Yesterday’s NHL Scores
Last Night’s News 📰
WET YOUR (ENT)WISTLE: Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars was fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after squirting his water bottle at Chicago Blackhawks forward MacKenzie Entwistle during Friday’s tilt between the teams. The incident occurred after Michael Raffl had checked Entwistle into the boards near the Dallas bench, where Benn was sitting.
FIRST FOR VEGAS: Jack Eichel scored his first goal for the Vegas Golden Knights, and Logan Thompson made 35 saves for his first NHL win, taking down the San Jose Sharks 4-1. Vegas ended its three-game skid as Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, and Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist.
RIP TO “THE CAT”: Emile “the Cat” Francis passed away on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 95. Francis was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Builder in 1982 after spending his playing career with the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers.
70 MONTHS BETWEEN WINS: There were eight NHL games across the board last night, punctuated by Andrew Hammond’s first regular-season win since April 9, 2016. Hammond, making his first start in almost four years, stopped 30 of 32 shots to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 shootout victory over the New York Islanders.
By the Numbers: 2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games concluded over the weekend, with the closing ceremony taking place on Sunday. In the hockey portion of the proceedings, Canada took the gold in the women’s event with a 3-2 win over the rival US team last Thursday, and Finland took home the men’s title with a 2-1 win over the ROC late Saturday night. Here are some numbers from the 2022 Olympic hockey tournaments.
328 – Total number of goals scored in Beijing. The women scored a combined 176, and the men tallied 152.
57 – Goals the Canadian women scored on the way to the gold medal, most of any team in Beijing (men or women). The next closest goal total was 30, put up by the U.S. women, while Finland was the highest-scoring men’s team finishing with 22.
18 – Points Canada’s Sarah Nurse had, leading all skaters in Beijing. Nurse set an Olympic record with a tournament-high 13 assists to go along with her five goals (four goals behind teammate Brianne Jenner, the top goalscorer). Four players tied for the most points in the men’s competition with seven. Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovský led the men in goals, the source of all seven of his points.
.966 – Save percentage (SV%) for Slovakia men’s goaltender Patrik Rybár, tops among all goalies who played more than 40% of their team’s minutes, stopping 141 of the 146 shots he faced. China’s Jiaying Zhou led all women’s goalies who fit that criteria with a .955 SV%, stopping 85 of 89 shots.
+50 – Goal differential for the Canadian women was by far the largest throughout Beijing. Canada outscored its opponents by a combined total of 57-7. The U.S. women had the second-best at +19, as Finland led the men’s competition with a goal differential of +14.
1 – Olympic gold medals for the Finnish men’s team and medal of any color for Slovakia (bronze) after taking home their first in Beijing.
5 – Gold medals for Team Canada in women’s hockey. Thursday was Canada’s seventh straight championship game appearance and first victory since 2014.
0 – NHL players who participated. For the second straight Olympic games, the league decided not to send players—this time due to COVID-19. There is hope that the NHL will participate in 2026.
Olympic Standouts
Another Olympic Winter Games is in the books and, with it, new Olympic champions will reign for the next four years. On the men’s side, Finland won gold for the first time in a tournament that saw Slovakia win their first-ever hockey medal and Canada and the United States ousted in the Quarterfinals. The latest chapter in the women’s Canada and U.S. rivalry saw the Canadians reclaim the gold, going undefeated in the tournament.
Along the way, there was no shortage of star turns. Even without marquee names in the hockey world present, plenty of standouts emerged to earn the notice of fans and, possibly, NHL executives as well. Here are some of the most exciting men’s and women’s names to emerge from the Olympic tournaments:
Men: Juraj Slafkovský, Slovakia
In late January, The Hockey Writers projected Juraj Slafkovský to be selected sixth overall in the initial mock draft by Peter Baracchini. Perhaps he’ll need to be bumped up a spot or two in the next version. The 17-year-old led the tournament with seven goals in seven games and finished with a plus-5, earning MVP honors while leading his country to its first Olympic medal in hockey. Not bad for a guy who won’t yet be 22 by the next Winter Games.
Women: Sarah Nurse, Canada
It was teammate Brianne Jenner who claimed tournament MVP recognition, but everyone who saw the gold medal game witnessed the presence of Sarah Nurse. The cousin of Edmonton Oilers blueliner Darnell Nurse and WNBA star Kia Nurse averaged more than 2.5 points per game over the tournament, recording 18 points in just seven games while sporting a whopping plus-19. In the gold medal game, Nurse opened the scoring and assisted on Marie-Philip Poulin’s tournament-winning goal.
Men: Harri Sateri, Finland
Harri Sateri may be a little old (31) to make his way back to the NHL, but the Finnish netminder nonetheless engineered his career highlight, backstopping the Finns to a historic gold medal triumph. Sateri notched a .962 save percentage and stopped 16 of 17 shots against the ROC in the final for an elusive gold medal.
Women: Hilary Knight, United States
If this was the last Olympic appearance for Hilary Knight, who will turn 33 in July, then kudos to the Team USA captain for an incredible career. Knight has three silvers to go along with the gold medal won in Pyeongchang four years ago. This time around, she led the Americans in goals (six) and points (10) at the tournament and sparked a fierce comeback attempt against Canada with a shorthanded goal when the US was down 3-0 and struggling for a lift.
Player Spotlight – Max Domi
As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, fans keep hearing more names that could be on the move. One that has come up is Max Domi, who is in his second season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and previously played for the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes. This season, he has 21 points in 35 games. Fans know plenty about what the 26-year-old brings to the ice, but what about life outside of hockey? Let’s check in.
Go-To Karaoke Song?:
Sweet Caroline and Pour Some Sugar on Me.
One Thing that Google Won’t Tell Us About You?:
Who is Your Hockey Idol?:
Can You Build a Fire?:
Yes.
Your Best Skill off the Ice?:
Favorite Lunchbox Snack?:
What Was Your First Car?:
NHL Standings
NHL’s Leading Scorers
Today’s NHL Schedule
- Today’s newsletter was edited by Kyle Knopp, with contributions by Ben Fisher, Kristy Flannery, and Brooke LoFurno.
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