Leon Draisaitl establishing hi...

Welcome to 10 Insights and Observations. Every week, I’ll use this space to highlight teams, players, storylines, and general musings around the NHL.

This week we look at Mr. Game Winner, the Boston Bruins seemingly never slowing down, a nice 2-on-1 play on offense, some sneaky good defensemen, a Habs goalie flying under the radar and much more.

Leon Draisaitl always comes up clutch

If you look up who has the most game-winning goals year after year, there is one certainty: Leon Draisaitl. League-wide, here is where he has ranked in game-winning goals over the past three plus seasons:

2019-20: Tied for first

2020-21: Tied for third

2021-22: Tied for first

2022-23: First

Since entering the league, he is second in game-winning goals. Connor McDavid has eight more than him in that time. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, nobody has more game-winning goals than Draisaitl. In the playoffs, he has an absurd 59 points in 37 games. His performance last postseason playing through injury was incredible. Some of the defensive criticisms he faces are real but with the game on the line, he might be the best game-breaker in the league.

Sam Montembeault proving he belongs

When teams embark on a rebuild, the obvious starting point is to bottom out and collect high draft picks. It is the best way to accumulate high-end, cost-controlled talent. When you look at the top scorers in the league, the vast majority of them have been drafted by the team they are scoring for. Teams are not in the habit of losing top-end players, so the general solution is that you need to draft them yourself.

Nikita Zadorov has settled in nicely in Calgary

The career arc of Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been fascinating. The 2013 first-round pick has bounced around a little bit. He was included as a big piece in the trade that brought Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo. He was up and down in Colorado, eventually getting traded in a package deal that netted the Avalanche Brandon Saad. In Chicago he got thrown to the wolves, with almost 62 percent of his non-neutral zone starts coming in the defensive zone.

Colin Miller holding his own with Miro Heiskanen

Continuing on the train of defensemen having interesting careers is Colin Miller. Originally drafted by the LA Kings, he was part of the trade package that saw LA get Milan Lucic. He put together a promising show with the Bruins that resulted in him getting claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights, where he was a regular in their Cup run, playing over 19 minutes per game and chipping in seven points in 20 playoff games at age 24.

The 2-on-1 sneak attack

There is nothing worse than a 2-on-1 where the puck carrier patiently tries to make a play but they take too long and eventually skate themselves into a low-percentage opportunity. They get around the hashmark, the defender goes down to cover the pass, and unless they make an incredible saucer pass that actually connects, they take a meager shot on goal that the goalie can easily angle off. Even worse is the pass simply getting blocked altogether and not even getting a shot off.

Who needs assists when you can score goals?

We love a good Cy Young winner in this column — someone who has a lot more goals than assists. Presenting a new potential option is always fun and with that we give you: Kirill Marchenko. The Columbus rookie has played 25 games so far this season and has a very good 11 goals. You have maybe not heard of him despite his decent goal total because he has zero assists. He is the definition of a trigger man, launching 45 shots on net through those 25 games and just hunting his spots to get a hold of the puck and let it rip. He is looking to attack at all times. Look at this hat trick he scored recently.

Panthers run out of gas when it matters most

The Florida Panthers have been a bit of a Rubik's Cube all season and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than looking at their goals scored by period. The swings are stunning. Nobody in the league has scored more goals than them in the first period and they have a plus-10 differential in the opening frame. They are an even better with a plus-12 goal differential in second periods. And then they give it all back late. Nobody in the league has been scored against more times in the third period. 

Kris Letang's storybook moment

In the category of amazing, how about Pittsburgh Penguins veteran Kris Letang? After suffering a stroke — the second of his career — it was fair to wonder if the 35-year-old would ever even want to play again. But just 10 days later he was back on the ice. He returned to game action only to suffer a lower-body injury that knocked him back out. Then his father passed away. He finally returned on Tuesday and had four points, including the overtime winner.

Bruins peaking too early or are they just one of the best teams in NHL history?

At this point I keep waiting for the Bruins to come down to earth… and it simply is not happening. If you sort the standings for the month of January alone, they are still in first. They are 10-1-0 since the calendar flipped to 2023.

No Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand to start the season? No problem. Lose Jake DeBrusk in the midst of a career year? Doesn’t matter. Taylor Hall goes on a 16-game goalless drought while DeBrusk is out? Just keep winning.

Islanders dealing with January blues

On the other side, the Islanders are 2-8-3 this month. Only Arizona has been worse by points percentage. The Islanders are averaging 1.92 goals per game in that stretch and their power play is clicking at 6.5 percent. Through those 13 games, nobody has more than six points (four players are tied for that amount, for what it’s worth). Anders Lee leads their team with four goals in that time.