VHN Daily: Tuch Speaks Highly of Fleury, COVID Restrictions Loosened

Welcome back to the now renamed VHN Daily. We realized titling it “OK” after your’s truly’s initials made it sound more like mediocre link dumps rather than a comprehensive daily news update.

The Vegas Golden Knights will play their final game before the 2022 NHL All-Star Break Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres. They will then have five days off until they start to play their make-up games against the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

Speaking of the 2022 NHL All-Star Game which the Golden Knights will host in Las Vegas, the NHL has announced two new outdoor Skills Competitions that players will take part in on Friday. The “Fountain Faceoff” at the Bellagio Fountains and “21 in 22” on Las Vegas Boulevard will be two very unique Las Vegas-themed skills competitions.

The Golden Knights play the Sabres tonight for the first time since the Jack Eichel trade in early November. Eichel will not play, however former Golden Knight’s Peyton Krebs and Alex Tuch will. Both have fit it well with the Sabres organization with Krebs scoring his first three NHL goals and Tuch currently performing at a point-per-game pace.

When Alex Tuch got traded to the Sabres he introduced himself to everyone he crossed paths with. He said it wasn’t a big but deal realizes it’s important to build a connection with everyone in the organization. He learned that from Marc-Andre Fleury #Sabres #VegasBorn @WKBW pic.twitter.com/s0o3rKZBs1

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) February 1, 2022

Vegas: Also unavailable for the Golden Knights will be defenseman Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague. Alec Martinez will also not return to the lineup and Dylan Coghlan remains out in COVID-19 protocols. Just like that, the defense has disappeared for the Golden Knights. Brayden Pachal, Daniil Miromanov, and Kaeden Korczak have been recalled.

ICYMI: On the bright side for the Golden Knights defensively Brayden McNabb has signed a three-year extension along with Logan Thompson and Michael Amadio.

Meme/Funny Photo of the Day: This one is more sad than it is funny. Congrats to the Senators for their sellout crowd of 500 people amidst COVID-19 restrictions…

Never thought I’d see the day this was on the jumbotron. pic.twitter.com/Po8IYPaEdS

— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) February 1, 2022

NHL News, Trade Rumors, and National Hockey Now

COVID Reminder: The NHL and NHLPA will loosen their COVID-19 restrictions after the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. The league will go back to the protocols that they had to start the season which includes no daily testing. Dylan Coghlan and Chandler Stephenson are currently in COVID-19 protocols for the Golden Knights. Hopefully, this new method can reduce the number of players in COVID-19 protocols around the entire NHL.

Washington: Replacing injured Adam Fox for the Metro. Division at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game, Evgeny Kuznetsov is excited about his second ASG appearance.

Florida: The Panthers once again torched another NHL team with today’s victim being the Columbus Blue Jackets. Mason Marchment tied Olli Jokinen’s Panthers record by scoring six points in one game.

Long Island: Does Kieffer Bellows still have a role with the New York Islanders?

Calgary: Flames head coach Darryl Sutter wants more out of defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

Will the Flames make a push to acquire Connor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline?

Minnesota: The Wild have signed Jordan Greenway to a three-year extension worth $3 million AAV.

San Jose: Blink and you’ll miss it- watch this sneaky skate pass from Jonathan Dahlen to Rudolfs Balcers who then scored.

Colorado: Good news on the Nathan Mackinnon injury front as the superstar center is “feeling better.”

In Mackinnon’s absence, Nazem Kadri has been stellar and has been named the NHL’s first start of the week.

Boston: Given his early struggles, is it time for the Boston Bruins to bail on the Tukka Rask experiment?

As a pending UFA, is Patrice Bergeron going to leave the Boston Bruins after this season?