Deep Blue Sea: Back in the win column

Last night’s national broadcast was a head-scratching double header, featuring a battle for the basement where the Detroit Red Wings visited the Buffalo Sabres and a low-stakes should-have-been-easy-win for the Edmonton Oilers, who faced the San Jose Sharks.

And yet, here we are, with the Sharks on an unexpected two-game win streak. I don’t know about y’all, but I had a pretty good time watching those two wins.

Things did sour slightly when, near the end of the game, Randy Hahn mentioned on the broadcast that there is plenty of interest around the league when it comes to Brenden Dillon. Being reminded that the Sharks are going to be selling and that Dillon could finish the season (and his career) elsewhere is a bummer point when the Sharks are putting six on the Oilers.

If you’re interested, read more about Brenden Dillon’s trade value (along with news and notes) below:

News & Notes

• NHL Trade Buzz: Dillon has heard rumors, wants to stay with Sharks [NHL.com]
• NHL Trade Deadline targets debated by writers [NHL.com]
• Why Keith Jones expects Sharks to trade Brenden Dillon, other veterans [NBC Sports]
• Sharks’ Joe Thornton becomes 14th player in NHL history to collect 1,500 points [Yahoo! Sports]
• Injuries hopefully behind him, Stefan Noesen looks to take advantage of his opportunity with Sharks [The Athletic]
• How Barclay Goodrow’s fight got Sharks back on track in win vs. Flames [NBC Sports]
• G.M. Doug Wilson has decision to make on Sharks goalie [The Mercury News]/

Blood in the Water

• NHL Power Rankings: Who Are the True Contenders Ahead of the Trade Deadline? [Sports Illustrated]
• The cases for, against every top NHL MVP candidate [ESPN]
• N.H.L. Takeaways From January [The New York Times]
• Why the Buffalo Sabres are the NHL’s biggest disaster [ESPN]
• Parise’s road to 1,000 NHL games ‘not easy’ for Wild forward [NHL.com]
• NHL defends controversial call that negated potential game-winning goal for Blackhawks [Yahoo! Sports]
• Nine overage CHLers who could play their way into an NHL deal [The Hockey News]
• NHL Numbers: Hockeytown, we have a problem [The Hockey News]
• For the Alaska Heat high school hockey team, the player pool is geographically gigantic [Anchorage Daily News]/

Scores & Recaps

• San Jose Sharks 6, Edmonton Oilers 3
• Anaheim Ducks 2, Montreal Canadiens 3 (OT)
• Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 5
• Vancouver Canucks 2, Minnesota Wild 4
• Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 4
• Detroit Red Wings 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 (SO)
• Vegas Golden Knights 7, Florida Panthers 2
• New Jersey Devils 5, Philadelphia Flyers 0
• Colorado Avalanche 4, Ottawa Senators 1
• Winnipeg Jets 4, St. Louis Blues 2
• Nashville Predators 3, Calgary Flames 2
• Carolina Hurricanes 5, Arizona Coyotes 3/

Click each team’s name to find a recap on their own SB Nation team site!

On the Schedule

• Anaheim Ducks at Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 PT/7 ET on SNO, PRIME
• Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, TVAS, MSG, MSG-B
• Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, FS-O, FS-D
• Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars, 5:30 PT/8:30 ET on NHLN, FS-SW+, FS-N, FS-WI/