Author: Dose

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Anthony Stolarz makes a bare-handed save

Yesterday, on this Friday night, there were only four games in the National Hockey League.

Despite the small number of games, there was plenty of action and highlights.

Here’s a rundown.

1. Anthony Stolarz makes a magnificent bare-handed save

The Toronto Maple Leafs took on division rivals last night, as the Detroit Red Wings visited Toronto.

It was an important duel, as the Red Wings tried to close to within a point of the Maple Leafs.

But in the end, Detroit failed to surprise Toronto, as the Leafs prevailed 3-1, thanks in large part to their goaltender, Anthony Stolarz.

Indeed, Stolarz was once again solid in front of the Leafs’ cage, but what really caught the eye was his bare-handed save.

Yes, yes, Stolarz stopped the play by grabbing the puck with his bare hand.

It’s a truly epic scene for the Leafs goalie, who can be seen proudly showing everyone that he does indeed have the puck frozen in his right hand.

In short, it’s an impressive save from Stolarz, who has established himself as an excellent number-one goalie for the Maple Leafs since the start of the season.

Have the Leafs finally found their goalie?

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2. Kirill Kaprizov is simply too good for the NHL

Since the start of the season, just like last year, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov are at the top of the NHL in the points column.

They’re among the NHL’s best players, and it’s not for nothing that they fought to the very end for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the season’s top scorer.

However, neither of them is currently at the top of the NHL, and it’s not Connor McDavid either, who’s off to a rocky start to the season.

Instead, it’s Kirll Kaprizov who sits atop the NHL with 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 14 games.

The Minnesota Wild’s Russian winger is simply too good for the NHL right now, while yesterday, in a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, he has already recorded a 6ᵉ three-point game this season.

In 14 games alone, Kaprizov has already scored at least three points in a game SIX TIMES.

That’s 18 points in six games. And in the other eight games, he’s got nine points, which is also impressive.

With two goals and an assist last night, Kaprizov is quickly becoming the best player in Minnesota Wild history.

The Russian is a true star player, and let’s hope Ivan Demidov can follow in his footsteps and do the same with the Montreal Canadiens.

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3. Sidney Crosby’s gang gets the better of Alex Ovechkin’s

It was a classic duel last night, as the Pittsburgh Penguins visited the Washington Capitals.

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin faced off for the umpteenth time in their careers, and this time it was Crosby’s team that came out on top.

The Penguins won 4-2 with a goal in an empty net.

Ovechkin was cleared from the scoresheet, while Crosby picked up an assist on Erik Karlsson’s first goal of the game.

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4. Jared McCann gives the Kraken victory in overtime

Finally, in the night’s latest match-up, we were treated to a duel between the last two expansion teams, as the Vegas Golden Knights were in Seattle to take on the Kraken.

It was a very close game, requiring overtime to decide between the two teams.

In the end, it was Jared McCann who gave the Kraken a 4-3 victory with a beautiful deke on a breakaway.

In defeat, Jack Eichel notched three assists to reach the 20-point plateau this season, when he now has 22 points in 14 games.

I’d also like to note the incredible start to the season by a certain Pavel Dorofeyev, who already has eight goals and 11 points in 14 games.

The 24-year-old Russian winger is just five goals away from matching his personal best of 13 from last season.

Overtime

– Here are yesterday’s four results.

– Here are the night’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: 12 games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
(Credit: Google/NHL)

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Jacob Fowler: 30 saves last night, 6th win in 7 games

Since the start of the season, one thing has become clear about the Canadiens’ goaltenders: they’re not good enough to save the team’s defensive woes.

Indeed, apart from a few solid performances from Samuel Montembeault in the curtain-raiser, it’s been a real struggle for him and Cayden Primeau.

Both Habs goalies have been shaky since the start of the season, and haven’t consistently given the team a chance to win.

Here are the stats for the Habs’ two goalies in 2024-2025:

  • Samuel Montembeault: 3-6-1 record in ten games, 3.46 goals-against average and .892 save percentage.
  • Cayden Primeau: 1-2-1 record in four games, 4.38 goals-against average and .861 save percentage.

In short, I don’t think I need to go on and on to prove to you that the Habs’ goaltenders aren’t giving enough this season.

It’s a worrying situation for the future in the short term, but at least, in the long term, the Canadiens can continue to pin their hopes on Jacob Fowler.

The 19-year-old American sensation, drafted by the Habs in 2023 in the third round (69ᵉ overall), continues to shine impressively in the NCAA.

Last night, Fowler recorded his sixth win of the season in his seventh game, as he turned aside 30 of 32 shots in a 3-2 Boston College victory over the University of Maine.

Indeed, Fowler was excellent again in this game, as he made key saves at important moments in the game, including this one, when his team mishandled an opponent’s exit from the penalty box.

And in overtime, Fowler once again held down the fort, allowing James Hagens to serve the winning goal to Ryan Leonard on a silver platter.

