Another shutout for Dubnyk

Hockey fans during this time of year can literally spend most of their Saturday watching games. Not a bad thing, especially in the thick of winter. Saturday's slate featured 11 games, the first of which started at 3 p.m. between the Rangers and the Predators in Nashville. Let's get right to the recaps:

PREDATORS 3, RANGERS 2

— Is Mike Ribeiro the best bargain for your buck this year in the NHL? The center got the game-winning goal against the Rangers, his 11th goal and 44th point of the season. He also reached the 700-point mark. After a down year marred by some off-ice issues and a buyout by the Coyotes, Ribeiro has been the type of playmaker Nashville has lacked in recent seasons.

— This game featured three goals from defensemen. After Rick Nash’s 33rd, which came on the power play midway through the second period, the Predators would score two late goals within 41 seconds of one another to close the frame. Roman Josi (10) and Shea Weber (12) both launched bombs that Cam Talbot (20 saves) had no chance on. Josi also had an assist, and he now leads Weber by a point (37) for tops among Nashville defensemen. Ryan McDonagh evened up the score early in the third with some nifty shimmies and a wrister of his own.

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— Pekka Rinne looked more like his Vezina-caliber self in this game, making 30 saves, than the first one in his return from injury. The Rangers had the territorial edge, and Rinne was the difference in this game. He will be making a run at the Vezina and Hart trophies as the season comes to a close.

— Despite the .870 save percentage, the Rangers did not lose this game because of Talbot. The “Talbot Era” will last at least three weeks with Henrik Lundqvist on the shelf. This is not only an important time for the Rangers during their playoff push, but also a showcase for Talbot in his effort to become a number one eventually.

WILD 1, AVALANCHE 0

— Devan Dubnyk (18 saves) is really liking life with the Wild. That’s two consecutive shutouts, and three over his past four games. He has a 7-1-0 record, with a 1.31 GAA and .948% in his nine starts there. There is no way he continues to be this good, but there’s a good chance he’s above average (or better) for the rest of the season. It’s not like he’s faced the league’s toughest teams during the stretch, but he’s cemented what had been a leaky spot in the Wild’s lineup. He should be owned in all leagues at this point.

— Minnesota is five points out of a playoff spot, and Dubnyk will be pivotal to their charge up the standings. The Wild have won five games in a row.

— It’s pretty remarkable that the Wild didn’t win by more than one. Minnesota out-attempted the Avalanche 34-6 in the first period, while out-shooting them 17-4. Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves in the loss.

— Charlie Coyle’s seventh goal of the season on a deflection of Marco Scandella’s shot was all the Wild needed. Solid player, just not on fantasy radars yet.

KINGS 4, LIGHTNING 2

— If Jonathan Quick (26 saves) can do this more often, the Kings will have what they need to make a playoff run over the 30 games remaining in the season. The Kings are five points out of a wild-card spot. There is still so much to like about this team, and Quick will be the determining factor.

— Justin Williams ended a seven-game pointless skid with two goals Saturday. He’s one of those guys whose value goes beyond the typical goal-assist numbers, of which he has just 15 and 12, respectively. It will be interesting to see what he gets in his next contract.

— Tyler Toffoli and Drew Doughty also scored. Toffoli has enjoyed a very solid rookie season, with 14 goals and 30 points. Doughty has five goals and 31 points, which three points over his past five games.

— Ben Bishop (six saves) gave up three goals on the nine shots he faced in the first period. Then he hit the showers. Andrei Vasilevskiy came in and made 19 saves in relief. Bishop has been pretty average — 2.37 GAA, .912 SV% — this season, but his wins (26) upside remains tremendous.

— Victor Hedman has goals in two straight games, along with 10 penalty minutes (two on Saturday). He will be an asset to all fantasy lineups down the stretch.

