"We've been a roller coaster all year," the defenseman said following Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. "Good one game, suck the next."
He added: "We needed to win the game, and we lost to the same team twice in a week. We need to be better everywhere."
Calgary's loss dropped the club to 4-4-1 in its last 10 games and kept it at 61 points, tied with the Minnesota Wild in the fight for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with an extra game played.
The Flames have only won more than two games in a row twice this season: a three-game streak to start the regular season and then another in early December. Last season's club won at least three straight contests five separate times, including 10-, six-, and five-game runs en route to winning the Pacific Division.
Head coach Darryl Sutter pointed to goaltending as a key reason why Calgary lost its latest appearance. Starter Dan Vladar allowed five goals on 24 shots.
"It certainly didn't give us an opportunity to win, did it?" he said.
Calgary returns to the ice Saturday at home against a New York Rangers squad riding a six-game win streak.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj is out indefinitely after sustaining an upper-body injury in Sunday's victory over the Edmonton Oilers, the team announced.
Xhekaj left the contest after fighting with Vincent Desharnais and didn't return.
Xhekaj has been a feel-good story for this season's rebuilding Habs. The undrafted rookie earned a roster spot out of camp and blossomed into a regular within Montreal's defensive corps. Xhekaj has registered 13 points, 159 hits, and 46 blocks in 51 games while averaging 15:16 per contest during his first NHL campaign.
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov will be a healthy scratch Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils for trade-related reasons.
A deal isn't imminent, but the Blue Jackets are playing it safe as they gauge the market, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Gavrikov has been rumored to be on the block all season. The stay-at-home rearguard is expected to generate plenty of interest from contenders as a pending unrestricted free agent with a manageable $2.8-million cap hit.
The 27-year-old has spent his entire four-year career with the Blue Jackets. He registered 10 points this season while averaging more than 22 minutes per night.
Columbus, currently last in the NHL, is expected to sell as many assets as it can before the March 3 deadline.
Gavrikov is the second player over the past week to be held out for trade precautions, joining Arizona Coyotes star Jakob Chychrun.
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2023
The NHL Department of Player Safety didn't review the hit, and it wasn't deemed a penalty in real time.
Makar and the Avalanche voiced their displeasure with the hit after the contest. The reigning Norris and Conn Smythe winner called it "pretty blindside," while Bednar said Carter "skated right through" Makar's head.
The Avalanche will be without Makar for Thursday's Stanley Cup Final rematch against the Tampa Bay Lightning as well as Saturday's clash against the Florida Panthers. Colorado returns home for another contest with the Bolts on Feb. 14.
Makar missed four games earlier this season with an upper-body injury. He's putting together yet another spectacular campaign with 45 points in 45 appearances while logging over 27 minutes per contest.
The Calgary Flames announced defenseman Rasmus Andersson is day-to-day after he was struck by a vehicle Wednesday in Detroit.
Andersson was riding a scooter to dinner when the incident occurred. He was taken to a local hospital and underwent a series of tests before being released. He will remain with the team.
"He's doing well and is in good spirits," general manager Brad Treliving said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "He's very lucky - it certainly could have been a lot worse. He's a little rattled. ... He won't play tonight and then we'll see. No injuries we are overly concerned about, but we will see."
The Flames play the Red Wings on Thursday night in the third leg of a five-game road trip.
Andersson is the Flames' top right-side defenseman. The 26-year-old has registered 34 points in 51 games this season while leading the club with 24:41 of ice time per contest.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland said the salary cap is the biggest hurdle to making moves prior to the March 3 trade deadline.
"Whether it's forwards or defense, it's my job to be aware of who is available and eventually what the price might be," Holland said on TSN's "Got Yer Back" podcast Wednesday.
"(Regardless) of names, we're dollar in, dollar out, so (if) we start bringing in people with big cap numbers, we're going to have to do some real gymnastics here to move people out. When you're in a (long-term injury) situation like we are, it's much more difficult at the trade deadline. I would like to do something. Am I convinced I will do something? I don't know."
