3 things we learned in the NHL: Namestnikov more than a sidekick

Vladislav-Namestnikov;-New-York-Rangers;-Vancouver-Canucks

Vladislav Namestnikov during his time with the New York Rangers. (Darryl Dyck/CP)

With the haze of the 2018 trade deadline clearing, the league’s 31 clubs are heading back into the home stretch of their schedules sporting either a crop of shiny, new players or a few key roster holes.

We saw the effect of a few of those moves in Wednesday night’s slate of NHL action. From the New York Rangers getting clutch contributions via a new addition, to the Calgary Flames seeing offence from an all too familiar name, here are a few things we learned Wednesday night.

1. New York getting their money’s worth in Vladislav Namestnikov

New York’s 2017-18 season may go down as the first chapter in their tear-down, as former stars Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller will all finish the campaign in new sweaters. But amid all the selling, the club did manage to add one interesting name to their mix at the deadline.

Brought in as part of the deal that sent McDonagh to Tampa Bay, Vladislav Namestnikov kicked off his Rangers career against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, wasting no time in making his mark during his club’s 6-5 overtime win.

He chipped in with a go-ahead breakaway goal later on in the evening as well, taking his season total to 21 while logging his 10th multi-point game of the year.

The 25-year-old forward has yet to prove he can be a consistent game-changer without all-stars like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov on the ice. While one game does little to answer that question, with 21 goals and 46 points on the season and two of those points already coming in Rangers colours, perhaps the impending RFA can be a bright spot down the home stretch of his new team’s season.

2. Mikael Backlund (still) loves burning the Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche tilted the ice in their favour for much of Wednesday night’s match with the Calgary Flames, and came away with a dominant 5-2 victory as a result. But as has been the case all season long, Colorado had their hands full with the offensive dominance of Mikael Backlund throughout.

Calgary’s second-line Swede often does his best work as a two-way, defensive-minded force, but his penchant for putting up points is well-established. And on more than a few occasions, it’s been established with Colorado on the other end of the rink.

It might not have been enough to spur a win, but Backlund posted a shorthanded goal and added an assist against the Avalanche on Wednesday night, posting his third multi-point game against Colorado this season.

All in all, Backlund has an impressive seven points in three games against the Avalanche this year, Colorado being the only club he’s posted more than one multi-point game against in 2017-18. And the picture looks pretty similar in terms of his career as a whole – he’s amassed 23 points through 25 games against Colorado, tied for the second-most he’s put up against any team in the league.

Backlund is far from a lock to stack up points on any given night. But at this point it’s fair to assume if the Avalanche are in the building, Backlund’s taking home a few numbers.

3. Mathew Barzal is going for history while every one else stumbles

The New York Islanders continued their recent offensive woes Wednesday, enduring a 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens — the third–worst team in the league in regards to goals scored per game.

And yet, even on a night that saw New York outmatched on the scoresheet, the Islanders still walked away with the most impressive highlight of the night courtesy of rookie wunderkind Mathew Barzal:

That silky smooth tally gave the Coquitlam, B.C., native 67 points on the season through just 64 games, increasing his stranglehold on the rookie scoring lead to 13 points.

He’s looking more and more like a lock for the Calder Trophy with each passing game, but with his season total beginning to climb, Barzal’s now going for more than just the top of the 2017-18 rookie mountain.

His 67 points already rank as the fourth-most any first-year player has posted in the past decade — the others coming over a full season. If he continues on his current pace, he’ll cruise past 80 points and finish closer to 90, which would rank him the most prolific rookie scorer in 10 years.

A look at his competition:

Top rookie scorers from the NHL’s past decade
2016-17: Auston Matthews (69 points)
2015-16: Artemi Panarin (77 points)
2014-15: Mark Stone, Johnny Gaudreau (64 points)
2013-14: Nathan MacKinnon (63 points)
2012-13: Nail Yakupov, Jonathan Huberdeau (31 points)
2011-12: Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (52 points)
2010-11: Jeff Skinner (63 points)
2009-10: Matt Duchene (55 points)
2008-09: Bobby Ryan (57 points)
2007-08: Patrick Kane (72 points)

New York has 18 games left on the season, meaning Barzal just needs 11 points over that span (a pace of 0.61 points per game) to rank first among rookie scorers of the past decade.

His season scoring pace sits at 1.05 points per game, and he’s been rolling at a clip of 1.40 points per game for his past 10 tilts. Might as well go ahead and get that throne ready.

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