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Twitter: @Nichols_NHLPool/ Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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NHL Free Agents: Western Conference

NHL Free Agents: Eastern Conference

NEW YORK ISLANDERS 3 @ PHILADELPHIA FLYERS 4 (OT)

Goaltending match-up: Al Montoya (39/43, .907 SV%) vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (32/35, .914 SV%)

Combos: Matt Moulson - John Tavares - P.A. Parenteau/ Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo/ Blake Comeau - Josh Bailey - Rob Schremp/ Matt Martin - Zenon Konopka - Michael Haley/ Andrew MacDonald - Travis Hamonic/ Jack Hillen - Mark Katic/ Bruno Gervais - Ty Wishart

Scratches: Gillies, Martinek, Jurcina

Top PP times: Hamonic, Grabner, Schremp, Comeau, Bailey (1:26)

Trending: Frans Nielsen (1G, no PP, 3 SOG) scored the last time he met the Flyers and had 2-8-10 in 12 GP this month coming in. Jack Hillen (1A, -3, no PP, 1 SOG) had quietly tallied 6A in 9 GP coming in, including 16 PIM. Matt Martin's (2G, +3, no PP, 2 SOG) multi-goal effort helped the game to extra time and he has points in three of six too. Travis Hamonic (1A, +1, no SOG) chipped in late and has been an incredible source of points and PIM this month from the back end. Andrew MacDonald (1A, +2, 0:34 PP, no SOG) has points in three straight after a bit of a dry spell.

Combos: James van Riemsdyk - Mike Richards - Kris Versteeg/ Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jeff Carter/ Andreas Nodl - Danny Briere - Ville Leino/ Jody Shelley - Darroll Powe - Dan Carcillo/ Matt Carle - Chris Pronger/ Kimmo Timonen - Braydon Coburn/ Sean O'Donnell - Andrej Meszaros

Scratches: Bartulis, Betts, Zherdev

Top PP times: Carter (1:31), Hartnell (1:31), Meszaros (1;31), Timonen (1:31), Giroux (1:26)

Trending: Mike Richards (1G, +1, 0:34 PP, 2 SOG) came into tonight only 11 points shy of last year’s total of 61 points. He had 32 points in 35 GP vs. NYI before this outing too. Scott Hartnell (1A, +1, 1 SOG) had four points in five games coming in after beginning the month with nothing in five. James van Riemsdyk (1G, +2, 0:29 PP, 4 SOG) has found the back of the net in three of six and had four points in five games before tonight. Check out his second period goal on the highlight reel. Claude Giroux (2A, +2, 2 SOG) already had 32 points in 30 home games before this evening. Jeff Carter (1G, 1A, +1, 2 PIM, 4 SOG) had nine points in 10 February games coming in and he started this game only eight points back of last season’s 61. Chris Pronger left in the last half of the third period, but all's good. X-Rays on his wrist were apparently negative and he will play this weekend. Ville Leino (1A, +1, no PP, 2 SOG) has a point in three of four with 42 on the season and both Andrej Meszaros (1G, +2, 7 SOG) and Matt Carle (1A, -2, 0:29 PP, 2 SOG) have three points each this month.

DALLAS STARS 4 @ DETROIT RED WINGS 1

Goaltending match-up: Kari Lehtonen (38/39, .974 SV%) vs. Jimmy Howard (21/24, .875 SV%)

Combos: Brenden Morrow - Mike Ribeiro - Jason Williams/ Jamie Benn - Tomas Vincour - Loui Eriksson/ Steve Ott - Adam Burish - Jamie Langenbrunner/ Krys Barch - Tom Wandell - Toby Petersen/ Alex Goligoski - Stephane Robidas/ Mark Fistric - Karlis Skrastins/ Jeff Woywitka - Trevor Daley

Scratches: Grossman, Sutherby, Richards

Top PP times: Eriksson (3:34), Morrow (3:34), Daily (3:19), Woywitka (3:03), Goligoski (2:57)

Trending: Loui Eriksson (1G, +1, 5 SOG) scored his first SHG of the season and already had 15 points in 18 GP vs. DET coming in. This was Jamie Benn’s (1A, +2, 2:54 PP, 1 SOG) second game back in the line-up and first time in the box score. Mike Ribeiro (1G, +1, 2 PIM, 2:31 PP, 6 SOG) has points in three of four and hit the 50-point plateau in the first period. Brenden Morrow (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 2 SOG) has a point in seven of 10 now. Alex Goligoski (1A, +3, 4 PIM, no SOG) picked up a helper on the ENG, which was his first point in two tries with his new team.

