This past Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres marked Thomas Harley’s fifteenth NHL career game. It was a game that saw the Dallas Stars rookie notch his first career assist and point, getting a rather large monkey off his back:
“It’s been coming for the past couple games,” Harley said. “You grow up dreaming it’s going to be a little more memorable than just a poke back down the wall. They don’t ask how, they ask how many. So I’m happy.”
Harley has been slowly improving this season — most recently, he has been paired off with John Klingberg, and the two have created a formidable duo in their brief minutes together (40:03):
“I’m just trying to support him all over the ice, and he’s doing the same for me,” Harley said… “He trusts me to make plays, and I have complete faith that he’s going to make the plays that he can. I’m having a lot of fun out there with him. Just to have him come over and fist bump me means a lot to me.”
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Stars Stories
Saad Yousuf takes a dive into the Stars’ power play to see what ails it:
Stars are in a bad power play funk right now, five seconds away from being in an 0-for-18 stretch.
What wrong with the power play, and how can it be fixed? Taking a look analytically, technically and anecdotally (w/ video) 👇
(subscribe for $1/month!)https://t.co/9sHQOKek4Z— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) February 28, 2022
Around the League
As betting becomes more prominent in the NHL, sportsbooks might next turn to… faceoffs?
“Typically, we’re taking data from an event and quickly analyzing it. We’ve yet to do it in advance of an event.”
Until now! The NHL will present face-off win *probabilities* during broadcasts, one of its first machine-learning stats. Much more here: https://t.co/bVTZcUNjQF
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) March 1, 2022
Where does Miro Heiskanen stack up with other Norris Trophy contenders? It may be closer than you think:
Hedman? Makar? I wrote about what it should take to be in contention for the Norris Trophy, and how the race stacks up for @TheAthleticNHL https://t.co/x9vm2l3xUY
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) March 1, 2022
Speaking of 2017 Stars draft picks, Jason Robertson is one of many pending free agents who’ve upped their value this season:
Inspired by the recent surge of pending RFA Patrik Laine, I took a look around the #NHL for other free agent candidates on the rise – and there are quite a few:https://t.co/NuQx6DcxYD
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) March 1, 2022
After a long, arduous journey to find their next General Manager, the Chicago Blackhawks shocked the hockey world by hiring… their interim GM:
Davidson is in his 12th season with the Chicago Blackhawks organization and was a member of the front office when they won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015.https://t.co/48WlboXWI4
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 1, 2022
Finally, Russia and Belarus have been suspended from international play due to their invasion of Ukraine, and the NHL has suspended dealings with Russian business partners:
The IIHF Council has suspended all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams from IIHF competitions until further notice and withdrew the hosting rights of the 2023 #WorldJuniors from Russia.
READ MORE: https://t.co/SpSMGTlZw1#hockey #icehockey #Ukraine #Russia #Belarus pic.twitter.com/YYb1JduvWE
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 28, 2022
Statement from the National Hockey League: https://t.co/r4jOj5uCrw pic.twitter.com/TPh84ntbDm
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 28, 2022