Not a busy night in the NHL.
Only seven games were scheduled.
Here are the results and highlights:
Nathan MacKinnon recorded his second four-goal performance of the season to lead the @Avalanche to victory during a seven-game Wednesday in the NHL.#NHLStats: https://t.co/l3gS3q1FnL pic.twitter.com/FHrmtpt66b
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 25, 2024
1. Ilya Samsonov admits he almost cried when fans chanted his name
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov hasn’t had it easy this year. He hasn’t had the best statistics, and his difficult start to the season earned him a stint with the Toronto Marlies.
Now he’s back and playing perhaps his best game of the season.
He finished with 32 saves for his second shutout of the year.
He made some key saves when he was alone in front of two opposing players.
Samsonov is LOCKED IN tonight! π± pic.twitter.com/No2v7Ia2B0
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 25, 2024
Of course, it was Auston Matthews who scored the Leafs’ only goal in a 1-0 overtime win.
AUSTON. MATTHEWS. GAME WINNER π₯π¨ pic.twitter.com/SC8LI0Dax2
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2024
After the game, fans chanted their goalie’s name.
And the main man admitted it: it warmed his heart. He almost cried.
“It’s unbelievable, you know, like I almost cried.”
Ilya Samsonov was almost brought to tears when the crowd was chanting his name pic.twitter.com/OGKmGnOXH5
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 25, 2024
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2. Hat trick in less than seven minutes for Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon is quite simply the best player in the NHL right now.
Yesterday, he continued his dominance by scoring a hat trick in less than seven minutes and continuing his streak of home games with at least one point.
In fact, if you’re an Avalanche fan and have attended at least one of the team’s games at Ball Arena this season, it’s 100% certain that you’ve seen a MacKinnon point. Wow!
NATE DOGG HATTYπ©π©π©
THIS MAN IS POSSESSED! pic.twitter.com/S7nQG9Q7cH
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 25, 2024
Oh, and he also ended his night’s work with four goals.
Since November 20, he has more four-goal games than 0-point games.
Nathan MacKinnon has more 4 goal games than 0 point games since November 20th…
Nate Dogg really is a G π¨
(h/t @Chris_Jast) pic.twitter.com/3jUwTx7XDW
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2024
Teammate Cale Makar is no celery stalk either.
He scored a shorthanded goal last night. He’s now the franchise’s top scorer among defensemen. And he’s only 25.
ALL HAIL CALE π₯¬
Makar now has the most goals in Avs franchise history as a defenseman with 76! pic.twitter.com/SITgqCPJHW
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 25, 2024
Colorado finally won their game by a score of 6-2 against the Capitals.
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3. Crazy start between the Panthers and Coyotes
If you tuned in to the Panthers-Coyotes game, you probably had the best night of your year.
As soon as the game started, the action began.
PUCK DROP. GLOVES DROP.
Hockey is the best. pic.twitter.com/62CWglk0A5
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 25, 2024
And it didn’t stop there.
10 minutes after the first face-off, Florida was already leading by three goals and two fights broke out.
In case you needed a recap…
π TWO fights
π¨ THREE Panthers goals… and there’s still 10 minutes left in the first πΌ pic.twitter.com/mqqB7bRWSt
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2024
The home side eventually won by a score of 6-2.
And guess who scored. That’s right, Sam Reinhart, his 35th of the season.
Sam Reinhart nets his 35th goal of the season. β€οΈβπ₯ pic.twitter.com/HvUosOvKkg
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 25, 2024
He increased his streak of games with at least one point to 11.
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4. A Pius Suter hat trick isn’t enough
What makes the Vancouver Canucks dangerous is depth.
Yesterday, it wasn’t the big guns who stepped up. Pius Suter scored all three of his team’s goals in an overtime loss.
PIUS SUTER PUTS THE TEAM ON HIS BACK AND GETS THE HATTY TO KEEP THE GAME ALIVE π©π©π©pic.twitter.com/7mDUdqPKub
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) January 25, 2024
Vancouver may not have won the game, but it was Suter who earned the Canadian team a point.
Among the winners, it was Brayden Schenn who gave the Blues the victory.
Brayden Schenn called game and ended the Canucks rally π΅ pic.twitter.com/NpDvJunY3r
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2024
Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas stood out with two points each in the win.
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5. Seth Jones scores in his own net
Offensively, Seth Jones is having a tough season. He’s not scoring the way he’d like to.
A few days ago, he scored his first net of the season, and last night, his second.
The problem: it won’t count because it was in his own net.
The Kraken just scored on a DOUBLE DOINK π₯΄ pic.twitter.com/CCKoYDjG9j
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2024
It was a game to forget for the Blackhawks, who lost 6-2.
Three games have ended by that score, by the way.
In Seattle’s victory, Tomas Tatar, who has given new meaning to his career there, scored two goals.
DOUBLE TUNA! π¨
Two goals for Tomas Tatar.
6-2 #SeaKraken. pic.twitter.com/F0lpePtnA4
– Sound Of Hockey (@sound_hockey) January 25, 2024
He was one of four players on the team to finish the game with two points.
Overtime
– Well deserved.
-Franchise leader in regular season games played
-Franchise leader in assists
-Second on the franchise list in points (trailing only Marcel Dionne)
-400 career goalsThe @LAKings celebrated all of these recent @AnzeKopitar accomplishments tonight! π pic.twitter.com/TW6v8I0ZX6
– NHL (@NHL) January 25, 2024
– I hope Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen were in your pool yesterday.
– Nine games on tap tonight.