NYHN Daily: Islanders Skid Reaches Ten, Ovechkin Hits Milestone & More

The New York Islanders were unable to stop the losing streak on Saturday night, as they fell to the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 in overtime. They have now picked up points in two consecutive games but still saw their losing streak reach 10 games. They face the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at UBS Arena.

Here are the stories to know from around the National Hockey League Now network.

Last season, the Boston Bruins saw their young defenseman Jack Ahcan struggle at the NHL level in the three games in which he played. Standing at just 5’8, it seemed that the strength of the opposition around him gave him all sorts of trouble. With Charlie McAvoy unable to play on Saturday night (illness), it seemed that Ahcan was more prepared this time around. (Boston Hockey Now)

Jake Guentzel picked up his fourth career regular-season hat trick as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 4-1. They took advantage of Vancouver’s weak penalty kill scoring twice on the man advantage on the way to the win. Coach Mike Sullivan made some switches to his lines, as it helped Pittsburgh end their mini-skid. Here’s how it happened. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

The Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Sunday night, as they played a strong 60-minutes even with late-minute scratches due to COVID-19. In the win, Ovechkin scored career goal no. 750, as he now has 20 goals on the campaign. Here is more on that takeaway and others from the historic night in Washington. (Washington Hockey Now)

Throughout this dominant season thus far for the Florida Panthers, they have played with a “next man up mentality” following a few big injuries. In Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 shootout victory over the St. Louis Blues, Maxim Mamin stepped up to help Florida pick up their third-consecutive victory. He netted two goals, two tying goals, the last one forcing overtime with just 2:34 remaining in the third period. (Florida Hockey Now)

The Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night. Moritz Seider netted the game-winner off a wicked slapshot, Givani Smith came up big in his limited minutes and the Red Wings are now 9-2-2 at home this season. Defenseman Gustav Lidstrom left the game with a lower-body injury, with no update on his status after the game. (Detroit Hockey Now)

After being down 3-0 to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs came all the way back to force overtime, before ultimately losing in the shootout. Toronto was not at its best but it was a good sign to see them not give up and work their way back to gain a point, a moral victory. Here are the takeaways from the loss. (Toronto Hockey Now)

The Montreal Canadiens earned a point in a grueling game against the Nashville Predators on Saturday night. Despite the 4-3 loss, Montreal looked like a team having fun, for the first time this season. The Montreal players played hard in front of newly hired Jeff Gorton, VP of hockey operations. Here are the takeaways from the tough loss. (Montreal Hockey Now)

The Vegas Golden Knights have a salary cap problem. With Jack Eichel back skating already, Vegas will need to move a player to be salary cap compliant when Eichel is ready to return to play. There have been rumors circulating about which players on Vegas could be leaving town. Is forward Evgenii Dadonov the most likely player to get dealt? (Vegas Hockey Now)

The Colorado Avalanche are struggling to escape the injury bug right now. It seems like pior to every game, a new player has hit the shelf. The latest was start defenseman Cale Makar, who was a late scratch on Saturday as he is dealing with a lower-body injury. He joined Nazem Kadri, who was ruled out ealier in the day, also with a lower-body injury. But as they say, “the show must go on”. The Avalanche fell to the Ottawa Senators 6-5 in overtime. (Colorado Hockey Now)

If the San Jose Sharks want to take the next step, they’ll need to add some scoring.

They were shut out 1-0 by the New York Rangers on Friday, the third time that they’ve been shut out this season. They’re tied for the NHL lead in this ignominious category, along with the Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Winnipeg Jets. That’s not company that you want to keep. (San Jose Hockey Now)

The Vancouver Canucks fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Saturday night, in their usual fashion. From the get-go, the Canucks were a mess, as they were booed on home ice. It was a disappointing loss, as the same issues all year crept back in following a few good minutes of quality hockey in the first period. Here are five takeaways from the brutal loss. (Vancouver Hockey Now)

The Calgary Flames have seen Matthew Tkachuk step up in a big way this season. The pest at forward has matured heavily, not putting his team in bad spots with immature decision-making. Still playing his role, he is playing it more responsibly and it is paying off for his club. Also, did you see him pull off the Forsberg in the shootout against the Anaheim Ducks? (Calgary Hockey Now)

In the latest NHL Buzz, Mitch Marner deals with an injury, as he misses his second-consecutive game. Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was a late scratch due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. Washington Capitals’ forwards T.J. Oshie and Connor Sheary are in COVID-19 protocol, while Montreal Canadiens got Mike Hoffman back after 13 games. More jury updates can be found here. (NHL)

When the Winnipeg Jets host the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, Blake Wheeler will be playing in his 1,000th career NHL game. The Winnipeg captain has showed consistency and durability in his 14 seasons in the NHL. Former teammate Andrew Ladd shares kind words and funny stories about his time with Wheeler, as they both played together on Winnipeg, with Ladd’s captaincy being passed down to Wheeler when Ladd joined the New York Islanders years ago. (NHL)