One game into the Los Angeles Kings' 2016-17 season, the club was dealt a devastating blow, as franchise netminder Jonathan Quick was forced out with injury.
The veteran goaltender hasn't returned since, leaving the Kings' crease a certifiable mess. But following what looked to be the downfall of L.A.'s season, the team has seen an unlikely name play the role of savior - Peter Budaj.
With a 22-save shutout over the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday night, Budaj pushed his 2016-17 sum to five total shutouts - that's more than he's posted over the last six seasons combined.
Where exactly do Budaj's five goose-eggs rank league-wide? Second. Bested only by last year's Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby, and tied with this year's Vezina front-runners, Devan Dubnyk and Tuukka Rask.
Budaj has quietly been exceptional for the Kings this season, and it isn't as if he's only played a few games. The 34-year-old has 42 games under his belt this campaign - second-most in the league - and has looked consistently impressive over that span.
Among all goaltenders who have played the majority of 2016-17 - that is, at least 30 games - Budaj ranks 11th overall with a save percentage of .919. He ranks third overall in terms of goals-against average, with his mark of 2.06 sitting behind only Holtby and Dubnyk.
The wily veteran isn't threatening Quick's starting role any time soon, but there's no question Budaj has exceeded expectations so far this season.
A stingy Kings defense certainly helps - L.A. has allowed the fewest shots per game up to this point - but Budaj is holding up his end of the bargain, and living up to every penny of his one-year, $600,000 deal.
Ahead of the annual skills competition Saturday evening, the NHL announced the participants for each event.
Each squad will compete for points in all events in division-versus-division play, ultimately to determine opponent and start time of their first game Sunday.
Here's a look at the star-studded affair:
Skills Relay
Central Division vs. Pacific Division:
One-timers: Duncan Keith, Ryan Suter, Vladimir Tarasenko versus Joe Pavelski, Ryan Kesler, and Jeff Carter. (Nathan Mackinnon and Bo Horvat will serve as passers.)
Passing: Jonathan Toews vs. Drew Doughty
Puck Control: Tyler Seguin vs. Cam Fowler
Stick Handling: Patrick Kane vs. Johnny Gaudreau
Goalie Goals: Devan Dubnyk vs. Mike Smith
Atlantic Division vs. Metropolitan Division:
One-timers: Erik Karlsson, Vincent Trochek, Kyle Okposo versus Seth Jones, Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Simmonds. (Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh will serve as passers.)
Passing: Frans Nielsen vs. John Tavares
Puck Control: Brad Marchand vs. Justin Faulk
Stick Handling: Auston Matthews vs. Sidney Crosby
Goalie Goals: Carey Price vs. Brayden Holtby
Four Line Challenge
*Each division will send one shooter per round, order listed as Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, Pacific.
It's safe to say 2016-17 hasn't been kind to New York Islanders veteran Andrew Ladd. But last night the former Winnipeg Jet turned back the clock.
The 31-year-old, who signed a seven-year, $38.5-million deal with New York last summer, has been a major disappointment through the majority of his first season in Brooklyn, posting just 14 points through 43 games thus far.
But it seems the presence of new head coach Doug Weight is helping Ladd find his game. That was certainly the case last night, as Ladd dominated against the Montreal Canadiens, posting two goals - including a flat out snipe for the game-winner - to earn his second multi-point effort of the season.
Definitely one of Andrew Ladd's best games of the year tonight. He has 2 goals, hit post, has had good chances and shown physicality #Isles
The two-goal showing - which ended a six-game pointless streak for Ladd - came in the veteran's second appearance with Weight behind the bench. Ladd was sidelined with an upper-body injury for four games in mid-January, during which time Weight replaced Jack Capuano as head coach.
Ladd was quick to highlight Weight's leadership as a driving factor in his resurgence.
"I think he's brought some emotion and excitement each and every night," Ladd told NHL.com's Brian Compton. "He's a personal guy who can instill confidence in you and likes to be personable around the group, so I think that's a big part of it. I think he believes in this group. He's kind of known since the start of the year that we have what it takes in here to play good hockey and be one of the top teams."
The Islanders finished with a 3-1 win when all was said and done, earning their fourth win in five games since Weight's debut.
After a supremely lackluster start to 2016-17, the Calgary Flames have managed to hang on and climb into a wild-card spot, due in no small part to the changing complexion of their blue line.
For the past three seasons, captain Mark Giordano has reigned as the club's most dangerous offensive defenseman. The veteran has finished among the team's top five scorers in each of the past three campaigns, posting more than 45 points each time.