Combos: Johan Franzen - Henrik Zetterberg - Todd Bertuzzi/ Jiri Hudler - Pavel Datsyuk - Danny Cleary/ Kris Draper - Darren Helm - Drew Miller/ Tomas Holmstrom - Justin Abdelkader - Jan Mursak/ Nicklas Lidstrom - Brad Stuart/ Jonathan Ericsson - Brian Rafalski/ Niklas Kronwall - Ruslan Salei

Scratches: Kindl, Eaves, Filppula

Top PP times: Rafalski (8:46), Lidstrom (8:44), Datsyuk (6:20), Zetterberg (6:06), Holmstrom (5:47)

Trending: Tomas Holmstrom (1G, 4 SOG) broke the shutout and had four points in six games coming in. Pavel Datsyuk (1A, -1, 4 SOG) has been, well, Pavel Datsyuk this season. All kinds of awesome.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS 5 @ MONTREAL CANADIENS 4

Goaltending match-up: James Reimer (31/35, .886 SV%) vs. Alex Auld (6/9, .667 SV%) & Carey Price (17/19, .895 SV%)

Combos: Clarke MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin/ Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel/ Mike Brown - Darryl Boyce - Colby Armstrong/ Fredrik Sjostrom - Tim Brent - Joey Crabb/ Dion Phaneuf - Keith Aulie/ Luke Schenn - Carl Gunnarsson/ Mike Komisarek - Brett Lebda

Scratches: Rosehill, JSG, Gustavsson

Top PP times: Phaneuf (7:33), Kessel (7:30), Bozak (7:16), Lupul (6:31), Brent (5:33)

Trending: Phil Kessel (2G, 2A, +1, 5 SOG) has goals in four of five, but also has two different multi-goal performances in that time after 14 games without a marker. Dion Phaneuf (1A, -1, 2 PIM, 3 SOG) had eight points in 24 GP coming in here, including 41 PIM. Tyler Bozak (2G, 1A, +1, 2 SOG) hadn’t recorded a single point this month prior to this evening.

Combos: Michael Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Jeff Halpern/ Max Pacioretty - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta/ Travis Moen - Lars Eller - Andrei Kostitsyn/ Benoit Pouliot - David Desharnais - Ryan White/ Roman Hamrlik - James Wisniewski/ Hal Gill - P.K. Subban/ Paul Mara - Yannick Weber

Scratches: Picard, Sopel, Pyatt

Top PP times: Hamrlik (6:35), Wisniewski (6:35), Cammalleri (4:51), Plekanec (4:11), Gomez (4:08)

Trending: Tomas Plekanec (1A, +2, 2 SOG) had 15-14-29 in 32 home GP before this outing. Roman Hamrlik (2A, 2 PIM, 3 SOG) had chipped in five points in seven contests coming in. Michael Cammalleri (1G, 1A, +2, 4 SOG) scored in his last game against the Leafs and this was his first box score appearance in his third game back in the line-up. James Wisniewski (1G, +1, 4 PIM, 4 SOG) had five points on the month coming in, while Brian Gionta (1A, +1, 4 PIM, 3:53 PP, 2 SOG) had seven in 11. Andrei Kostitsyn (1A, 3:46 PP, no SOG) has picked up points in B2B games after nine games without a point. P.K. Subban (1A, 2:21 PP, no SOG) also has points in two in a row after five without one. Max Pacioretty (1G, 2:01 PP, 9 SOG) scored late to make it entertaining and has 5-4-9 this month.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS 3 @ NASHVILLE PREDATORS 0

Goaltending match-up: Corey Crawford (31/31) vs. Pekka Rinne (22/24, .917 SV%)

Combos: Patrick Sharp - Jonathan Toews - Patrick Kane/ Bryan Bickell - Dave Bolland - Marian Hossa/ Troy Brouwer - Jake Dowell - Michael Frolik/ Viktor Stalberg - Ryan Johnson - Tomas Kopecky/ Duncan Keith - Nick Leddy/ Niklas Hjalmarsson - Brent Seabrook/ Brian Campbell - Jordan Hendry

Scratches: Pisani, Boynton, Scott

Top PP times: Seabrook, Sharp, Toews, Kane, Kopecky (0:20)

Trending: Since the start of January, Patrick Sharp (1G, 1A, +1, 2 PIM, 2 SOG) had accumulated 16 points in 21 GP coming in. He added the ENG too. Jonathan Toews (1A, +2, 3 SOG) has been better than a point-per-game player against the Preds in his career and had 15 points in 10 GP this month before tonight. Marian Hossa (1G, +1, 4 SOG) has scored in B2B games and had five points in five tilts headed in here.