The Oilers have $1.125 million in wiggle room, according to Cap Friendly, but they face an impending roster move as Kailer Yamamoto's $3.1-million cap hit can be activated off long-term injured reserve as early as Saturday.
"Once Yamamoto comes off LTI and no one else goes on, I've got some real difficult decisions to make," said Holland. "All of our bottom-of-the-roster players are going to be involved in that decision to decide. They all can't stay."
The Oilers positioned themselves to be buyers at the deadline with an 8-1-1 run ahead of the All-Star break. Edmonton holds the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference but is only two points off the Pacific Division lead with games in hand on two of three teams ahead of it.
At last year's deadline, the Oilers made a pair of depth acquisitions in Derick Brassard and Brett Kulak. It's unclear which direction Holland will go this time around, but Edmonton has recently been linked to Chicago Blackhawks blue-liners Jake McCabe and Connor Murphy.
Patrick Kane isn't quite ready to end his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, but he's planning on soaking in every remaining moment at the United Center before the March 3 deadline, just in case.
"You’ll probably cherish these five games a little more before the deadline just not knowing what’s going to happen," Kane said before Tuesday's contest, according to The Athletic's Scott Powers.
"It’s always exciting playing at home, always love playing at the United Center in front of the crowd here. Yeah, kind of wish you had a little bit more time here this month, but it is what it is, and cherish all these games."
Kane has been linked to trade discussions all season as he plays out the final year of his contract with the rebuilding Blackhawks. He has a full no-movement clause, so whether he departs is up to him. That said, he's yet to decide - but the deadline is around the corner.
"It’s tough to decide if we’re getting to that point yet, so I think there’s definitely opportunities out there that are intriguing and could be exciting," Kane said recently. "We'll see."
Kane is amid the least productive season of his career, with 35 points in 46 games. Still, he's expected to garner plenty of interest from contenders due to his impeccable playoff resume. In 136 career postseason games, Kane's registered 132 points, including 11 game-winning goals, along with three Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe.
Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who has a matching contract with Kane, is also rumored to be on the move but hasn't decided on his future yet, either.
Welcome to the fourth in-season edition of theScore's 2022-23 Vezina Trophy rankings. We have one surging newcomer on this list, while four positions remain unchanged from last month. The All-Star break left us with a smaller sample size than usual, making it difficult for our candidates to separate themselves from their peers.
The Predators are having anything but a spectacular season statistically, but Saros' Herculean efforts have kept the club in the postseason hunt coming out of All-Star festivities, where he represented the Central Division. Saros ranks fifth in GSAA and second in GSAx and has been particularly hot since our previous rankings on Jan. 4, posting a 6-4-0 record with a .926 clip over that span while facing nearly 40 shots per game.
Saros' workload isn't likely to slow down, either, as Nashville ranks 27th in expected goals against per 60 at five-on-five this season. It's a tall order, but if he can drag the Predators into the playoffs, he absolutely deserves to be a Vezina finalist for the second consecutive year.
4. Jake Oettinger, Stars
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Previous rank: 4th
Record
GAA
SV%
GSAA
GSAx
22-7-7
2.25
.924
18.59
22.92
Much like the All-Star Game did, we're slightly snubbing Oettinger by keeping him fourth on our list.
The Stars' No. 1 is having a fantastic season and ranks near the top in all the key statistics. However, the 24-year-old's easier work environment counts against him in our criteria. Dallas is among the league's top teams inexpected goals and shots against,so Oettinger's individual numbers are slightly below his closest comparable and No. 3 on our list.
This is no slight on Oettinger's season. He has great odds of being a finalist by season's end, but he'll need to clearly usurp the candidate directly above him on this list to warrant full consideration and shoot up the rankings.
3. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets
Darcy Finley / National Hockey League / Getty
Previous rank: 3rd
Record
GAA
SV%
GSAA
GSAx
24-15-1
2.45
.923
21.63
23.78
As we alluded to, Hellebuyck and Oettinger have mostly been interchangeable this season. Despite the Jets stalwart's rocky month, he maintained a slight edge in our rankings largely because he's routinely the busier of the two. Hellebuyck's faced roughly 150 extra shots than Oettinger along with 12 full expected goals against with only one more appearance than his closest counterpart. Their rankings could go either way at this point, but Hellebuyck deserves credit for making the most out of a more difficult situation in goal.
Dallas and Winnipeg are locked in a dogfight for the Central Division crown, and their final positions in the standings may also determine which superstar netminder gets more love by the time Vezina votes are tallied.
2. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders
Mike Stobe / National Hockey League / Getty
Previous rank: 2nd
Record
GAA
SV%
GSAA
GSAx
17-16-4
2.31
.926
23.19
36.12
Sorokin's Vezina case is well-advertised: He's a world-class goalie doing yeoman's work between the pipes for a team on the outside looking in of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
As we've stated all year, Sorokin's hopes of winning some individual hardware likely hinge on a surprise run to the postseason. The Islanders recently made the chase for spring hockey much more interesting with their acquisition of Bo Horvat, who should add some much-need scoring punch to their 21st-ranked attack and, in turn, provide Sorokin with some more run support.
Sorokin's too talented for his sterling individual numbers to take a significant hit, so some increased team success for the remainder of the schedule could make him the favorite to win the award in a few months.
1. Linus Ullmark, Bruins
Mark Blinch / National Hockey League / Getty
Previous rank: 1st
Record
GAA
SV%
GSAA
GSAx
26-4-1
1.90
.937
28.69
25.11
Ullmark lost consecutive starts for the first time all season this past month and dropped three of eight appearances through the Bruins' first "slump" of 2022-23.
However, the Atlantic Division All-Star still posted a .930 clip and minuscule 2.04 goals against average along the way, so he hangs on to the top spot in our rankings. Ullmark has the underlying and conventional stats behind him to solidify his status as this season's top goalie, and it'd take an incredibly pedestrian stretch run for the Swede to fall off his perch.
Marty Walsh, the current U.S. Secretary of Labor, is set to be named executive director of the NHL Players' Association in the coming days, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
He succeeds Donald Fehr, who's departing the position after 12 years.
The NHLPA has been searching for a new leader for roughly 10 months. Walsh emerged as a leading candidate over recent weeks and introduced himself to the executive board in a virtual meeting before All-Star Weekend. A formal vote requiring 18 approvals among the 32 team representatives still needs to take place, but Walsh is expected to be elected unanimously, Seravalli adds.
Walsh was mayor of Boston from 2014-21 until he joined President Joe Biden's cabinet. He made himself available for the NHLPA job after he wasn't selected as Biden's next chief of staff.
Former player agent and Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis was also a finalist for the job.
New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant doesn't think captain Jacob Trouba should have to answer the bell every time he flattens an opponent.
Trouba was the center of attention throughout a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night for a pair of punishing hits on Dillon Dube and Nazem Kadri. Both collisions sparked instantaneous fights.
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) February 7, 2023
"It's a shame you have to do that every time you throw a hit," Gallant said. "For me, the first one was a good, clean hockey hit. It wasn't a dangerous hit. You wouldn't think there would be retaliation to that, but there was, and that's fine."
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) February 7, 2023
"But the second one, he hit Kadri pretty hard," Gallant added. It looked like Kadri might have got hurt. I understand guys standing up for their teammates, but I think sometimes, it gets a little (bit of an) overreaction. Trouba's a big hitter; people know that."
Flames head coach Darryl Sutter didn't see a problem with either play.
"They were all clean, good hits," he said.
Trouba has built a reputation as one of the league's most dangerous open-ice hitters in recent years. Earlier this season, Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasioucalled out the Rangers' rearguard for "trying to hurt" players with high hits.
Trouba also sparked controversy during the playoffs last spring for hits on Sidney Crosby and Seth Jarvis. Neither play drew supplemental discipline.
