NHL 2024-25 Recap Week 20 The Robertsons score goals, Maple Leafs do too, Eastern wild card race loses two teams

I haven't done one of these in a while. I was sick with what I thought was the flu, but I'm pretty sure it was COVID. Then there was the four nations faceoff.

I won't say too much about the widely successful tournament. The final was everything you could want. Both teams had their chances, and you don't lose a game on one play, but oh boy, Auston Matthews. Leaving Connor McDavid wide open in the slot is a major mistake. There was no reason to go to Mitch Marner since two other people were there, none close enough to disrupt his pass, and at that angle, he was not a scoring threat. A heartbreaking way to lose a tournament.

I was hoping the tournament would be every four years but two years between the Olympics, and that seems like what we're getting when the World Cup of Hockey returns in 2028. Last time, it had Europe and Under 23 teams. I assume it'll have the same four nations' faceoff teams, possibly Russia and one other. Regardless, it was nice that over 10 million people watched a hockey game.

Things I like 

1. Although team USA snubbed them, Jason Robertson and his brother Nicholas have been hot. They were the first brothers to score a goal on the same day since Pavel and Valeri Bure in 2000. They did it again a few days later. Jason has five goals in his last three games, Nicholas has three in his last four.

2. Alex Ovechkin inches closer and closer to Wayne Gretzky's goal record. With 884 goals, he's 11 shy of breaking a record I never thought would be broken.

3. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins played one of their epic games. The Maple Leafs fought back from a 3-0 deficit to win in overtime 5-4. Then they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 in overtime (more on that game below) in what can only be described as a game with terrible defense. They are now a remarkable 26-0 when scoring four or more goals this season. Unfortunately, scoring four or more in the playoffs will be hard. Occasionally, it'll happen, but most games involve defensive struggles. It is not the Maple Leaf's forte. But I do say that this is the most talented Toronto Maple Leafs in some time every year, which is even more accurate this season.

Things I don't 

1. In our weekly look at the Eastern Conference wildcard race, the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators were sitting pretty but lost five straight. They both won their next game, but then the Bruins lost again. This is the worst time to slump. The Columbus Blue Jackets look more like a lock as the only team with a positive goal differential. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres are efectively eliminated. That would be quite a turn around if the New York Rangers nabbed the last spot.

Fights of the Week 

Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.

Jake Middleton vs Jack McBain

It was one-sided to start, but it improved.

Goat of the Week 

Erik Karlsson - Pittsburgh Penguins

The faceoff goes straight to Karlsson, who spins around and passes it right to Matthew Knies for the buzzer-beater. Had Karlsson turned the other way, he would have noticed the streaking Knies. The Penguins lost in overtime.

Stat Line of the Week 

2/25/25 Columbus 6 vs. Dallas 4

Kirill Marchenko is having a breakout season in his third year. With 15 games left, he's hit career highs in goals, assists, and points. Against the Dallas Stars, he had two big goals and an empty-net assist to seal the win. Two games later, Marchenko had his five-game points streak snapped, the third longest of the season.

Numbers, Numbers 

  -4 – Goal differential for the third-seeded Minnesota Wild, unusual for a team with their record 700 – Career NHL points for Auston Matthews   323 – Hits by Kiefer Sherwood, first by almost 100 11 – Times a team scored six or more goals this week 11 – Game Winnipeg Jets franchise-record winning streak snapped by the Nashville Predators 3 – Career NHL hat tricks for 22-year-old Wyatt Johnson

Rankings 

The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.

Top 5

1. Tampa Bay
2. Toronto
3. Florida
4. Winnipeg
5. Dallas

Bottom 5

30. San Jose
31. Chicago
32. Nashville
33. Pittsburgh
34. Boston