Morning Skate - Wednesday, November 9

Morning Skate - Stats, Sound Bites & Watching in the West

November 09, 2022

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Yesterday's NHL Scores

Last Night's News đź“°

DEADPOOL IS DEAD SERIOUS: During an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon, "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds confirmed his rumored interest in buying the Ottawa Senators. Reynolds acknowledged that he would need help with the purchase of a franchise recently valued at $655 million, telling Fallon that he is looking for "a partner with really deep pockets."

NEIL TO THE RAFTERS: Yesterday, Ottawa announced it would retire Chris Neil's number (25) on Feb. 17. He played his entire 15-year career with the Senators, appearing in 1,026 games. Neil compiled 112 goals and 138 assists for 250 points and tallied 2,522 penalty minutes. Throughout his career, he became a fan favorite and leader in the Ottawa community.

KANE LEAVES GAME WITH INJURY: It was a scary moment for Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane. In the second period of last night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Kane sustained a deep cut when Pat Maroon accidentally skated over his left wrist. Edmonton announced that Kane went to the hospital for a procedure and that the 31-year-old was in stable condition.

LEG-GING BEHIND: A pair of players are shelved for an extended period thanks to lower-body injuries. Valeri Nichushkin will be out for a month after ankle surgery following an injury against the New York Rangers on Oct. 25. Meanwhile, Filip Zadina is "week-to-week, month-to-month" after blocking a shot on Saturday against the New York Islanders.

DUCKS FLY TOGETHER: Anaheim Ducks forwards Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, and Max Jones carried on the tradition of NHL players making cameos in "The Mighty Ducks" franchise, this time joining "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers" series. Hoping to "bring out the fun in the game," the trio had a blast filming the latest episode.

Who Said It

1) "She definitely has [inspired people]. It was one of those things where you never would have known she was sick. She never complained and didn't really change anything, maybe only when she was tired. She never put that on anyone else. She fought her hardest. You hope that other people can do the same."

A. Tage ThompsonB. Tyler SeguinC. Blake Coleman 

2) "From the players to the training staff to the coaches, everyone is a good person And they want to win, which is a big thing that drew me to come here. The competitiveness and the will to succeed is definitely there."

A. Evander KaneB. Mason MarchmentC. Claude Giroux 

3) "I know it's cliché, but the one bit of advice that has stayed with me is the idea of having fun. Looking back, my dad played 18 years, but he said it flew by. I want to enjoy every minute of it. There is going to be good and bad, but whatever it is, you have to take it in stride. You can build from those good moments and learn from the tough times. I feel pretty blessed to be here and I want to make sure I'm able to enjoy all of it."

A. Jake SandersonB. Ryan SuterC. Brady Tkachuk

Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.

Wacky Wednesday (Pt. 7)

There is never a dull moment in hockey, so we will keep you updated on all the "wacky" stats from around the NHL during the 2022-23 season. Here is part seven of our "Wacky Wednesday" series—enjoy!

Karlsson's Groundbreaking Season Continues

San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson continues his incredible comeback season with 19 points in 14 games, which leads all NHL defensemen at the moment. Something else to come from that streak is that he had 10 goals in 13 games, which made him the fastest defenseman to record 10-plus goals in a season since Georges Mantha back in the 1937-38 season—85 years ago!

Mr. 300

Claude Giroux scored his 300th NHL goal as a member of the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 6. What made the milestone invigorating and bittersweet is that the goal came in his first game against the Philadelphia Flyers a little over two minutes into the contest. He spent 15 years in Philadelphia, where he played 1,000 games.

All Finnish

Nov. 4 was a special day for the NHL and Finland. While the Colorado Avalanche were facing the Columbus Blue Jackets in Tampere as part of the 2022 NHL Global Series, Avs forward Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick. In North America, Carolina Hurricanes centerman Sebastian Aho also recorded a hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres. It became the first day in NHL history that two Finnish-born players scored hat tricks.

Crosby's Apples

Sidney Crosby hit another milestone in his future Hall-of-Fame career on Nov. 6 when the Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Seattle Kraken. He officially recorded 900th career assist on a Jake Guentzel goal and became the sixth-fastest and 20th player to reach the milestone in NHL history. He achieved the feat in his 1,120th career game.

'Fun to Watch' Rankings: Western Conference

Yesterday's newsletter covered

we've enjoyed watching over the first one-eighth or so of the 2022-23 NHL season. If we're being honest with ourselves, though, it is the West that's been more fun. Find out why in our top-five "Fun to Watch" rankings for the Western Conference.

5) Vegas Golden Knights

Even while they were turning heads league-wide with a miraculous trip to the Stanley Cup Final in their expansion season, the Vegas Golden Knights weren't all that fun to watch, per se. That team smothered opponents with heady, 200-foot play. However, this year's surprising Golden Knights are winning games with an exciting brand of hockey. Vegas' top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Chandler Stephenson is blazing fast,

, and the energy level at T-Mobile Arena is always high.

4) Winnipeg Jets

For now, the most fun part about the Winnipeg Jets might be that no one is talking about their internal dysfunction. Thriving under new head coach Rick Bowness, the veteran forward core of Mark Scheifele, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler, and Kyle Connor continues to produce, as homegrown players

and Adam Lowry have stood out. Oh, and having an all-world goaltender like Connor Hellebuyck helps, too.

3) Edmonton Oilers

You know the drill here—

is pretty good, and

is no slouch. Meanwhile, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evander Kane have delivered another layer of offensive firepower. You never quite know what you're getting from new No. 1 netminder Jack Campbell, but isn't that part of the fun? No, not for a Stanley Cup contender? Okay then.

2) Colorado Avalanche

Valeri Nicushkin (lower-body injury)

after a torrid start to the season, and captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee surgery)

until the new year. And still, the Colorado Avalanche machine keeps rolling. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen rank among the league's top scorers, and Cale Makar is averaging more than an assist per game. That the Avs are only 6-4-1 is moderately surprising, but they look like they can reel off a 10-game win streak almost at will.

1) Seattle Kraken

How could a lowly Seattle Kraken team—coming off of a forgettable performance in their expansion season—top the defending Stanley Cup champions and the team boasting the league's two top scorers? Although this is, admittedly, a pick made relative to expectations rather than based purely on merit. However, there's no denying that newcomer André Burakovsky and Calder candidate

have the underdog Kraken punching above their weight, notching notable victories over the likes of Calgary, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota.

"Who Said It" Answers

NHL Standings

NHL's Leading Scorers

Today's NHL Schedule