NHL Frozen Frenzy: Previewing Every Oct. 22 Game
It's time once again for everyone to hit the ice for the NHL Frozen Frenzy. All 32 teams will be in action on Tuesday, and that gives us a great opportunity to wrack our brains trying to get a glimpse of everyone.
From 6 p.m. ET when Philadelphia hosts Washington to 11 p.m. ET when Vegas hosts Los Angeles for the night's final game, we'll have 16 games in all to soak in all the NHL goodness we can handle.
It's early in the season, but we've had a few teams have hot starts and a few others begin the season ice-cold. There are surprises and disappointments early on and if any team wants to change the narrative, this is as good an opportunity as any to do it.
It's a big night for games and we're going to give you a taste of all 16 games going on Tuesday night with a bite-size preview of the action.
Let's surf the schedule and make sure our favorite recliner or spot on the couch is ready for a long night.
Philadelphia Flyers (1-3-1) vs. Washington Capitals (3-1-0)
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It's been a tough opening to the season for the Flyers after starting in western Canada and Seattle, and coming home to get shut out by the Vancouver Canucks was no treat, either.
They'll get to face their first Eastern Conference team this season and it just happens to be a division rival in the Capitals who are off to a great start.
Tom Wilson is off to a monster start with five goals and Dylan Strome has seven points. What might be scary for the Flyers is Alex Ovechkin has only one goal so far, which means he's due to bust out at any time.
Philadelphia will hope to see rookie star Matvei Michkov fired up to face Ovechkin for the first time and put on a show for everyone.
Florida Panthers (4-2-1) vs. Minnesota Wild (3-0-2)
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The Florida Panthers have looked nasty at times to start the year, and the fact they've done some of that damage without Aleksander Barkov shows they've got the heart of a champion.
It also helps to have Sam Reinhart pick up where he left off last season, too.
However, the Panthers are facing a Wild team that's unbeaten to start the season and letting people know it can be a tough out in the Central Division itself.
Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have been superb generating offense for Minnesota and dual-threat goalie Filip Gustavsson isn't just shutting down opponents, he's also scoring goals himself.
This should be a fun and fascinating game to test the Wild and to see what the Panthers do against a team that's also playing well.
New Jersey Devils (5-2-1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-2-0)
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of two teams that go into the Frozen Frenzy having played the night before, and their 5-2 loss in Toronto was rather unbecoming of them.
They'll try to rebound from that in New Jersey against a Devils team that is off to a great start.
Whether the Devils run Jake Allen or Jacob Markström in goal, they'll still have Jack Hughes leading the way with current leading scorers Nico Hischier and Stefan Noesen alongside goal-scoring monster Paul Cotter.
The Lightning will still have Nikita Kucherov looking to strike with his league-leading seven goals. Although it was Andrei Vasilevskiy who took it on the chin Monday night in Toronto, it should be Jonas Johansson's turn in goal.
It will be up to Victor Hedman and the Tampa Bay defense to lock it down and get over losing to the Leafs.
Buffalo Sabres (2-4-1) vs. Dallas Stars (5-1-0)
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If nothing else, the Buffalo Sabres have been in some exciting games this season. The only problem for them is that they've led to them losing more than winning.
Welcoming the Dallas Stars to town means they'd better do their part to make things not exciting or else the grumpiness in western New York will grow louder.
With Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch driving the offense, that's a good start but they really need their power play to wake up because they're 0-for-21 to start the season.
Dallas rolls into Buffalo fresh off a 4-1 win against Edmonton and apart from its loss to Washington, it has looked fantastic.
Stars goalie Jake Oettinger has been outrageously good and top scorer Logan Stankoven has yet to score a goal yet because he's been busy feeding others such as Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene.
Montreal Canadiens (2-3-1) vs. New York Rangers (4-0-1)
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The Canadiens have a bunch of young and exciting players leading the way with Cole Caufield piling up goals, Juraj Slafkovský stirring up the offense and rookie defenseman Lane Hutson wowing everyone with his skill.
It's a good thing they've got them going for them because they're going to need them against the Rangers.
Artemi Panarin is tied for the league lead in points with Colorado's Cale Makar and he's making sure everyone remembers how he wants to win MVP in New York City.
