All 32 NHL teams played last night and the stars were on display. A recap of everything you need to know from that NHL's RedZone event.
That was fun! 32 teams, 16 games, 93 goals and staggered starts. Hard to get better than that. ESPN's Frozen Frenzy was a smashing success. There was a point where ESPN had a double box going and it showed two goals being scoring within seconds of each other. The concept of RedZone on display: you never miss a scoring play. Part of the reason Frozen Frenzy was a smash hit was because the NHL's stars shone brightly. Here's a recap of who did what on Frenzy night.
On the best bets page yesterday, I put out some cheat sheets with projections for players (shots, goals, assists). Jack Hughes didn't score because he was too busy feeding Tyler Toffoli, who scored a hat trick. Draisaitl finished with 0.46 ixG at all strengths and easily could've found the back of the net. As noted yesterday, Ovechkin was bound to score against the Leafs. He, Matthews and the rest of Toronto's stars all found the back of the net on Tuesday. Marchand and Scheifele were quiet against lesser opponents, depending on their team's depth scoring to do the dirty work. Brady Tkachuk did everything but score, including appearing to pop his shoulder out, fighting, and recording six shots. All in all, 6-5 for goal scorers at plus money is a win!
As far as assists go, Barkov didn't play, voiding his prop. Rasmus Dahlin remains Mr. Consistent, tallying an assist in 5 straight games now. Similar to Scheifele, Morrissey left the defensive scoring contributions to depth (Neal Pionk) and didn't tally an assist. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt blew by their benchmarks, with Hughes recording four assists on the night. Draisaitl's assist came on Edmonton's fist on the night when he won a face-off, nothing special. 4-2 on assist props, we'll take it.
Looking at shot props, there were so many spots the model loved yesterday, but we had to narrow it down. The props went 8-4 with Barkov voiding. The Florida Panthers kept Mackenzie Blackwood busy, as every one of them cashed their shot prop. Not included is Matthew Tkachuk who put up nearly 7 shots! Alex Ovechkin had enough of not scoring and accounted for 14(!) of the Capitals' 37 shots. I laddered him to 7+ shots and was not expecting it to win. He cashed it in the first period. Tkachuk and Skinner were all over the place in the Ottawa/Buffalo barn burner, both blowing past their respective totals. Of note, Adam Fantilli looked like a man possessed on his 3rd period goal. He looked like someone with a chip on his shoulder who wanted to send a message to the team that passed on him in June.
Overall, it was a great night if you followed the prop bets! Not every night will be like that. However, when the stars shine they way they did on Tuesday night, it's usually a money maker. Other players who scored include: Auston Matthews, Jason Robertson, Tage Thompson, and Cale Makar.
Speaking of Cale Makar, can we appreciate this goal? The fake on the zone entry is one of the best sell jobs you can manage there. Backhand shelf? Goodness gracious. Ilya Sorokin was outstanding last night, but this highlight belongs to Cale Makar in what was one of the nicest goals of the evening. Makar wasn't the only defenceman with a highlight real goal last night. Mike Matheson's end-to-end rush was the long bright spot in a Montreal loss, but it was a beauty.
So many highlights from last night and we were able to watch them all on Frozen Frenzy. It had a highlight show feel to it, but that is how it will be in hockey. A show where I can see all the goals, the cool plays and great saves should air weekly on Saturdays. Stagger the start times and have a host manage it. Whether an American or Canadian team shares the feed, or Sportsnet revamps Ice Surfing, this is a great idea. For one night, we got to see how industry best practices can be utilized in the NHL, and it was awesome.