What happened in the NHL yesterday?
There were only four matches on the schedule… But still: there was plenty of action.
Let’s take a look:
1: Dan Bylsma sends a pretty clear message to Shane Wright
Shane Wright is not having a good start to the season.
He has been shut out in 17 of his 18 games and has not recorded a score in his last 13 outings.
Dan Bylsma therefore decided to send him a fairly clear message: yesterday, while the Rangers were visiting Seattle, Wright was left out even though he was healthy.
Wright is having difficulty establishing himself as an impact player in the Kraken lineup and there, Bylsma clearly had enough.
I have the impression that a stay in the American League – where he had success last year – could do him some good…
Anyways. Let’s talk about the match!
In the meeting, we remember one thing above all: the performance of Jonathan Quick.
The veteran was perfect in stopping all 24 shots aimed at him to sign the shutout:
Alexis Lafrenière scored the first goal of the game, which ultimately proved to be the winning goal.
Laffy’s 7th goal of the season allowed the Blue Shirts to win by a score of 2-0.
2: Hat trick for Ovi
If I told you that yesterday Alex Ovechkin was on fire, you’d probably believe me.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Ovi scored not one, not two… But three goals against the Vegas Golden Knights.
His hat trick means that he is now 29 short goals away from beating Wayne Gretzky’s ultimate record:
29 goals… It’s not a lot. At this point, it’s only a matter of time!
It’s crazy the same, but at 39 years old, the Caps captain has now collected 13 goals (and ten assists) in 17 games since the start of the season.
It produces up to expectations. Note also that the Capitals took advantage of their captain’s three goals to win 5-2 against the Golden Knights.
3: Who will stop Martin Necas?
Should the Canadian have pushed harder to acquire Martin Necas this summer?
Seeing how he’s been producing since the season started… Maybe.
Necas was once again the spark plug for his club yesterday by collecting no less than four points.
He notably scored two great goals:
The forward has collected at least one point in his last 13 games… And he has a total of 30 points in 17 games this season.
It’s hard to do better!
Note also that the Hurricanes signed a 13th victory this season (4-1) and that they occupy first place in their division.
Things are going well in Carolina, to put it another way.
4: Great victory for the Preds
We know things aren’t going well for the Preds.
But yesterday, they had a great 5-3 victory against the Canucks and it must be good for morale.
In the match, Zachary L’Heureux scored his first ever National League goal.
A great moment for the Quebecer:
But we must not only remember L’Heureux’s goal.
If the Preds won… It’s because the best players on the club were the best players on the ice.
Steven Stamkos (twice) and Roman Josi hit the back of the net in the match:
This victory risks allowing Barry Trotz to breathe a little.
But the Preds still have to get back on track and there is a long way to go at this level…
Prolongation
– Yep.
– Nice game.
– The best scorers of the evening:
– Six games in the NHL this evening, including CH against the Oilers:
