McDavid elevates Kraken’s history
Welcome back to the NHL’s Best and Worst. We’ve got another full slate of great NHL moments from this past week, including some celebrity cameos, John Tortorella staying on brand and more Connor McDavid magic.
The week’s goal
Connor McDavid’s ascension this season into the league’s top goalscorer has been mind-bending to watch. The Oilers captain is more aggressive than ever, has never been more high-flying and is almost impossible to stop.
You need more proof? Ask Trevor Zegras. He just received McDavid’s hockey poster. arguably the nicest goal of this season. Another McDavid masterclass will be hard to beat.
The week in savings
Jack Campbell’s season certainly hasn’t played out the way he or the Edmonton Oilers envisioned it would after he signed a significant free-agent contract this past July. Stuart Skinner is now the Oilers’ starting pitcher, and Campbell has had a terrible.883 save percentage. It seems like the Oilers will be having to dance around Skinner’s cap hit for a while.
Perhaps, however, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Campbell has put together a solid run since the beginning of the calendar. His.915 save rate in January so far is his highest single-month total since April with the Maple Leafs. If this save is any indication, the fans at Rogers Arena could be chanting “SOOOOUP” in due time as well.
Nikolaj Ehlers was the player of the week
After the two first games of the season Nik Ehlers had to miss the 36 remaining games because of a sports injury. This left Winnipeg without one of its most consistent forwards. Ehlers returned to the Jets last week after a triumphant return. He has performed well since his return to the ice.
Ehlers was scoreless in the first game of his return, but he picked up a league record eight points in four games, including this beautiful no-look dish to PierreLuc Dubois, against Vancouver Canucks. The Jets, who are high-flying and skidding well, came into 2023 with many players. finally coming off the shelf, they’ve bounced back in a big way and are back atop the Central Division standings, thanks in large part to the play of their Danish star.
The Hands of the Week
It’s worth repeating, people: The Buffalo Sabres Are #ActuallyGood. Lost in the insanity that has been Tage Thompson’s Hart candidacy year, another Sabres skater has found the fountain of youth and is producing at a career rate.
Jeff Skinner, whose contract was maligned as one of the league’s worst as recently as 2021, has exploded back into relevancy. Along with Thompson and Alex Tuch, the ex-40-goal scorer now scores over a point per contest as part of an electric Sabres team. This trio of deadly men connected Saturday night for a slap. Skinner dragged Juuse Saros out from his pants to cash in this clever breakaway beauty.
Stat of the Week
Did we mention McDavid’s insane scoring pace right now? Well, in case you needed any further proof, check out the names he’s in lockstep with for his historic scoring pace. It has been a magical season for McDavid, and while the Oilers continue to lag behind expectations — the club continues to hang onto the final wild-card spot in the West for dear life — there’s no denying the out-of-this-world season he has put together so far.
Quote of the Week
While it might not be the NHL but some hockey players are the true definition of “Head Full, Just Vibes”. The Kelowna Rockets sent some players, including Jackson Desouza as a defenceman, to chat with elementary school students. They also played an active part in the community.
However, things go sour when Desouza and his teammates are asked by a teacher what their favorite book is. It seems that Desouza and his team-mates might have different priorities. This leads to a funny sidebar between them.
Worst Week
Blackhawks fans were treated on Saturday night to a Connor Bedard tanking adventure that is unrivalled. The roaring-hot Seattle Kraken (more later) had an amazing first period. They scored on six of the seven first shots of the hockey match.
Alex Stalock arrived and allowed Alex Mrazek to score on his first two shots. Finally, Stalock finally made a lunging glove save After a period that was so unusual for Tank Nation, Chicago fans applauded their netminder, giving him their support.
It’s the most wonderful moment
Kris Letang left the Pittsburgh Penguins last week to go home to Montreal to grieve his father who died unexpectedly. While on a long road trip, Penguins players expressed their condolences. Then, following their win over Arizona Coyotes last week, the club went further.
Instead of flying to Pittsburgh, the entire team flew out to Montreal Letang and his family were able to comfort the Penguins longtime star. A truly remarkable act of class from Crosby, the Pens, and they showed how strong the brotherhood that is the National Hockey League no matter what the circumstance.
Superstar status
Henrik Lundqvist is a future Hall of Fame netminder. The Rangers legend brought The Northman star Alexander Skarsgård, as well as future Ottawa Senators owner Ryan Reynolds out to Madison Square Garden as the Rangers took on the Minnesota Wild last week.
If that wasn’t enough, however, the stars took things a step further once the MSG crowd caught them on the big screen. First, it was Skarsgård making a show while snuggling up to his fellow Swede, before Reynolds plants a sloppy smooch on King Henrik’s cheek for the piece de resistance.
Welcome back season
While Hollywood stars were in town Tuesday, it was the Dallas Stars who made their way to MSG in the latter part of the week for one the most thrilling endings to a game this year. With one second left, K’Andre Miller played hero for the Blueshirts, tying the game at 1-1 to send it to overtime for a doozy of a buzzer-beater.