And if it's not Panarin lighting things up, there's goalie Igor Shesterkin making opposing scorers miserable by stoning everyone. The Rangers are picking up where they left off last year as Presidents' Trophy winners, and they're looking to take the next step this year.
Columbus Blue Jackets (2-3-0) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2-0)
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The Maple Leafs are riding high after a 5-2 win against Tampa Bay at home on Monday night.
William Nylander's five goals lead the way for them and Mitch Marner is tied with him on seven points to lead the team.
Oh yeah, there's Auston Matthews there, too, and he's up to three goals after taking the first couple games to get going.
With Joseph Woll out of action, Anthony Stolarz has been great in goal, although he got the start Monday night, which could mean Dennis Hildeby gets the call in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets are finding their way and after getting their two wins against Buffalo and Colorado, they're showing they've got some scoring punch when they find a groove.
Yegor Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko have been solid, and Sean Monahan is proving the Jackets were wise to sign him this summer. They'll have their hands full trying to contain the Leafs, but they've beaten Colorado already this season so anything can happen.
New York Islanders (2-1-2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (2-3-0)
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Seeing the Red Wings and Islanders meeting at this point right now is like having two teams staring into a mirror.
When they're on and playing well, they're as difficult to beat as anyone in the league, but when they're off? Look out, because the goals against will pile up and the goals for will disappear.
It's too early to be fretting, though, and the Islanders have Noah Dobson playing like someone eager to get into the Norris Trophy discussion, and Ilya Sorokin will be eager to prove last year was a hiccup in his performance.
Meanwhile, Detroit has Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat doing their thing on offense while Andrew Copp is popping in a few goals to start as well. If Alex Lyon is the man in goal, things might get more consistent quickly in Detroit.
St. Louis Blues (4-2-0) vs. Winnipeg Jets (5-0-0)
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The Winnipeg Jets are the league's only team with a perfect record and the reasons why are obvious.
Connor Hellebuyck is shutting everyone down in goal, but Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are also scoring goals for fun while Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk are piling up points in support as well.
We knew they'd be good, but we didn't expect them to be "undefeated through the first five games" good.
St. Louis, meanwhile, is off to a solid opening itself thanks to Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich up front and new guy Philip Broberg all getting off to nice starts.
Mix in goalie Joel Hofer taking care of business when he starts (Jordan Binnington a little less so for the moment) and that's how you get to 4-2-0.
This game will provide a fascinating peek into life in the Central Division.
Chicago Blackhawks (2-3-1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (2-1-2)
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If you turned back the clock to 10-15 years ago, a Chicago-Vancouver matchup this early in the season would have been appointment viewing and a candidate for best game of the night.
It's not quite like that now, but there are plenty of good reasons to tune in.
Connor Bedard is worth watching on his own, and the Canucks, despite a slow-ish start, are still exciting to see with Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson.
If J.T. Miller is healthy enough to play (he's questionable after getting banged up on Saturday), then that makes it even more interesting to see how he and Bedard square off.
Seattle Kraken (4-2-0) vs. Colorado Avalanche (2-4-0)
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Things could be going a lot better for Colorado, but for all the great things they've got happening on offense—including Cale Makar tied for the league lead in points with Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon right behind—it's the nightmarish goaltending they've had from everyone that's got them in a funk.
It's up to Alexandar Georgiev to get his game back in order or else the Avs will have a huge problem to solve without many options.
The Kraken under head coach Dan Bylsma are off to a nice start thanks to Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann along with an army of depth scoring.
It's a similar way they were able to march to the playoffs two seasons ago and getting some good starts out of goalie Joey Daccord helps out.
Not having defenseman Vince Dunn will hurt, but that's why they signed Brandon Montour out of Florida in the summer.
Nashville Predators (0-5-0) vs. Boston Bruins (3-2-1)
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After the headlines the Predators made this summer by signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, starting the season 0-5-0 was the most unexpected thing to happen.
Goalie Juuse Saros has been slow out of the gates and the offense isn't clicking at all. Stamkos has one goal, but that puts him one goal out of the team lead held by both Filip Fosberg and Tommy Novak.
Forsberg's five points are tops on the team, and they're going to need a lot more than that to be a playoff contender.
Meanwhile, the Bruins have had a few of their own bumps here and there with Jeremy Swayman getting his game together after not having any training camp time. The offense is curious because free-agent signing Cole Koepke leads them in points while David Pastrnak leads them with four goals.