It’s a connection that could have been possible in the NHL under the colors of the Blue, White and Red, considering that the Habs are headed for a battle for the first overall pick (Hagens), but the Habs preferred to draft David Reinbacher rather than Ryan Leonard.

In short, Fowler is unstoppable this season, and so far he’s posting better stats than last season.

(Credit: EliteProspects.com)

He’s dominant, and at just 19 years of age. He turns 20 this month, on November 24.

All in all, it’s encouraging to see Fowler performing so well, as it gives hope to Canadiens fans that the team has found its number-one goaltender of the future, and that all he has to do is be patient.

The young American is likely to play another season in the NCAA, before turning pro, most likely with the Laval Rocket.

There’s still a long way to go for Fowler, but his development is going wonderfully well so far.

Overtime

– Not to be missed today!

– A virtually perfect start to the season.

– Very solid start to the season for Jack Roslovic.

– To be continued.

– Nice win for Canada.

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Tom Brady tried to play hockey with Tie Domi

Athletes often have a natural talent for many sports such as basketball, football or baseball, but for hockey, it’s a different story.

Learning to skate and shoot well is something extremely difficult, and Tom Brady recently experienced it.

The GOAT of football was skating and taking a few shots on net with Tie Domi.

Just before entering the Devils’ locker room, Brady was asked if he thought he was going to be a natural at hockey. The good news is, he knew he was going to be bad!

Brady had probably never skated in his life, since Tie Domi was waiting for him on the ice with a little practice chair they give to kids. Luckily for Brady, the chair was there because he was not at all comfortable.

Brady finally managed to stand on his skates without help, but it wasn’t fancy.

The former NFL quarterback attempted shots at the mouth of the net. Each time, the puck either went straight through or he managed to sweep a weak shot into the net. Let’s just say we didn’t expect to see him unleashing wrist shots full of power.

He’s even been taught how to fight on the ice by Domi!

Brady was then asked an intense question: Who would be better between Max Domi as Patriots quarterback or Tom Brady as Maple Leafs first center?

Brady thinks he’d be better as a Maple Leaf center.

It’s not crazy. The Maple Leafs have a better chance of winning playing 4-on-5 than the Patriots have of winning with a quarterback who does nothing.

It’s crazy how even the best football player in history can’t play hockey. He should get some advice from J.J. Watt, who played hockey for a long time!

You can see the full video of Brady trying his hand at hockey and basketball here.

Overtime

– Wow!

.

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“Kirby Dach will have to play on a third line”.

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 2: Kirby Dach #77 of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 2, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

Kirby Dach has played in all 14 of the Canadiens’ games so far this season.

He’s picked up at least one point in four of those games… And he’s been blanked from the scoresheet ten times.

That’s not what you want from a top-6 player on your team.

We know he’s come a long way from his injury, and even before the season started, we were saying it would be a long time before he was back to 100%.

But it’s not just been difficult for Dach over the last few games: it’s simply atrocious.

You can feel that his confidence is shaken, and that’s normal since the results aren’t there. Offensive players have to produce to gain confidence, and that’s not the case for #77 at the moment.

Renaud Lavoie spoke about the main player this morning on the radio(BPM Sports)… And according to him, Dach needs to be taken out of the top-6 right now, because playing against the best opposing players isn’t helping him.

So, what’s the solution? Dach needs to play on the third line to regain his confidence:

Kirby Dach can’t play on a first line, and Kirby Dach can’t play on a second line. Kirby Dach will have to play on a third line if he wants to make it. – Renaud Lavoie

The TVA Sports journalist goes on to say that Dach could also play on the fourth line, but with powerplay time and third line minutes.

Again, the goal is to boost his confidence:

Is this the ideal solution?

Actually, I’m asking because you have to wonder if it could have an impact on his confidence. Seeing that he’s dropping down the lineup, maybe it could create an opposite effect as well… And we know that he’s already had problems at that level when he played in Chicago.

But ultimately, I agree with Renaud Lavoie: things have to change. There has to be a spark somewhere, otherwise the Canadiens are in danger of losing him in his development (which was going great before his injury, by the way).

Martin St-Louis has to try to help him in the best possible way, and that may not happen by playing against the best opposing trios.

On the other hand… Dach needs wingers to perform and it’s not by playing with Joel Armia or Josh Anderson that he’ll start producing like crazy.

All this to say that it’s complicated for Dach on the top-6… And that it’s starting to be time to think about other solutions.

That’s just one of the (many) problems Martin St-Louis has on his hands.

Overtime

– Wow!

– Love this.

– Trent Frederic is off the market in Boston.[RG]

– Come on!

– Coming up.

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Cayden Lindstrom hasn’t played yet this year

Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Getty Images

Before the last draft, Cayden Lindstrom was a popular name in Montreal.

