The NHL had a few strange moments this week. During the Calgary Flames vs. New Jersey Devils game, Vitek Vanecek skated far away from his crease to the boards to play the puck but ran into a Flame. Then, a Devil tripped Nazem Kadri into Vanecek, and the Flames scored. But the referees waved the whole play off like it never happened without explanation. I was left scratching my head.
During the Pittsburgh Penguins vs Minnesota Wild game, a Wild player hit the puck off the boards and probably into the netting above, but play continued, and the Wild scored a goal. It looked like the puck changed direction, and the Penguins all pointed up when it happened. The Penguins challenged, and after what seemed like an eternity, it was definitely the longest review ever; they concluded it didn’t go out of play. Right. It seemed to me they didn’t know because why else would they take that long? There has to be a better way to determine these plays.
The NFL has done a much better job of explaining calls. I wish the NHL would do the same.
Things I like
- Sidney Crosby is in his 19th NHL season and still producing over a point per game, something he’s done every season. He passed former teammate Mark Recchi for 21st all-time in goals. Crosby is 22 shy of 600 goals. Evgeni Malkin is only 13 shy of 500. Erik Karlsson is three points shy of 800. You’ll notice the Penguins are not currently in the playoffs. The curse of Karlsson continues.
Things I don’t
- The Edmonton Oilers failed to tie or break the record for most wins in a season. It’s a tough task made even harder when you have a nine-day break. It’s a shame the streak ended due to scheduling. Having the Anaheim Ducks game first would have given them a better shot. It would have been great for the NHL if the Oilers had done it because ESPN would have specially broadcasted the Ducks game. The Oilers did beat the Ducks but lost to the Kings. Evader Kane had his eighth career hat trick against the Ducks.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Marcus Foligno vs Jarred Tinordi
Really long but little action.
Goal of the Week
New York Rangers
This was a total team effort by the Rangers. Jonathan Quick makes a great pass after leaving his crease to play the puck. Mika Zibanejad makes a great between-the-legs drop pass but continues to make a screen for Alexis Lafreniere, who makes a nifty move and scores the overtime goal. Teamwork makes the dream work.
https://www.nhl.com/video/col-nyr-lafreniere-scores-goal-against-alexandar-georgiev-6346322815112
Goats of the Week
Gustav Forsling - Florida Panthers
This was a really neat goal, but I don’t get the Forsling pass. It doesn’t look like it was tipped. It’s just a pass to no one that bounced off the boards straight to Noah Cates. This was the game-winning goal.
https://www.nhl.com/video/phi-fla-cates-scores-goal-against-florida-panthers-6346378051112
Connor McMichael - Washington Capitals
If there are only five seconds left in overtime and you are in your own zone, you might want to eat. You could also pass it up the boards to your teammate instead of trying to get cute with your backhand. McMichael does the latter, which leads to the J.T. Miller goal. Perhaps this is why he doesn’t play much.
https://www.nhl.com/video/van-wsh-miller-scores-goal-against-darcy-kuemper-6346701265112
Stat Line of the Week
2/10/24 Dallas 3 vs. Montreal 2
| Skater | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | Blk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T.Seguin | 16:18 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
After a tough loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Dallas Stars bounced back against the Montreal Canadiens. Tyler Seguin had two beautiful tip-in goals in the second period as the Stars scored three in a row. Seguin isn’t what he once was, but he’s still very productive. But he has yet to score a power play goal this season.
Numbers, Numbers
85 – Points by Nathan MacKinnon in his first 50 games, the most by an Avalanche player through that span
2 – Short-handed goals by the Boston Bruins against the Vancouver Canucks
3 – Game suspension for Brenden Dillon for his hit on Noel Acciari
2 – Game suspension for Nikita Zadorov for his hit on Lucas Raymond
3 – Goals in 52 seconds during the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Dallas Stars game
2 – Maple Leafs goals in 20 seconds during that time
1 – Natural hat trick for Martin Necas against the Colorado Avalanche
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Edmonton
- Vegas
- Boston
- Tampa Bay
- NY Rangers
Bottom 5
- Chicago
- Arizona
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- Columbus
NFL Thoughts
Well, that was some Super Bowl. You couldn’t ask for more, but I wanted the 49ers to win, and they should have. That was a great heads-up play to see the punt hit your teammate’s foot, but why not just fall on the ball? You do that during an onside kick. The Chiefs did it when they recovered. Why do you have to try to scoop it up and make a play? Did he really think he was going to the end zone? That was the turning point in the game.
It also makes no sense why the 49ers would choose the ball first in overtime. Under the old rules, sure. But the new rules are almost like college. You want to know what you need. Had they gone second, they could have gone for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal. I knew that would come back to haunt them,
They also need to block better. Twice, someone went straight to Brock Purdy untouched, and the second time, it cost them a touchdown. Purdy really needs to pick that up and call an audible or something.
This game will haunt the 49ers for a long time.