Sometimes good teams need a little while to get going, but the Predators have to at least get some points out of these losses if nothing else.
Edmonton Oilers (2-4-0) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (2-2-0)
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Remember when everyone thought it was the end of the world for the Oilers when they started 0-3-0? It was kind of silly, to be honest, but any team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on it can't always get out to a miserable start to the season (sorry, Jay Woodcroft).
They're still not playing perfect and there are still some issues to sort through, but once the pucks start going in, we'll all be having a laugh about the early stumble.
Carolina, somehow, has only played four games this season and when it's been on top of its game, it's looked like the team that threatens to win the East every year.
When the Hurricanes are off, they're not as good. But also, it's been four games and their leading goal scorers are Shayne Gostisbehere (3), Jackson Blake and Jack Roslovic (2).
Utah Hockey Club (4-1-1) vs. Ottawa Senators (3-2-0)
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Raise your hand if you had the Utah Hockey Club getting off to a 4-1-1 start and I'll show you a liar.
Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Barrett Hayton have been fantastic for them to start the season when it comes to scoring goals, and Nick Schmaltz and Logan Cooley have been the playmakers piling up assists.
Utah is winning games by being plucky and scoring a bunch while its goaltending plays well enough for the team to win. It's a nice way to get the new fans in Salt Lake City fired up, that's for sure.
Ottawa is kind of a funny team, though. Yes, it's got all the pressure of needing to be a playoff team this year, but it's also got a devil-may-care aura and it's leading to goals.
Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Joshua Norris and Drake Batherson are making it happen up front, while Jake Sanderson is leading the charge on the blue line. So long as Linus Ullmark stays healthy, the Sens should be fun all year.
Calgary Flames (4-0-1) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3-4-0)
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Speaking of pleasant surprises, how about those Calgary Flames?
They are off to a great start thanks to the trio of Jonathan Huberdeau, Anthony Mantha and Martin Pospisil.
If you had them picked to be a top scoring line, I hope you're playing the lottery as well. Huberdeau's early-season resurgence is beyond encouraging and seeing Dustin Wolf playing great in goal provides a lot of reassurance.
Pittsburgh for all its star power is not at all boring. Evgeni Malkin looks fantastic, and Sidney Crosby remains incredible. Add in a rejuvenated Lars Eller, a reborn Jesse Puljujärvi and Erik Karlsson leading the way from the backend and it's a fascinating mix.
What they really need is Tristan Jarry to figure it out in goal and Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist to hold it down as well as they can while he does.
It's never boring in Pittsburgh, that's for sure.
Anaheim Ducks (2-2-1) vs. San Jose Sharks (0-4-2)
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If you're staying up late on the East Coast to watch Ducks-Sharks, our hats are off to you.
The Sharks are without Macklin Celebrini on a week-to-week basis because of injury, which is a huge letdown for everyone.
Having William Smith and William Eklund provides a nice glimpse into the future but without the No. 1 pick, it's just kind of a bummer.
The Ducks, meanwhile, have a load of fun, young (and healthy) players to showcase. From Leo Carlsson to Cutter Gauthier to Olen Zellweger to Pavel Mintyukov, there are so many reasons to get to know why they're a team on the rise.
That's not even taking into account the guys we already know there such as Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano and Mason McTavish either.
It's just...it would be way more fun to see them face the Sharks with Celebrini on the ice right now.
Vegas Golden Knights (3-2-1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (3-1-2)
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Capping off the night with a pair of fascinating teams out west like Vegas and Los Angeles makes staying up all night worthwhile.
Jack Eichel and Mark Stone have been fantastic to start the year, and Ivan Barbashev has been superb as well. With Shea Theodore leading the way from the backend, the Golden Knights are good about reminding everyone why they're a threat in the West.
That's not even taking into account Alex Pietrangelo and Tomas Hertl there as well. It sure is nice to have star talent.
Meanwhile, the Kings have Anze Kopitar proving that age is just a number when it comes to hockey. The 37-year-old leads them in scoring and if there's ever a guy to pick up the team on his shoulders to lead them to victory, it's him.
Add in Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala on offense and rookie Alex Laferriere blowing up with four goals early on and you can almost forget they're without Drew Doughty. Almost.
That goaltending, though...
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