Gauthier's Goal-Scoring Binge Continues, Hellebuyck Shuts Out The Maple Leafs: The Hockey News Morning Skate

Welcome to The Hockey News Morning Skate, where we give a quick recap of all the action from the NHL every weekday morning so you stay up to date.

Sunday featured a six-game slate with 12 teams in action.

Let's run through the biggest storylines that emerged from last night, and make sure to check out the video version of this story above.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in free fall, losing back-to-back home games against the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils over the weekend. The Maple Leafs have lost five of their last six games in regulation, they have played the most games of any team in the NHL and are 4-6-1 at Scotiabank Arena with upcoming games against Colorado, Minnesota and Edmonton at home.

The biggest concern for Toronto is the amount of injuries that are piling up. Morgan Rielly suffered a lower body injury on Saturday,  Jack Roslovic and Chris Tanev were scratched on against the Devils, and Colton Sissons left the game against the Devils.

The bigger story came after the game, when Devils GM Sunny Mehta released a statement that Connor Hellebuyck, who registered his first shutout and improved his record to 5-0-0, would not make the start in Winnipeg against the Jets on Tuesday. He stated that starting Hellebuyck would reduce the Devils’ expected win probability.

The Boston Bruins defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Sunday. The victory was their fourth straight, and featured a 40-save performance from goalie Jeremy Swayman.

Swayman, who backed up Hellebuyck on Team USA at the Olympics earlier this year, is 9-3-1 with a .920 save percentage, 2.21 GAA, and sits third among all goaltenders in goals saved above expected.

He has to be considered an early favorite for the Vezina Trophy, along with Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt, Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov, and fellow Olympian Jake Oettinger. 

Cutter Gauthier scored his third hat trick in the past five games for the Anaheim Ducks, extending his goal streak to six games in a 5-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

The 22-year-old, who signed a six-year, $81-million contract with the Ducks in September after scoring 41 goals in his sophomore campaign, now has 15 goals in 17 games. He sits just one goal behind Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl in the early stages of the 'Rocket' Richard Trophy race.

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