In OT, it was Adam Fox, a fellow defenseman, who was on the hunt for a second Norris Trophy. He came up with the winning bid and won the New York trophy in dramatic broadway fashion.
Have Merc(ery)y
Although Jack Hughes, Nico Hischer, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischer are the Devils’ most prominent trio, the Devils also have a lot of other great depth that can cause havoc. Take Dawson Mercer, the Devils’ 2020 first-round draft pick. He is now in his second NHL year and looks like a guaranteed steal by GM Tom Fitzgerald.
On pace for 50 points while playing all over New Jersey’s lineup as a 21-year-old, the Newfoundland product scored one of the nicest goals of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes this week in a huge divisional game between Metro foes. Mercer’s ability to get to the net on this one, all while flying through the air like Bobby Orr in the process, makes this a must-see beauty.
Yankees are a suck!
The ice was looking very good after the Boston Bruins defeated the Anaheim Ducks 7-1 inside their own barn. However, in the stands, both sides came to a mutual agreement about one thing, allowing for some cross-sport harmony.
Burns does it all
It isn’t entirely clear why Brent Burns of all people was lining up in the dot for the Carolina Hurricanes here. Maybe it’s some market inefficiency that only the Canes are wise enough to act upon. Maybe Burns was just messing around, as he’s been known to do from time to time.
Yet, even more impressive was the fact that Burns managed to beat Sidney Crosby with ease in that dot, beating him at 52.7 percent.
Fun fact: Brett Burns played briefly on the San Jose Sharks’ wing before he was selected for the Norris Trophy. He has taken almost 150 draws during his career. It is notable that his record on faceoffs is not very good. He’s a miserable 44.9 percent on his career, though that does put him ahead noted two-way pivots Elias Pettersson (43 career FOW%) and Jack Eichel (44.3 career FOW%).
Blunder of a week
This one was. shades of Vesa Toskala It was written all over it when Max Willman, Lehigh Valley Phantoms forward, buried a goal last week from 185 feet from the opposing net. The victim of this unbelievable blunder, Bridgeport Islanders netminder Ken Appleby, can’t believe what he’s just done, laying face down on the ice in shame. Even worse, this goal would be the game-winner for the Phantoms, scoring 3-1.
Consider the children!
With its disruptive presence in the game’s flow, the offside challenge is not popular anymore. oftentimes perplexing calls. So, the Colorado Avalanche’s game against Florida Panthers was over for one woman. The review had ruled out the possibility of a game-tying goal. The fan was disgusted and gave the officials a pair o’finger salutes.
While that’s nothing out of the ordinary for a normal hockey game, there was one problem. Nationally broadcast ESPN TV showed her flipping the double bird and broadcast it for all to see. The play-by-play voice was having some fun.
Torts (still) being Torts
If you wondered if John Tortorella was able to make it into the 21st century using his coaching techniques, then we have your answer. The head of the bench banned the use of iPads on the benches for Flyers players, arguing that it was taking the players out of the moment and preventing them from staying engaged in the game’s momentum.
Whether or not that’s the case, the Flyers seemed to be doing alright without them, as they’ve found some rhythm of late winning three straight and seven of 10. Perhaps Torts is right. Maybe the players were too busy playing Clash of Clans in between shifts.
Montreal legends
P.K., a former Canadiens star, finally returned to Montreal after his retirement. Subban got the royal treatment As the Habs presented the red carpet, Subban was honored. Subban won’t likely see his number on the Bell Centre rafters again, but he was shown lots of affection upon his return home to the town he loved for his most productive seasons.
Fans were treated with one last, heartwarming moment from a long-gone era in Canadiens Hockey. Carey Price made his way to the duo to give them one final triple low-five. There’s a certain delicious irony to the fact the pair got to celebrate the moment while the regime that banned it is now long in the club’s rearview mirror.
Trending Up: Seattle Kraken
We are the winners of eight consecutive titles, including the first sweep of a seven-game road trip in NHL history, the Kraken once again look like a big-time player in the NHL’s Western Conference. They are now just two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division’s top spot. With games remaining, they lead all Western Conference teams in points percentage.
Seattle has been a top-10 league team by all analytical measures, and that’s consistent with their short history. The primary catalyst for this streak has been the goaltending, which has been a weakness across the Kraken’s first two NHL seasons. Martin Jones is the hero of the Emerald City. His.926 save rate through January is the best single-month save percentage for any Kraken netminder who has played at least six games in franchise history.
Trending Down: Colorado Avalanche
The reigning Stanley Cup Champions have been one of the league’s most unlucky teams injury-wise this season, having lost the second most point-shares This year, there was no club that suffered injury. While Mikko Rantanen has done his best to singlehandedly keep Colorado afloat, quietly putting together a career year and on pace for 58 goals at the halfway mark, it simply hasn’t been enough.
The Avalanche lost seven of the last 10 games, and they continue to grind along. sitting outside of playoff position. It’s still too early to count out the Avalanche, especially given how dominant they were en route to last year’s Stanley Cup victory, but this team is hurting in a big way and will need to find their footing if they want any shot at making the dance, much less defend their title.
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