The only defender to finish above him in that span was Dennis Wideman in 2014-15, doing so in 19 more games after Giordano was forced out of the lineup with a torn bicep in his 61st appearance.
In the past two campaigns, T.J. Brodie was right there with Giordano, topping 40 points in each season as the duo played a key role for a Flames club lacking in secondary scoring options.
Things have changed considerably this time around.
As the Flames head into the home stretch of the season, it's 23-year-old Dougie Hamilton that has been the unequivocal leader in terms of offense from the blue line.
The former Boston Bruin - who found himself embroiled in trade rumors early this season - has racked up seven goals and 32 points through 51 games.
Not only is that sum 10 points higher than Giordano's, and 15 points higher than Brodie's, it's also good for second among all Flames skaters - even a hair above leading duo Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau.
Despite his stellar play, Hamilton is still seeing fewer minutes than his veteran counterparts. Giordano leads the blue-line corps with 23:57 minutes per game, while Brodie ranks second with 23:35.
Both have seen their points-per-game pace cut nearly in half compared to the past few seasons. Meanwhile, Hamilton - who's seeing 19:24 minutes per game - is scoring at a career-best pace, and is on track to finish with 51 points.
Things are certainly changing on the Flames' back end, as Hamilton is quickly becoming the player the club was hoping for when they acquired him prior to last season. Still young, it's only a matter of time before the smooth-skating defender moves up the club's blue line depth chart for good.
As if being shut out to the 29th-place Arizona Coyotes isn't bad enough, the Vancouver Canucks did so Thursday in historically bad fashion.
It took Vancouver 28:12 to register its first shot on goal, the longest a team has gone since the NHL started tracking play-by-play in 2003, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Here's a look at the unbelievable performance - for all the wrong reasons - in chart form:
With All-Star Weekend upon us, "On the Fly," theScore's NHL roundtable series, will look at four predictions leading up to the festivities in Los Angeles.
McDavid scorches record books
Hagerman:Dylan Larkin made one hell of an impression at the NHL skills competition last year.
The Detroit Red Wings dynamo set a skills competition record winning the fastest skater competition in a time of 13.172 as a rookie, besting Mike Gartner's previous mark of 13.386 seconds which had stood since 1996.
This year we could see the record broken once again.
Connor McDavid has quickly become the premiere offensive talent in the league. He paces the NHL in scoring with just over one full season under his belt. Sure, his hands and vision are unworldly, but his most deadly asset is his skating.
What makes McDavid so lethal is that he can beat the fastest skaters in a foot race and even more impressively, can set up and make plays at that speed.
So is he fast enough to break Larkin's record? Absolutely.
The Oilers held their own skills competition on Jan. 15 where McDavid also bested Gartner's mark, finishing his lap in a time of 13.382 seconds. McDavid doesn't have to go much faster to earn the official record and with the entire hockey world watching, one has to believe the phenom will deliver.
Metro takes the tourney
Vaswani: The Metropolitan, the best division in hockey - four teams have 60 or more points at the break, with Washington's 72 leading the NHL - will win the All-Star three-on-three tournament. It must, because an All-Star Game victory is about the only accomplishment - albeit minor - missing from Sidney Crosby's resume.
Somehow, Crosby will play in only his second All-Star Game on Sunday. He last played in the showcase in 2007, in Dallas, when the Western Conference took down the East 12-9. Somehow, again, Crosby didn't register a point.
Think about it for a minute: Thanks to injuries and the Olympics, it's been 10 years since a Crosby All-Star appearance.
That's nuts.
So be sure to enjoy No. 87 out there with the rest of the best. With Sid shooting 20.4 percent this season, it's more than likely he scores a bushel Sunday.
Oh, and he could be out there at three-on-three with Alex Ovechkin by his side. Yeah, that'll do.
Crosby vs. McDavid replaces John Scott story
Sachdeva: It’s going to be tough to match last year’s theatrics, as this year’s All-Star festivities will be without what was arguably the most intriguing part of the 2016 iteration - John Scott.
The veteran’s unexpected presence helped fans avoid thinking about how lackluster the All-Star games have become, but with no outsider aspect this time around, we’ll see how interesting the new format truly is.
But there are still a few noteworthy storylines heading into the event. Key among them - how Crosby and McDavid fare in a full tournament of 3-on-3 action.
With half of 2016-17 in the books, the two centermen have made it clear they remain a step above the rest of the league, with Crosby leading the way in the goals department and McDavid ranking as the NHL’s scoring leader.
They’re both ultracompetitive, in a different stratosphere in terms of skill, and surely well aware of all the talk surrounding who takes the crown as the NHL's true No. 1. Here’s hoping they spice up All-Star weekend with a few highlight-reel head-to-head performances.
