By Miguel Mike Medina
Vince Dunn signed a four-year, $29.4 million contract with the Seattle Kraken. The defenseman had NHL career highs in goals, assists, points, plus-minus and power-play points.
Nashville Predators signed veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn. The Predators are trying to make a playoff push for next seasons
By Miguel Mike Medina
It was an unbelievable, unforgettable third period between the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers. Both teams were going back and forth. It’s something you rarely see in hockey, especially in the playoffs. The Bruins and Panthers combined for seven goals in the third period. They also combined for five power-play goals. Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk had two goals and one assist. David Pastrnak had two goals for the Bruins. Tyler Bertuzzi added two goals. Brad Marchand added four assists. The Panthers won 7-5. Game Seven will be on Sunday night.
New York Islanders came into Game 6 hoping to win a home game to extend the series to Game 7. Unfortunately, Paul Stastny scored the series-clinching goal from a tough angle to send the Carolina Hurricanes to the next round, heartbreakingly ending the Islanders’ season. Hurricanes won 2-1 over the Islanders. Sorokin is a great goalie for the Islanders. He played terrific all season and in this series, but it didn’t go his way this time. Carolina Hurricanes have won a best-of-7 series for three years in a row.
Dallas Stars eliminated the Minnesota Wild on the road with a 4-1 win in Game 6. Maxi Domi and Mason Marchment each had a goal and an assist. Roope Hintz scored the first goal of the game. It was his fifth goal of the series. He’s been outstanding for the Dallas Stars. Joe Pavelski missed his fifth consecutive game due to concussion protocol. He’s the heartbeat of this team. We don’t know what his status will be for the next round. Dallas Stars will play the winner between Avalanche/Kraken series.
Speaking of the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken, the Avalanche managed to push the series to a Game 7. Once again, Seattle Kraken scored the first goal of the game. The Kraken is the first team in NHL history to score first in each of the first six games of the playoffs. Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist. Rantanen became the second-fastest active player to reach 40 road points in the playoffs. What a phenomenal performance! Cale Makar scored on an empty net, and you could hear the boos every time he got the puck throughout the game. Game Seven will be in Colorado on Sunday.
By Miguel Mike Medina
The battle between the Oilers and Kings never fails to deliver. We had another great game in this series. Oilers and Kings combined for four power-play goals. Connor McDavid, who didn’t score all series, scored two power-play goals in the second period. Adrian Kempe has a good series. He scored his third goal of the series on Friday night. The game went into overtime for the second time in the series. Trevor Moore shoveled through Skinner to score the game-winning goal in overtime. Kings won 3-2. The Kings take a 2-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers.
Minnesota Wild came out to play against the Dallas Stars at home. Mats Zuccarello got things started when he scored the game’s first goal. He had two goals for the night. Marcus Foligno scored a power play goal in the second period. Game 3 belongs to Minnesota, as they won this game 5-1. Minnesota Wild delivered 26 hits on the Stars. They were more physical and aggressive. Wild also had 22 blocked shots. Stars’ goaltender Jake Oettinger had 20 saves. Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson finished with 23 out of 24 saves—a strong performance by Gustavsson.
New York Islanders tried to find their rhythm offensively, and it started clicking in Game 3 during the second period. Casey Cizikas opened the score for the Islanders. He had two points (one goal and one assist). Four minutes later, Jesper Fest scored an unassisted goal to tie the game. It’s Jesper Fest’s second goal of the series. The third period was all about the Islanders. They attacked four goals on the Carolina Hurricanes, which was too much for the Hurricanes to overcome. The Islanders won 5-1 to get back into the series. They trail the series 2-1. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves on the night.
Boston Bruins jumped early on the Florida Panthers in Game 3. They led as many as 4-0 up to the 3rd period. The Panthers tried to rally by scoring two goals in the third period to cut the deficit to two, but they ran out of time. Suppose there was an extra period; who knows what would’ve happened? The Bruins took Game 3 by the final score of 4-2. Taylor Hall had two points (one goal and one assist). David Pasrtnak added a goal of his own in the third period. It’s his second goal of the series. Game 4 will be on Sunday at 3:30 as the Panthers try to even the series.
Arizona Coyotes took on the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka’s save against Cale Makar is undoubtedly one of the best plays of Friday Night Hockey. It was a phenomenal save. He made 27 saves for the Coyotes. However, they didn’t come out victorious. Avalanche won this game 3-1. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Maker each had a goal and two assists.
Matthew Tkachuk is doing everything he can to push the Florida Panthers into the playoffs. He’s having a terrific season. If the Panthers make the playoffs, I see Matthew finishing at least in second place for the Hart Trophy. There’s no one beating Connor McDavid for that accolade.
The New York Islanders rallied and fought to get a win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road. But that wasn’t the case. The Blue Jackets, thanks to Boone Jenner, won it in overtime to give the team a 5-4 win over the Islanders. Michael Hutchinson recorded 34 saves for the Blue Jays. As for the Islanders, Brock Nelson had two goals in this game. Sorokin, being Sorokin, made 22 saves for the Islanders.
