Yesterday’s NHL Scores
Last Night’s News 📰
GIO STAYS IN T.O.: Mark Giordano is sticking with his hometown team. The 38-year-old Toronto native signed a team-friendly two-year, $1.6 million extension to remain with the Maple Leafs after joining the team at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline.
GIRARD GROUNDED: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sam Girard is out the rest of the season with a broken sternum he suffered in the first period of Game 3. Girard collided with St. Louis Blues Ivan Barbashev in the Avalanche zone early in Saturday’s game before being helped to the locker room.
BINNINGTON OUT: Blues goaltender Jake Binnington left Game 3 in the first period after a collision with Calle Rosen and Nazem Kadri. The team announced he sustained a lower-body injury and will miss the rest of the series against the Avalanche. Binnington won four of his five starts this postseason.
TROUBLE IN SUNRISE: Top-seeded Florida Panthers were blown out 5-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. The Presidents’ Trophy winners are now in a 3-0 hole against their in-state rivals and looking to win their third straight title. Tampa Bay has outscored the Panthers by a combined score of 11-3 in the three games.
KEY-GOR SHESTERKIN: All signs pointed to Igor Shesterkin playing like the Hart and Vezina finalist he is for the New York Rangers to have a chance against the Carolina Hurricanes. On Sunday, Shesterkin proved just that, making 43 saves to keep the Hurricanes winless on the road.
MORE HATS FOR KANE: Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane notched his second hat trick of the 2022 Playoffs on Sunday night, helping the Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 4-1 and take a 2-1 series lead in the Battle of Alberta. Kane leads the league with 10 goals in 10 games this postseason.
0 to 20 in Fewer Than 10
Friday night, Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid notched an assist and scored a goal in the team’s 5-3 Game 2 win over the Calgary Flames. That gave the 25-year-old, who won his second straight Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top point-scorer this season, 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) through nine playoff games in 2022.
With the two-point night on Friday, McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to score 20 points in fewer than 10 games of a single postseason. McDavid and Mario Lemieux reached the mark in nine games, while Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky (four times) did it in eight games. Here is a look at those other hot postseason starts.
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins (1992)
Lemieux, a Hall-of-Famer and Penguins legend, was no stranger to playoff production, scoring 172 career postseason points (76 goals, 96 assists) in 107 games and winning two Stanley Cups. His best playoff performance came in 1991 when he scored 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists), but he had a hotter start the following year, totaling 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in the first nine games.
That stretch included a six-point game (three goals, three assists) and a five-point game (two goals, three assists) in Pittsburgh’s first-round series against the Washington Capitals. Lemieux ended up with 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in 15 games during the 1992 Playoffs, registering multiple points in 11 games as the Penguins won their second straight Stanley Cup.
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (1981, 1983, 1985, 1987)
Most hockey fans probably don’t need a reminder, but Gretzky ranks first in points with 2,857 (894 goals, 1,963 assists) and playoff points, totaling 382 (122 goals, 260 assists) in 208 games. Gretzky’s best postseason was in 1985 when he scored 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) in 18 games. He kicked that off by notching 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in the first eight games, including a seven-point performance (three goals, four assists) against the Winnipeg Jets.
Gretzky also achieved 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) and netted two hat tricks in nine games during the 1981 Playoffs, scored 22 (10 goals, 12 assists) with two four-goal nights in his first nine games of the 1983 Playoffs, and recorded 21 (three goals, 18 assists) in the first nine of the 1987 Playoffs. Edmonton would win the Stanley Cup in each of those seasons except 1981.
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders (1981)
Bossy scored 160 points (85 goals, 75 assists) in 129 career playoff games. His best postseason was 1981, when he tallied 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists) in 18 games, leading the Islanders to their second of four straight Stanley Cup titles. Bossy started that postseason with back-to-back four-point games, reaching 20 (eight goals, 12 assists) in the first eight games.
He was held scoreless just once during the entirety of New York’s Stanley Cup run that year. Bossy didn’t start as fast in either of the following two postseasons but finished strong by scoring eight points (seven goals, one assist) in four games during the 1982 Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks and four (two goals, two assists) in three games during the 1983 Final over Edmonton.
Awards Watch: Who Got Snubbed?
We don’t yet know who has earned the marquee awards for the 2021-22 NHL season, but we’ve at least got things narrowed down to a top three (aside from the Jim Gregory GM of the Year award, anyway). It won’t be until the Stanley Cup Final begins that the league will announce the winners, so for the time being, we are left to nitpick and critique the finalist trios.
The league got plenty right, but there are always deserving candidates left out in the cold. Here are some of the most notable snubs coming out of last week’s announcement of finalists:
Johnny Gaudreau, Hart Trophy
Let’s start with the most prominent award. The Hart will always be a hotly contested award, but this might have been one of the best groups of contenders in recent memory. Auston Matthews’ 60 goals, Connor McDavid’s career-high 123 points, and Igor Shesterkin’s league-best .935 save percentage and 2.07 goals-against average all stand out. However, Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau also provided a sparkling resume with 40 goals, 115 points, and a league-best plus-64 for the Pacific Division champs.
Jared Bednar, Jack Adams Award
There’s no exact science to recognizing coaching excellence within the framework of a single season. Honoring new coaches who engineered turnaround seasons (Gerard Gallant in New York, Darryl Sutter in Calgary) and succeeded amidst trying circumstances (Andrew Brunette in Florida) isn’t the worst way. However, the problem is that such an approach omits Jared Bednar for a second straight year despite leading the Colorado Avalanche to a league-high 201 points over that period.
Lucas Raymond, Calder Trophy
The other head of the Detroit Red Wings’ two-headed rookie monster alongside Calder finalist Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, earned a share of the rookie lead in goals (23) and remained in the thick of the first-year point race all year. Someone had to be left out amidst Raymond, Seider, Michael Bunting, and Trevor Zegras, but shouldn’t it probably have been the guy who’s half a decade older than the rest and got to play with Matthews and Mitch Marner this year?
Player Spotlight – Nathan MacKinnon
Tonight, Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche look to take a 3-1 lead over the St. Louis Blues. MacKinnon has nine points in seven playoff games, and his five goals tie for the team lead with Gabriel Landeskog. Fans know plenty about what the former first-overall pick has brought to the ice, but today we look at his life away from the rink. Let’s check in.
What is Your Favorite Road City?:
Favorite Superhero:
Favorite Way to Pass Time on Team Flights:
Favorite Movie:
What is Your Favorite Hockey Stick?:
What is Your Pre-Game Routine Like?:
I eat, pre-game nap, wake up, get a coffee, and then go to the game.
Which Teammate Would Win a Trick Shot Contest?
Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket
Stanley Cup Playoffs 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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