgomery will fix this team’s woes. Can interim coach Joe Sacco suit up and score 30 goals this season? That’s the only way he turns things around.
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5
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8-9-3
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23
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Hockey Club
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Utah acquired Mikhail Sergachev from the Lightning in hopes he could be the team’s undisputed No. 1 defenseman. Through 18 games, Sergachev has handled that role well. He has a plus-3 goal differential and a 52.1% expected goals share to go along with 12 points. Those aren’t dominant numbers, but I think he should only get better as he gets more comfortable with his new surroundings.
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3
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7-8-3
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24
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Ducks
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Notable non-Flyer Cutter Gauthier scored his first NHL goal last week against Detroit, and he added another on in the next game against the Stars. When the Ducks swapped Jamie Drysdale for Gauthier, they were hoping he could be an impact player up front. It was a slow start for Gauthier, but the rookie might be starting to find his way at the NHL level.
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4
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8-8-2
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25
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Blues
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The Blues started November with wins over the Maple Leafs and Lightning, but they’ve gone 1-5-1 since then. Their goal differential in that stretch is minus-15, and they’ve gotten shelled at five-on-five. St. Louis just hasn’t been able to survive a plethora of injuries to its already shaky blue line.
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3
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8-11-1
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26
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Red Wings
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Is the Yzerplan going to kick into high gear soon? If not, it’s going to be a very long year in Detroit because the Red Wings are a bad hockey team right now. Their 45.2% expected goals share at five-on-five ranks 28th. They’re 29th in goals scored and 20th in goals against. A total of three players are on pace for at least 20 goals. Other than that, all is well in Motown.
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8
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7-9-2
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27
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Penguins
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Pittsburgh has now blown leads in eight of their 14 losses, and it had a multiple-goal lead in five of those. Thanks to a combination of haphazard defense and atrocious goaltending, the Penguins have left quite a few points on the table already this season.
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1
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7-10-4
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28
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Predators
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I’ve touched on the Predators’ five-on-five woes here and there, but Jonathan Marchessault has been particularly bad. In over 248 minutes at full strength, Marchessault has yet to record a full point. I guess Nashville can take solace in the fact that he has created 2.43 expected goals – fifth on the team – but he needs to start converting before the Preds fall out of the playoff race.
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1
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6-10-3
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29
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Sharks
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The most effective defenseman on San Jose this season has been Jake Walman, who the Sharks acquired from the Red Wings for next to nothing in the offseason. Walman is the only Shark above water in five-on-five expected goals share, and he has a plus-2 goal differential in those situations.
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2
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6-10-4
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30
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Blue Jackets
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The Blue Jackets recently claimed Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Predators, and I think it was a worthwhile gamble. Fabbro couldn’t crack the lineup in Nashville, but he was effective enough in his minutes and showed the ability to hold his own alongside Roman Josi. Now, Fabbro already has three points in his first four games with Columbus.
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—
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7-9-2
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31
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Canadiens
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Juraj Slafkovsky returned from injury on Oct. 29. Since then, he has zero goals and five assists in 10 games. Slafkovsky made some real strides last season, but he’s been unable to make much of an impact lately. That might be a lingering effect of his injury, but this stretch is still a little troubling for Montreal.
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1
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7-10-2
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32
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Blackhawks
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Taylor Hall had his 2023-24 season cut short due to an ACL injury, and he just hasn’t been the same since returning. Hall has two goals and four assists this season, and he was a healthy scratch on Saturday. The Blackhawks brought in Hall to help insulate Connor Bedard as he gets adjusted to the NHL, but Hall’s injury derailed that plan.
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3
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6-12-1
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