The Unstoppable Avs can’t be bothered to let in a goal. Also, Alexandar Georgiev makes his next career move, and Mikko Rantanen is slowly becoming a villain around the NHL.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — November 24.
Colorado Hockey Now
The Avs had four sloppy periods during this weekend road trip and still came home with four out a possible four points, two regulation wins, and two shutouts.
The winning streak is at nine games.
READ MORE: The Aftermath: Shutout Again! Wedgewood Stands Tall, Avalanche Win 9th Straight
Georgiev’s fall from grace needs to be studied. I don’t know how it got to this point this quickly. He’s just 29 years old and was entering his prime during the two-year stretch with the Avs, where he was playing 75% of the games.
Georgiev is leaving the Sabres to join the KHL. Get the details below.
READ MORE: Alexandar Georgiev To Terminate NHL Contract With Buffalo, Depart for KHL
Around The NHL
Mikko Rantanen: Rantanen must be in his villian era. In a matter of days, the once beloved Finnish superstar has created more enemies than friends around the league.
Early last week, Rantanen was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Alex Romanov. It was a well-covered hit that resulted in a threat from opposing coach Patrick Roy. Rantanen was not suspended after the Department of Player Safety deemed it accidental, because he was shoved just before the contract with Romanov.
But on Saturday, Rantanen was at it again. He leveled Matt Coronato into the boards, resulting in yet another five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Coronato was badly cut and left the ice with blood dripping down his face. He ended up returning.
As for Rantanen and the Stars, they lost both games in which their top superstar couldn’t finish. And on Sunday, the NHL announced an automatic one-game suspension for Rantanen for getting kicked out of two games in such a short period. The rule states that a player is handed an automatic one-game suspension for getting a game misconduct twice in a 41-game stretch. Rantanen did it in three games. Not good.
I’m not sure where this is coming from, and both plays were boneheaded and accidental in their own way. But Rantanen has to be better than that. The Stars rely on him, he’s one of the NHL’s marketable superstars, and he’s not doing himself any favors around the league.
The next time Dallas takes on both the Islanders and the Flames, there will be some sort of target on Rantanen’s back. He never once fought in any of the first 673 games of his NHL career. But after the Coronato hit, Jonathan Huberdeau quickly dropped the gloves with Rantanen. I sense he could have as many as three fighting majors after facing New York and Calgary again.
To add to all of this, the Islanders announced Sunday that Romanov had shoulder surgery and will be out 5-6 months. I can’t see any scenario in which Rantanen isn’t goaded into a fight when the two teams meet again in March.
Rantanen will serve his one-game suspension on Tuesday when the Stars are in Edmonton.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs added forward depth on Sunday, signing UFA Alexandre Texier, who terminated his contract with the St. Louis Blues.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Should the Penguins entertain trading one of their two young goalies?
New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils are one of the top teams in the NHL, but they’ll probably look a lot different over the next 12 months. What do they need more, Quinn Hughes, or a forward?
