Morning Briefing - 09/30: Podkolzin takes Edmonton's PP1, Bouchard's five points, Faber out
TL;DR
- Vasily Podkolzin ran Edmonton's top power play (65% of the team's PP time) with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins out, and turned it into 2 goals and 7 shots. He is rostered in 13% of ESPN leagues.
- Evan Bouchard opened with a hat trick and 5 points.
- Brock Faber is out with a fractured skull; Minnesota's blue line is reshuffling.
- JJ Peterka scored in his Bruins debut on a line with David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm.
- Paul Cotter scored twice in 11:51 for Vancouver.
- Shea Theodore kept Vegas's top power-play spot and picked up a power-play assist.
- Tristan Jarry allowed 6 on 23 shots; Devon Levi is a real candidate for Thursday at Vancouver.
Podkolzin takes over Edmonton's top power play
ADD · EDM · RW · 13% rostered
Vasily Podkolzin played 4:22 of Edmonton's 6:45 on the power play (65%) with Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Connor McDavid. Last season he took 11% of the team's PP time. He finished with 2 goals, 1 power-play point, 7 shots and 5 hits in 18:20, and skated at even strength with Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen.
The opening came from the injury report, not a coaching whim. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins suffered a lower-body injury in practice, and Mike Babcock put the timeline at roughly two weeks.
As long as Nugent-Hopkins is out, Podkolzin is a top-six forward on the league's best power play, and he is available in most leagues.
Bouchard's five-point opener
START · EDM · D
Evan Bouchard scored 3 goals, added 2 assists and put 6 shots on net in 25:41, against 2.7 shots and 1.16 points a game last season. He played 67.9% of Edmonton's power play. It was not enough - Edmonton lost 6-5 in overtime to Vancouver.
Faber out with a fractured skull
INJURY · MIN · D
Brock Faber opened the season on injured reserve, retroactive to last Friday, and the injury is a fractured skull. Minnesota has to cover his minutes, which pushes more ice time and power-play work to the rest of its defence.
Peterka scores in his Bruins debut, alongside Pastrnak
ADD · BOS · LW · 41% rostered
JJ Peterka scored in the third period of Boston's 3-0 win over the Rangers (watch the goal), assisted by Elias Lindholm and Hampus Lindholm. Line: 1 G, 1 SOG, +1 in 17:09, with 1:29 of power-play time on the first unit.
He played the night with David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm, the same trio Boston ran at practice before the opener, so this is the role, not a one-night look.
Cotter's two-goal night
WATCH · VAN · C · under 1% rostered
Paul Cotter scored twice on 3 shots in 11:51 on Vancouver's fourth line with Brendan Gallagher and Arshdeep Bains, with no power-play time. The goals are real; the role is not yet. He is a deep-league pickup only until the minutes grow.
Theodore keeps the top power play
START · VGK · D
Shea Theodore played 3:41 of Vegas's power play (68%) as the lone defenceman on the top unit with Jack Eichel, Tomas Hertl, Mark Stone and Mitch Marner, and finished with 2 assists, one of them on the power play. Vegas had been trying Victor Olofsson on the top unit in camp, which pointed to a five-forward look that would have cost Theodore the spot. It did not happen on opening night.
Bowen Byram had the same kind of night in Chicago: 3:07 of the team's 4:30 on the power play (69%), with Patrick Kane, Roman Kantserov, Anton Frondell and Tyler Bertuzzi.
The crease
- Tristan Jarry (EDM) allowed 6 goals on 23 shots in an overtime loss, 3.8 goals worse than the chances he faced. Edmonton plays at Vancouver on Thursday, and after that outing Devon Levi is a real candidate to see action there. Jarry is a hold, not a start, until Edmonton names Thursday's goalie.
- Jacob Markstrom (FLA) stopped all 15 shots in a 1-0 overtime win, +2.3 goals saved above expected.
- Jeremy Swayman (BOS) stopped all 24 in a 3-0 win, +2.2.
- Jakub Dobes (MTL) made 26 saves on 28 shots in a win at Toronto. Dobes is Montreal's starter.
- Kevin Lankinen (VAN) won but allowed 5 on 37, 1.3 below expected.
McCabe left the game, then came back
HOLD · TOR · D
Jake McCabe played 11:38 against a usual 22.4 because he left in the first period, not because he was benched. He went to the dressing room off the bench and returned to the ice to start the second.
He returned, so there is no roster move to make. Watch the injury report before Toronto's next game.
Top power play, under 30% rostered
Players who took more than half of their team's power-play time last night and are rostered in under 30% of ESPN leagues, with who they played beside.
| Player | Team | Rostered | PP share | PP time | Line | ES linemates | PP unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasily Podkolzin | EDM | 13% | 65% | 4:22 of 6:45 | 2 G, 1 PPP, 7 SOG | Draisaitl, Kapanen | Hyman, Draisaitl, Bouchard, McDavid |
| Roman Kantserov | CHI | 15% | 58% | 2:36 of 4:30 | 1 SOG | Kane, Moore | Kane, Byram, Frondell, Bertuzzi |
| Anton Frondell | CHI | 22% | 57% | 2:34 of 4:30 | 1 SOG | Bertuzzi, Mangiapane | Byram, Kane, Kantserov, Bertuzzi |
Frondell's even-strength linemate Andrew Mangiapane will miss at least the next two games with a lower-body injury, so Chicago's second line changes next game.
Ice time outside the usual
Each player against his own usual from last season. Until a player has ten games this season, last season is the comparison.
| Player | Team | Last night | Usual | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake McCabe | TOR | 11:38 | 22.4 | left in the 1st, returned (see above) |
| William Carrier | CAR | 6:46 | 10.8 | |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | CAR | 5:01 | 8.5 | fought Imama |
| Bokondji Imama | FLA | 6:03 | 7.6 | fought Deslauriers |
| Zach MacEwen | TOR | 5:25 |
Categories outside the usual
| Player | Team | Last night | Usual (last season) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Bouchard | EDM | 5 points, 6 shots | 1.16 points, 2.7 shots a game |
| Vasily Podkolzin | EDM | 7 shots | 1.7 a game |
| Jack Eichel | VGK | 3 points | 1.22 a game |
| William Nylander | TOR | 5 shots | 2.4 a game |
| Jordan Greenway | CHI | 5 shots | 0.8 a game |
| Niko Mikkola | FLA | 4 shots | 1 a game |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | NYR | 4 shots | 1.6 a game |
| Trevor Connelly | VGK | 4 shots | 1.5 a game |
| Nikita Zadorov | BOS | 8 hits | 2.4 a game |
| Matt Rempe | NYR | 6 hits | 3.3 a game |
Unlucky, no goal to show for real chances: John Tavares (TOR, 0.82 xG) and Tomas Hertl (VGK, 0.81 xG).
Injury notes
- EDM: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed the opener with a lower-body injury; approximate timeline two weeks.
- CHI: Andrew Mangiapane will miss at least the next two games, lower body.
- VGK: Raphael Lavoie was on the ice for the optional skate, non-contact.
- PIT: Blake Lizotte said he should be good to go for Wednesday's opener in Philadelphia; still listed day-to-day.