BRUINS 2, ISLANDERS 1

— Remember that time when we were wondering if the Bruins would even make the playoffs? Yeah, that’s long gone as the Bruins now have 63 points, seven ahead of the Panthers for the final wild-card spot. Boston has won three of its past four games and is 9-2-1 in that span. I would not want to play these guys in the first round.

— Tuukka Rask (39 saves) was the difference in this one. I know I keep harping on this, but when it comes to track records for a guy in his prime, it pays to be patient. Rask has been awesome.

— Loui Eriksson picked up the game winner, and Patrice Bergeron got the other one. Sure, 12 goals and 31 points aren't that exciting and that is far off the 70-point pace he had a few years ago. But Eriksson continues to do a lot of things well in Boston.

— Chad Johnson won’t be getting a lot of starts the rest of the way, but this one is worth noting because he made 34 saves, in what has to be a confidence booster. The Isles don’t have to worry about the playoffs, but they will be fighting for their seed, so Johnson’s starts are not just throw-aways.

SABRES 3, STARS 2

— If you’re the Stars, who are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, you just can’t lose to the Sabres. The Stars controlled the territorial side of things, but Anders Lindback (21 saves) did them no favors early, giving up the game’s first three goals. Dallas was unable to erase a 3-0 deficit, which was the case by 5:59 of the second period.

— There was and is no reason to worry about Tyler Seguin. He halted his six-game goal drought with a goal on a whopping 10 shots in this one. Even the game's best players go through scoring slumps. It’s important to realize nothing was lacking from his game except a little puck luck. Seguin has 29 goals and league-leading 58 points. His 221 shots are second-most, too.

— The Sabres got goals from Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons. But most importantly, Chris Stewart had three assists. He has 17 of his 21 points since December. It’s only a matter of time before he gets moved. Still think whichever team acquires him will be disappointed, because it will likely come at too high a price.

— Jhonas Enroth made 38 saves. The reason Buffalo held on.

MAPLE LEAFS 5, OILERS 1

— The 11-game losing streak is over for the Maple Leafs. Leave it to a team that has also been trying to find its identity for years to cure the ills.

— Toronto got goals from five different players: Peter Holland (goal, assist), Richard Panik, Phil Kessel, Mike Santorelli and Morgan Rielly. There are some good pieces on this team, despite all the chaos. No reason why general manager Dave Nonis and his staff should not be open-minded as the deadline approaches.

— James Reimer was sharp, making 31 saves. Jonathan Bernier missed another game with an illness.

— Viktor Fasth has lost three of his past four games. He gave up five goals on 28 shots in this one. Edmonton thought it had two quasi-number-one netminders this season. Turns out they were wrong about that.

CANADIENS 6, DEVILS 2

— Right now there are a few teams in the league you want to play for a pick-me-up. Montreal needed one after losing to the Sabres. New Jersey has not outshot its opponent since Dec. 17, when it had a 34-16 advantage on Ottawa. In this one, the Canadiens had 44 shots on goal, compared to 23 for the Devils.

— The Devils have also become a good team to target if you own their opponents’ players. On Saturday, Tomas Plekanec and Dale Weise each potted two goals. Plekanec has 15 goals and 35 points, so he’s more of a lower-tier starting forward in fantasy leagues. Andrei Markov and Lars Eller got the others. P.K. Subban and David Desharnais picked up three helpers apiece.

— Mike Cammalleri notched his 18th goal, and third in four games. If there ever was a smoke-and-mirrors season, it’s this one. Cammalleri has scored on one in every five shots, nine percent higher than his career-high. Just in his last four games, he has seven shots on goal. Sell now.

— Not a great atmosphere to acclimate a young goalie. Keith Kinkaid made 38 saves, with the Canadiens going three-for-three on the power play.

BLUE JACKETS 4, SENATORS 1

— You could’ve missed two-thirds of this game and been OK, at least from a goal standpoint. All five of the goals were scored in the final frame. With 49 points, this season has not gone as I had scripted it for the Blue Jackets. Injuries derailed a lot of their momentum from last season. The goal now should be to build it up for next year.