Combos: Steve Sullivan - David Legwand - Patric Hornqvist/ Sergei Kostitsyn - Mike Fisher - Martin Erat/ Colin Wilson - Jerred Smithson - Joel Ward/ Jordin Tootoo - Nick Spaling - J.P. Dumont/ Shea Weber - Ryan Suter/ Shane O’Brien - Cody Franson/ Jonathon Blum - Kevin Klein

Scratches: Belak, Sulzer

Top PP times: Weber, Erat, Legwand, Suter, Hornqvist (0:20)

Trending:

ST. LOUIS BLUES 2 @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS 3

Goaltending match-up: Ty Conklin (24/27, .889 SV%) vs. Cory Schneider (28/30, .933 SV%)

Combos: Andy McDonald - David Backes - Chris Stewart/ Alex Steen - Patrik Berglund - T.J. Oshie/ Brad Winchester - Vladimir Sobotka - Brad Boyes/ B.J. Crombeen - Philip McRae - Matt D'Agostini/ Barret Jackman - Alex Pietrangelo/ Nikita Nikitin - Roman Polak/ Carlo Colaiacovo - Kevin Shattenkirk

Scratches: Strachan, Janssen

Top PP times: Shattenkirk (4:57), McDonald (4:46), Stewart (4:41), Berglund (3:35), Pietrangelo (3:20)

Trending: Kevin Shattenkirk (1A, +1, 3 SOG) had two points in his three starts with STL coming in and Chris Stewart (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 2 SOG) had 3-0-0 in that span. Alex Pietrangelo (1G, 4 SOG) had eight points in five affairs coming in. David Backes (1G, +1, 2:24 PP, 2 SOG) had found the back of the net six times in nine starts coming in and Andy McDonald (1A, +1, 1 SOG) had 6-6-12 in February before tonight.

Combos: Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows/ Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - Mikael Samuelsson/ Raffi Torres - Manny Malhotra - Jannik Hansen/ Tanner Glass - Cody Hodgson - Victor Oreskovich/ Dan Hamhuis - Christian Ehrhoff/ Sami Salo - Keith Ballard/ Aaron Rome - Chris Tanev

Scratches: Bieksa, Tambellini

Top PP times: Ehrhoff (1:15), Kesler (1:15), Burrows (1:11), Raymond (1:11), Sedins (0:49)

Trending: Henrik Sedin (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 0:49 PP, 1 SOG) has at least 11 points in every month this season and had 12 in 11 GP coming in here. Daniel Sedin (1A, +1, 4 PIM, no SOG) came into tonight only two points shy of 80 already. Mikael Samuelsson's (1G, +1, 0:33 PP, 2 SOG) February point totals were at 8-7-15 in 11 GP before tonight.

MINNESOTA WILD 2 @ LOS ANGELES KINGS 4

Goaltending match-up: Niklas Backstrom (26/29, .897 SV%) vs. Jonathan Bernier (25/27, .926 SV%)

Combos: Andrew Brunette - Matt Cullen - Antti Miettinen/ Pierre-Marc Bouchard - John Madden - Martin Havlat/ Cal Clutterbuck - Cody Almond - Chuck Kobasew/ Jed Ortmeyer - Eric Nystrom- Brad Staubitz/ Greg Zanon - Clayton Stoner/ Nick Schultz - Brent Burns/ Marek Zidlicky - Jared Spurgeon

Scratches: Brodziak, Barker, Prosser

Top PP times: Cullen (5:27), Havlat (4:39), Brunette (4:36), Zidlicky (4:33), PMB (4:30)

Trending: Brent Burns (1G, 1A, -2, 4 PIM, 3:34 PP, 3 SOG) came into this one eight points shy of his career best of 43. Martin Havlat (1A, -1, 8 SOG) had a three-game goal scoring streak on the line here and Matt Cullen (1A, -2, no SOG) has a point in three of five now.

Combos: Marco Sturm - Anze Kopitar - Wayne Simmonds/ Ryan Smyth - Jarret Stoll - Dustin Brown/ Brad Richardson- Michal Handzus - Justin Williams/ Kyle Clifford - Trevor Lewis - Alexei Ponikarovsky/ Willie Mitchell - Drew Doughty/ Jack Johnson - Rob Scuderi/ Davis Drewiske - Matt Greene

Scratches: Harrold, Westgarth, Martinez

Top PP times: Doughty (6:45), Johnson (6:19), Simmonds (3:55), Kopitar (3:50), Williams (3:46)

Trending: Wayne Simmonds (2G, +1, 3 SOG) opened the scoring tonight with his first goal since Jan. 10. Jack Johnson (1A, +1, 1 SOG) recorded his 40th point of the season already and has helpers in three of four after four without a point. Anze Kopitar (1G, 1A, +2, 3 SOG) began the evening with six points in his past six outings. This was Marco Sturm's (1A, +1, no PP, 1 SOG) second game back and first time in the scoring summary. Drew Doughty (1G, +2, 2 PIM, 5 SOG) has scored in three of six. Dustin Brown (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 3:44 PP, 5 SOG) had a pair of two-pointers in February coming in here. Ryan Smyth (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 3:39 PP, no SOG) has a point in five of his past nine outings.

About

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Chris Nichols

Remember that guy in the back of the class who had the newspaper stats sheets tucked away in his binder? That was me. You don’t even want to know how little I would have accomplished in school if I had today’s technology then.

I grew up loving all things...

 

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