Yesterday was another nine-game weekend in the National Hockey League, with 18 teams in action.
Here’s what we’ve got to remember.
1. A first NHL victory for Yaroslav Askarov
Here’s a young goalie we’ve heard a lot about in recent years.
As soon as he was drafted in 2020, Askarov was seen as a very good future NHL goaltender.
Since then, the Russian goaltender has often been the subject of trade rumors, given the presence of an excellent goaltender in Nashville with the Predators, namely Juuse Saros.
Askarov was even talked about a lot in Montreal, as he was a goaltender of great interest to Marc Bergevin at the time.
What’s more, Askarov was offered to the Montreal Canadiens at the most recent draft in a trade that would have given the Predators the fifth overall pick.
All this to say that Askarov wasn’t always destined to stay with the Predators, but last night he got his first NHL win, and it was with the Preds.
First career win for Yaroslav Askarov.
Juuse Saros went and retrieved the puck for him pic.twitter.com/aLMcroFGXE
– Bally Sports: Preds (@PredsOnBally) December 31, 2023
And for his first NHL win, the Russian goaltender didn’t just beat any team, he beat Alex Ovechkin’s team, the Washington Capitals.
He stopped both Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov in shootouts.
Here’s the full shootout between Preds and Caps, including Yaroslav Askarov stopping Russian forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. pic.twitter.com/3zMCw9NPPg
– Alex Daugherty (@AlexDaugherty1) December 31, 2023
Ovechkin got the better of Askarov earlier in the game with a classic goal.
An authentic Ovechkin goal! pic.twitter.com/DbucHDcXg7
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 31, 2023
(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});
2. Rangers reach 50-point plateau
The New York Rangers are one of the best teams in the NHL this season, if not the best.
They have a very balanced and powerful line-up, both offensively, defensively and in front of the net.
Yesterday, they reached the 50-point plateau this season with a fine 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
They are the first team to reach this plateau this season.
In this victory, the Rangers’ best player this season, Artemi Panarin, scored a hat trick.
Artemi Panarin got that bread three times tonight, earning his sixth career hat trick!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/FfPOh9dwm8
– NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2023
That gives him 23 goals and 50 points, making him the third-highest scorer in the NHL, nine points behind fellow Russian Nikita Kucherov.
(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});
3. Michael Bunting scores on his return to Toronto
It’s always nice for a player to score a goal against his former team, especially when it happens on the first reunion with that team at their home ground.
Well, that’s exactly what Michael Bunting did last night, scoring on his return to Toronto.
Michael Bunting gets the first goal of the game in his return to Toronto ‼️ pic.twitter.com/HgYkCAgyx7
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 31, 2023
Bunting wasn’t shy about celebrating, especially considering he’s from Toronto.
In short, the goal gave the Hurricanes the lead for good in a 3-2 victory.
(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});
4. Five unanswered goals for the Bruins against the Devils
Leading 2-0 in hockey is never a big lead, especially against one of the NHL’s top teams, the Boston Bruins.
After taking a 2-0 lead, the New Jersey Devils had to endure five unanswered Bruins goals, including two from David Pastrnak.
David Pastrnak is having a good night! pic.twitter.com/ObBqYsTzX1
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 31, 2023
The Bruins won 5-2 and extended their record to 21-7-6.
(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});
5. Oilers win big game against Kings
After a horrendous start to the season, the Oilers are quietly making their way back up the standings, so every point is extremely important.
Last night, against one of the NHL’s top teams, the Los Angeles Kings, the Oilers managed to secure both points with a 3-2 shootout victory.
The Oilers can thank the brilliance of Connor McDavid, who earned two points in his 600ᵉ career game.
No angle, no problem for McDavid! Follow the Kings-Oilers duel right now on TVA Sports 2: pic.twitter.com/S3d0yHZbST
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 31, 2023
Here are Connor McDavid’s incredible stats after 600 games.
Through 600 career games:
316 goals
581 assists
897 pointsConnor McDavid(@cmcdavid97) is unreal. pic.twitter.com/hjsaiuRhe0
– NHL (@NHL) December 31, 2023
Getting back to the game, Leon Draisaitl was obviously the Oilers’ other scorer.
Overtime
– Here are all yesterday’s results.
A busy nine-game Saturday featured the @NYRangers becoming the first team to reach the 50-point mark this season.#NHLStats: https://t.co/2VmbgWRjg8 pic.twitter.com/m9ROmqWme3
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 31, 2023
– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.
– Today’s NHL schedule: nine games once again.