— Columbus got goals from Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Mark Letestu. Foligno has three goals and four points over his past two games. With 21 goals and 49 points, he has a chance at his first point-per-game season. Can he do it? I think he’ll fall just short, but that doesn’t mean he won’t continue to be a big asset as the season comes to a close.

— Curtis McElhinney kicked aside 34 shots in the win. He’s clearly not a top netminder, but he’s performed well recently, with four consecutive performances of at least a .903 SV%.

— Erik Condra scored for Ottawa. He has just five goals and nine points this season. On an expiring contract, he would make a savvy addition for a contender. Let TSN.ca’s Travis Yost explain further.

RED WINGS 3, COYOTES 1

— Can’t say enough about how the Red Wings develop their players. You would not guess that Tomas Tatar is in just his second full NHL season. The 24-year-old had a goal and two assists, to give him 23 goals and 39 points. A 35-goal, 60-point season isn’t out of the question. That’s extremely valuable.

— While Jimmy Howard (groin) has been out, the Red Wings have also learned they have an excellent backup in Petr Mrazek. He was 1:54 away from posting his second shutout in a row. Mrazek is likely to be back on the bench for the Red Wings’ next game, Feb. 11 against the Penguins, as Howard is expected to return to the lineup. Howard is locked up long term, but Mrazek has shown he’s Detroit’s goalie of the future.

— Speaking of goalies … Mike Smith has actually been a lot better lately. The wins will be hard to come by, but even after this loss, the 6-foot-4 netminder has recorded at least a .920 SV% in five of his past six games. Are you ready to take the plunge? I’d like to see how he fares during the upcoming week against some skilled opponents: Blackhawks, Blues, Sharks and Rangers.

CANUCKS 5, PENGUINS 0

— You wouldn’t have known that the Penguins had not allowed a goal over their past two games. Digging a little deeper into this one, it wasn’t really as lopsided as a five-goal loss would indicate. Thomas Greiss’ poor showing (22 saves) did them in.

— Alex Burrows had a great game, with a goal and an assist, both of which came on the power play. He is also playing on a line with the Sedins, so he could be worth a look as long as he sticks with that duo.

— Vancouver also got goals from Bo Horvat, Shawn Matthias and Zack Kassian. Not that a team getting Kassian should judge him solely off the short term, but it can’t hurt that he’s got points in two consecutive games.

— Ryan Miller recorded a shutout on 31 saves. He now has six on the season, which is the second most in the league. That he has a 2.35 GAA and .916 SV% shows you he’s been a bit boom or bust this year. Miller makes for a pretty good second goalie in fantasy leagues in the season’s final few months.

HURRICANES 5, SHARKS 4

— San Jose has dropped three of its past four games. When you consider yourself a playoff team, losing at home to the Hurricanes doesn’t bode too well. Carolina pretty much dominated them during five-on-five play.

— Andrej Sekera got a goal and an assist. Any team looking for a blueliner who can generate offense needs to be giving Sekera a serious look. The Hurricanes will likely get a nice return for him, as one of the better blueliners available during this trade season.

— Elias Lindholm also registered a goal and an assist. The big point totals (10 goals, 23 points) aren’t there yet, but Lindholm is holding his own as a 20-year-old at the NHL level. His future looks bright.

— Ignore the minus-13 rating when it comes to Justin Faulk. He’s an emerging first-pair blueliner. The 22-year-old had three helpers Saturday, to give him 32 points this season. Faulk also had a plus-two rating.

— Tomas Hertl tallied three points — two goals and an assist. The goals were his first since Jan. 13. Here’s another case of a young player struggling with consistency at the NHL level. He has 10 goals and 22 points in 54 games after posting 15 and 25 in 37 games during his rookie year. Hertl has some solid underlying rates so it’s only a matter of time before he puts it all together on a regular basis.