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* Florida Panthers forward Tomas Kopecky is 2-for-2 in the shootout this season despite not getting a chance to shoot before the sixth round either time. He scored in the 10th round to beat the Washington Capitals on Dec. 13 and in the sixth round to beat the Nashville Predators on Saturday..
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Is Chris Kreider a top contender for the Calder Trophy? -- @surlysailor
Indeed he is among the top contenders for the Calder Trophy. In fact, our own Jon Lane wrote that Kreider would win the Calder Trophy if it were handed out today. Kreider, though, has serious competition from the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Aleksander Barkov. What I like about Kreider's game is how physical he is. He's a powerful player with a particularly strong lower body. His legs power him, and he's using them better this season than he has in the past. He's been an effective player since coming back from the AHL. As long as he continues to use his legs, Kreider should be able to create offense and stay in the Calder race.
The Capitals, Hurricanes, Blues and Ducks have an abundance of goalies. Who moves and who is interested? -- @paulfrank17
I can see the Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues potentially making moves. The Carolina Hurricanes shouldn't do anything as long as Cam Ward is on injured reserve. The Anaheim Ducks are in the same position with Viktor Fasth. The other thing with Anaheim is that Frederik Andersen does not have to clear waivers, so if Fasth returns, they can send Andersen to the AHL without any concern. Trading Jonas Hiller would be a mistake even though he's in the final year of his contract. He's been excellent, and Anaheim is a contending team.
The funny thing with the Blues is they could actually be in the market for a goalie even though they have Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott and Jake Allen. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong may try to acquire Ryan Miller from the Buffalo Sabres before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 5. He'd likely want to trade Elliott or Halak in the deal. They're scheduled to be unrestricted free agents after the season.
In Washington, Philipp Grubauer's play is making Michal Neuvirth appear expendable, especially since Braden Holtby is better than he has played and simply needs his confidence back to be good again. Neuvirth carries a $2.5 million salary-cap charge next season. It would make sense for the New York Islanders to make a play for him.
Where do you rank John Tavares as far as player rankings? Third behind Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin? -- @notFABRIZI
Player rankings are difficult because Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are completely different players, so how do you rank them? I know that sounds like a cop out, but it's true. How do you rank a pure goal-scorer next to a playmaking center? I will always lean toward the playmaking center as being more valuable player because he makes other players around him better. But the goal-scorer can be the game-breaker. Ovechkin is the best scorer in the NHL.
That said, to answer your question, I'd put Tavares behind Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Jonathan Toews and Steven Stamkos, but a notch ahead of Ovechkin. But like I said, I'm a big believer in the playmakers because they make the goal-scorers better, not the other way around.
What country will be the biggest potential dark horse in Sochi? -- @the_saad
Finland. It seems like people always take the Finns for granted, but they're the only country that has medaled three times since NHL players started participating in the Olympics 16 years ago. They have arguably the deepest goaltending in the tournament with Tuukka Rask, Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. Minus Saku Koivu, they have the same core as they usually do, plus they have some young studs in Aleksander Barkov and Olli Maatta. They know how to play the big-ice game. The one question I have is will their defense hold up, but I'm on the lookout for the Finns.