The two phenoms - likely to be linked together for the entirety of their careers because of their draft positions - have ushered in a new wave of talent in the NHL in style, manufacturing electric seasons to start their NHL tenures.
Their first meeting was as hyped as an NHL game in October can be, and this time, with extra ice at their disposal, Matthews and Laine are sure to put on a show again.
Think about the space Laine will have to unload his lethal shot. Think about the opportunities Matthews will have to put his extraordinary puck skills on display. Excited yet?
All four teams are chock-full of elite NHL talent, but as evidenced at the World Cup in September, fans are rabid for the youth movement. Laine and Matthews are 1-2 in rookie scoring, and are both in the top 10 in goals, there's no reason to believe one of them won't steal the show in Tinsel Town.
One year removed from barely sneaking into the playoffs as a wild-card club, the Minnesota Wild now rank first in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break.
A number of possible causes for their turnaround have been offered - the astute coaching of new leader Bruce Boudreau, the Vezina-worthy play of Devan Dubnyk, or maybe the resurgence of veteran Eric Staal.
And yet few are talking about one of the most pivotal storylines unfolding in Minnesota - the newly elite play of 24-year-old Mikael Granlund.
In the midst of his fourth full NHL season, Granlund has graduated to full-fledged stardom for the Wild. The 2010 ninth overall pick has found a new gear in 2016-17, leading his team in scoring with 42 points through 48 games.
That's a career-high scoring pace by a mile, as Granlund is just two points away from topping his personal best of 44, set last season over a full 82-game campaign. He's also just one goal away from matching his former top mark of 13.
Should Granlund continue to put up numbers at his current pace, he'll finish with 21 goals and 72 points. The Wild haven't seen any of their skaters top 70 points since Mikko Koivu in 2010.
Considering how well Granlund has been playing of late, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him push forward all the way to that 70-point plateau.
With a goal and an assist in Thursday's victory over St. Louis, Granlund has racked up 28 points over his past 24 games. He's riding a nine-game point streak, during which he's put up 11 points.
The Finnish star has flown under the radar through his first trio of NHL campaigns. It's taken time to notice Granlund, but he's proven he's more than a depth piece in Minnesota, and looks poised to lead the Wild on a march through the postseason come playoff time.
When the New York Islanders cut head coach Jack Capuano loose, the club sat dead last in the Eastern Conference. Just five games later, the Isles have overtaken five Eastern teams and are one mediocre win streak away from a playoff spot.
That stark turnaround isn't simply the result of new bench boss Doug Weight's inspiring leadership - though the Islanders have gone 4-1 since he took over. It's just the reality of the situation for teams in the East this season, where the battle for the last few playoff spots is nowhere near finished.
Heading into the home stretch of 2016-17, the seven clubs at the bottom of the standings remain just three points apart, and all are within reach of a wild-card spot.
After triumphantly closing the gap on the backs of their elite rookie stars, the Toronto Maple Leafs have temporarily dropped out of a postseason position. Yet they remain just one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the second wild-card slot, and the Leafs have played three fewer games than Philly.
Needless to say, it's still anyone's year in the East.
Perhaps the only clubs sure to remain in their current spots are the Metropolitan Division leaders, where the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Pittsburgh Penguins have been rolling over the rest of the league all season. All three have cleared 65 points and don't look likely to fall too far before the year is through.
The Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens appear to be a sure thing as well, sitting with a seven-point lead over the second-place Ottawa Senators.
Past that, the rest of the conference is an all-out mess. This time last season, the bottom three teams in the East were already well behind the middle-of-the-pack clubs by a full 10 points or more, their playoff hopes all but dashed.
But the basement dwellers are hanging around this time, which should mean plenty of heated conference rivalry tilts once the All-Star break concludes.
The NHL took on the unforgiving task of comparing players from each of its generations, compiling a 100 Greatest Players list for reveal in Los Angeles this weekend as part of the All-Star festivities.
While we admire their zest, it's not a task we'll gleefully take on ourselves. We will, however, scrutinize this generation.
Here are the top 50 players in the post-lockout era - 2005-06 and beyond - broken down categorically.
League Pillars
Sidney Crosby - an NHL-best 1.33 points per game Alex Ovechkin - only player with 1,000 points; his 547 goals are 181 more than the next most prolific sniper
Poles apart, but together sharing in the rescue of the NHL in its tenuous return from the 2004-05 lockout. Crosby and Ovechkin - and their only partially engineered rivalry - represent more than a generational and procedural shift; these all-time greats repaired and lifted the sport to new heights.