The Islanders are still first in the Eastern Conference Wild Card spot.
Timo Meier is a game-changer and has been on a mission since the New Jersey Devils acquired him. Meier has 13 shots and 11 hits in his first three games with the Devils. His goals and assists will increase once he builds team chemistry.
Chuck Fletcher was fired as general manager and president of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey operations on Friday. His replacement is Daniel Briere. The 45-year-old new interim general manager played six of his 17 NHL seasons with the Flyers from 2007-13. Under Fletcher, the Flyers have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once.
Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour wins overtime to give the Panthers a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Matthew Tkachuk added three assists. The Panthers have won three in a row and are within two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card spot.
The Boston Bruins got better. The front office is going to work during the trade deadline. Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway have been traded to the Bruins from the Washington Capitals. It’s championship or bust for the Bruins this season. Orlov has 19 points in 43 games this season. He won the Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Capitals. Hathaway gives the Bruins strength on both the forward and defensive sides. Hathaway led the Capitals with 198 hits in 59 games this season.
After trailing 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Islanders fought back by scoring two goals on Friday night, but it was too little too late. The Kings hang on to beat the Islanders in Long Island, 3-2.
William Nylander was the hero for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night when he scored the game-winning overtime goal against the Minnesota Wild. Maple Leafs won 2-1 and snapped the Wild’s 4-game winning streak.
The New York Rangers played smart and intellectual hockey against the Vegas Golden Knights at the garden on Friday night. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck scored a goal and an assist to Filip Chytil, who made a sweet goal in the third period. The Rangers won this game 4-1.
New Jersey Devils, the best road team in the NHL, traveled to Dallas to take on the Dallas Stars. Jack Hughes scored two goals in this game, and one came in overtime to give the Devils a 3-2 over the Dallas Stars. Vitek Vanecek deserves more recognition for his goal-tending performance. He saved 33 shots for the Devils. Also, the Devils blocked 24 of the Stars’ shots.
It was a thrilling finish between the San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes. Trailing 4-3 with less than a minute to go, Martin Necas ties the game 4-4 with 11.5 seconds left in the third period. Necas forced the game to go to overtime and struck once again by scoring the game-winning goal to send everyone home. The Hurricanes won 5-4.
Vancouver Canucks played with a lot of intensity and high energy against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bo Horvat added four assists. Elias Pettersson scored two goals. CanuCks defeated the Blue Jackets 5-2. Canucks wore the old-school jerseys from the 1990s.
Vancouver Canucks have now lost 6 of their last seven games. Their latest loss came against the defending champions Colorado Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon had two assists on the power play. He extends his point streak to seven games. Colorado won 4-1.
Ottawa Senators couldn’t keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goaltender Tristan Jarry was the star and player of the game. After returning from an injury, he made 44 saves to help the Penguins win this game, 4-1. Jake Guentzel added three points (2 goals and one assist).
San Jose Sharks might or might not end up trading Eric Karlsson, but Karlsson has expressed that he loves playing in San Jose. Karlsson leads NHL defensemen in points, goals, and assists. He’s undoubtedly one of the hottest NHL players in the game.
New Jersey Devils took on the Anaheim Ducks. Almost 20 years ago, they faced off in the Stanley Cup Finals. As for this game, Jack Hughes scored two goals for the Devils. He has 21 goals in 22 games. The Devils jumped and scored three goals in the first period. Anaheim had no answer for New Jersey. The Devils won 6-2—an outstanding road performance by the best road team in hockey.
Winnipeg Jets traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. The Jets started the goal with a power-play goal. Two coaches’ challenges were in the first period, and both goals were waived. However, the Jets answered those challenges by scoring back-to-back goals late in the second period to go up 3-1. The Jets would win this game 4-1. It’s their seventh win in the last eight games. Mark Scheifele scored two goals for the Jets.
On Friday night, it was Connor McDavid’s birthday. The captain turned 26. Did he have a good birthday performance on the ice? He certainly did. McDavid finished the game with three points – 2 goals and one assist. The Oilers dominated the Sharks from start to finish. Oilers trounce the Sharks 7-1.
Merry Christmas Eve to you and your family! May god bless you all on this beautiful day! Stay warm because it’s very cold outside. In today’s Saturday Hockey News with Miguel, we witnessed history being made on Friday night.
The Great Eight Has Done it! Alex Ovechkin scored his 802nd career goal to pass Gordon Howe for second on the all-time scoring list. Ovechkin scored on an empty net. The fantastic thing about that play is that Ovechkin didn’t look like he wanted to score on an empty net. He passed the puck. It spoke volumes about the kind of leader Ovechkin is to this Capitals team.
Vancouver Canucks came to Edmonton To take on the Oilers. Ryan scored the game’s first goal on a breakaway to put the Oilers on the board. Conor McDavid scored his 30th goal on the season on the second goal of the game for the Oilers. After going up 2-0, Canucks responded by scoring five unanswered goals. Bo Horvat scored two goals and two assists to lead the Canucks to a victory on the road, 5-2. It’s a tough loss for Edmonton, who played so well to start the game.
