It was a big hockey Saturday yesterday in the National Hockey League, with only two teams not in action.
The other 30 NHL teams played a game yesterday, which gave us a host of highlights.
Without further ado, here are the ones that got the most attention.
1. Alex Ovechkin records 20th consecutive season of 20 or more goals
Alexander Ovechkin is in his 20th season in the National Hockey League.
The Russian winger has become a true sporting legend, and he continues to impress us every day.
Moreover, last night, Ovi scored his 20th goal of the current campaign, which allowed him to reach this plateau for the 20th time in 20 seasons in his career.
Only Gordie Howe has had more 20+ goal seasons than Ovechkin.
With this goal in the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, Ovi is only 22 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record.
Also note that in this victory for the Caps, rookie Ethen Frank, who was in only his second NHL game, scored his first career goal last night.
2. Kaapo Kakko scores two goals in less than two minutes
The 23-year-old Finn is currently enjoying a fresh start with the Seattle Kraken since he was traded there by the New York Rangers.
Until now, Kakko had only scored one goal in nine games, but last night, in a 6-2 victory for the Kraken against the Buffalo Sabres, Kakko found the back of the net with two repeated in one minute and 40 seconds.
This brings his total points to seven in ten games since his arrival with the Kraken, which will clearly give him confidence for the future.
3. Defender Adam Pelech makes a superb save
Normally, when we talk about a sensational save, we are talking about a save made by a goalkeeper.
But last night, in the New York Islanders’ 2-1 victory against the Utah Hockey Club, it was defenseman Adam Pelech who made a steal.
Indeed, at the start of the match, already trailing by a goal, the Islanders defender stopped a shot on the goal line that was heading straight into a gaping cage.
This save from Pelech proved to be crucial, given that the Islanders won by a single goal.
4. Rangers win two games in a row for the first time since November 19
In the West, the biggest disappointment is clearly the Nashville Predators.
But in the East, this title clearly goes to the New York Rangers, who continue to go down in the standings after having started the season so well.
The Rangers have taken a nosedive, but fortunately, they are still close to the playoffs.
However, they have no choice but to get their act together very soon if they want to regain their playoff spot.
And that’s what they did yesterday, as the Rangers won a second straight game for the first time since November 17-19.
The Rangers won 2-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, and now find themselves four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and the last playoff spot with a game in hand.
5. Connor Hellebuyck records his 6th shutout of the season
The best goalie in the NHL this season is without a shadow of a doubt Connor Hellebuyck.
The Winnipeg Jets goalie has been nothing short of sensational since the start of the season, as he sits at the top of all goalie statistics.
He has the best goals against average per game (2.02), the best save percentage (.928) and the most shutouts (6).
Moreover, it was last night that Hellebuyck recorded his 6th shutout of the season, as the Jets won 3-0 against the Colorado Avalanche.
With this performance, Hellebuyck now has as many shutouts as losses in regulation time this season.
Prolongation
– Matvei Michkov scored his 13th goal of the season.
– The Vancouver Canucks blanked the Maple Leafs in Toronto for the first time in their history.
– Here are all the results from the day before.
– Here are the best scorers from the day before.
– On the program today in the NHL: five games.