Hall of Fame Careers Established
Pavel Datsyuk - a league-best plus-227 Henrik Lundqvist - the most starts, most wins, and a .920 save percentage maintained over 12 seasons Evgeni Malkin- his 1.18 points per game is second to Crosby Daniel Sedin - the goal-scorer in the family, Daniel has over 300 goals and 800 points Henrik Sedin- the 2010 Hart Trophy winner ranks fourth with 856 points Joe Thornton- his 125-point season in 2005-06 the highest single-season total
With the exception of Lundqvist, this group of players didn't usher in the NHL, providing a convenient point of reference. Regardless, they've carved out Hall of Fame careers under the new directive.
Legendary Farewells
Martin Brodeur- won 135 games in the space of three seasons from 2005 to 2008 Nicklas Lidstrom- his 0.76 points per game rate second only to Erik Karlsson among defenders with 250-plus games Scott Niedermayer- won the Conn Smythe and his fourth Stanley Cup in 2007 Chris Pronger-- three Stanley Cup Final appearances (with three different teams) in six seasons Martin St. Louis-- the Art Ross winner in 2013; collected 774 points in 770 games
All-time great careers were interrupted when the NHL ceased its operations. Some merely hung on for a few seasons; others heightened their legend.
Transcendent Stars on Path to 1st-Balllot Induction
Patrick Kane- reigning Hart Trophy winner is one of five active players averaging more than a point per game Erik Karlsson- his 0.81 points rate tops among all defensemen Carey Price- the only netminder to win the Hart Trophy
Each major trophy winners, Kane, Karlsson, and Price raised the standard at their positions over the last few seasons.
The Exception to Every Rule
Jaromir Jagr - his 123-point season in 2005-06 is the second highest total for a single season
Unable to sort the ageless one. Though he's had only a few elite campaigns in the post-lockout era, Jagr wouldn't be the second all-time leading scorer without his bonus seasons borne from tireless dedication.
The Glory
Drew Doughty - two-time Stanley Cup champion and Norris Trophy winner Marian Hossa - five appearances and three wins in the Stanley Cup Final Duncan Keith - three Cups, and his 490 points the most among defensemen Anze Kopitar - two Stanley Cups, as well as a Selke and a Lady Byng Jonathan Toews - three-time Stanley Cup champion and a Conn Smythe Trophy winner
Championships have to count for something, right?
Former or Fleeting Dominance
Zdeno Chara - Stanley Cup-winning captain, and a win from six Norris nominations Jarome Iginla - second to Ovechkin with 367 goals Ilya Kovalchuk - one of three players to average better than a half goal per game Tim Thomas - one of two multiple Vezina Trophy winners Henrik Zetterberg - eighth in scoring with 782 points
Mastery is often short lived. Across many seasons, or in spurts, these players were at the top of their classes.
Within the foundation that supports a vibrant, competitive, healthy NHL, there are so many fantastic players. Chapters still need to be written with this band of All-Stars, major award winners, and champions.
All they've done is produce - for long, long periods of time.
Other Standouts
Brent Burns - tops with 65 goals in 213 games since moving back to the blue line Marian Gaborik - three 40-goal seasons, and the NHL's sixth-best per game goal rate Mike Green - his 31-goal season in 2008-09 the best single campaign among defensemen Dany Heatley - one of five players with multiple 100-point seasons, and one of four with multiple 50-goal seasons
Future is Now
Connor McDavid - 1.11 points rate through 95 games trails Crosby, Ovechkin, and Malkin.
In the first injury-free first half of his career, McDavid leads the NHL in scoring at the All-Star break. He'll lead one of these lists soon enough.
Unfortunately for him and his Toronto Maple Leafs, they experienced just that Thursday night in Philadelphia, dropping a 2-1 decision on a late goal from the Flyers.
The Leafs were in the second game of a back-to-back, and while they certainly played like they were out of gas in the third period - where they were out-attempted 32-11 at even strength - Babcock isn't buying into his team being fatigued, citing the glory days of minor hockey as a reference point.
"When you were young, you played three minor hockey games in one day and no one knows (they're tired)," Babcock said, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle. "You eat a burger and then you have some fries and then you put a little ketchup on the side and then you keep playing. You don't know. No one told you you were tired so you're not tired.
"So this is just because now we have all these (sports science) people working for us saying you've got to eat this and do this - forget that. Play the game."
To Babcock's point, the Flyers were also in the second portion of a back-to-back, and heavily carried play as the game wore on.
The compact schedule doesn't stop any time soon for the Leafs, either, as Toronto faces seven more back-to-back situations in the remaining 35 games of its season.