We knew the Canadiens organization liked him a lot, and we knew there was a chance Kent Hughes would select him with the 5th pick if he was still available.

But in the end, Lindstrom was selected 4th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

At the time of the draft, there seemed to be some concern about his back. He suffered a herniated disc last season, which limited him to just 32 games in the WHL.

I mention this because as of today… The big forward still hasn’t played a single game this season.

Aaron Portzline wrote in a recent article that his comeback is just around the corner, but the youngster’s situation is starting to look scary all the same :

If Lindstrom had been drafted by the Canadiens, there’d be a lot of trouble in town.

And with good reason.

After all, when a club has the luxury of being able to select in the top-5 at the draft, there are high expectations for the players who are chosen in the top five.

And without saying that this is what happened to the Blue Jackets, the state of health of their best forward prospect is worrying, and it’s not ideal.

And yet, everyone knew that Lindstrom had back problems… But the Jackets decided to turn a blind eye because they believed in him.

Hopefully, Lindstrom will be able to return to action soon, because he has great potential.

Although he only played 32 games last season, he still scored 27 goals…

Overtime

– Auston Matthews will miss tomorrow’s game against the Habs.

– They need to wake up.

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Shea Weber: An injury from 2017 haunted him for the rest of his career

MONTREAL, QC - JUNE 07: Look on Montreal Canadiens defenseman Shea Weber (6) during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs second round game 4 between the Winnipeg Jets versus the Montreal Canadiens on June 07, 2021, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

Shea Weber was known in Montreal as a warrior.

He played through pain at the end of his career, but never hesitated before throwing himself on the ice to block a shot.

Speaking to the media today on the heels of his Hall of Fame induction (which takes place on Monday), the former Canadiens captain confessed that it was the injury he sustained blocking a Jack Eichel shot at the start of the 17-18 season that really put an end to his career:

During the Habs’ run to the Cup Final in the summer of 2021, Weber was hurt.

He went into the playoffs with a torn meniscus, a broken ankle, torn thumb tendons… And he also tore his groin during the series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

You’d have to be superhuman to play with injuries like that, because all he did was put bandages on his boo-boos :

That said, I don’t think we appreciate enough the work he did for the Canadiens as captain, even if he didn’t play in Montreal for very long.

In the dictionary, it should be written “Shea Weber” to describe the word “Courage”.

It’s worth remembering that the main player will be honoured at the Bell Centre on November 16, and Weber says he’s excited about the occasion.

He knows he’s probably going to cry, because there’s going to be a lot of emotion in the air:

Shea Weber deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Note that his good friend Carey Price will be eligible for induction into the Hall as early as next year… And it will be interesting to see if he, too, is admitted in his first year of eligibility.

Overtime

– That would be something.

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Barry Trotz says he has a plan

Things are really bad in Nashville.

The club has signed the likes of Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and a certain Steven Stamkos to take the club to the next level. And right now, it’s not working.

What’s next for the Preds?

Barry Trotz, the club’s GM, was very transparent on the subject. He said on the radio (102.5) that if the guys don’t get back on track, he’s going to start the process of rebuilding the team.

Nothing less.

Of course, the GM says that some contracts could make it more complicated… and that’s the point: the change in direction is really, really drastic on the GM’s part.

Even if he hasn’t said he’s rebuilding tomorrow morning, opening the door four months after untying the purse strings shows a very clear lack of vision on the part of the executive.

He seems to be thinking too much in the short term… like a coach.

I wonder what David Poile thinks of all this. Is he going to recommend that we don’t go ahead with a rebuild? Will the guys stand up to avoid that process?

Who knows.

But one thing is clear: even if the club wants to make room for youngsters if things continue to go badly, it’s clearly going to be harder said than done. After all, big contracts are a dime a dozen.

  • Filip Forsberg: $8.5 M until 2030
  • Steven Stamkos: $8M until 2028
  • Jonathan Marchessault: $5.5 M to 2029
  • Ryan O’Reilly: $4.5 M until 2027
  • Roman Josi: $9.059 M until 2028
  • Brady Skjei: $7M until 2031
  • Alexandre Carrier: $3.75 M until 2027
  • Jusse Saros: $7.740M from 2025 to 2033

Add to this the fact that Matt Duchene will be on the block until 2029 (at $5.55M this year and $6.55M next year, among other things) and that Kyle Turris is at $2M for four seasons.

The Preds also have two salary holdbacks.

(Credit: CapWages)

I wonder what Steven Stamkos thinks of this. After all, while he could be traded to another club that would take him, I don’t think he imagined himself signing for a club that was going to be thinking about rebuilding in 2024.

And when I say Stamkos, I can also say Marchessault, you know.

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Delayed penalties: Joey Daccord would like goalies to be able to support the forward

Joey Daccord kind of came out of nowhere with the Seattle Kraken.

He was the 199ᵉ overall pick in the 2015 draft, has had his ups and downs in the NCAA and AHL, but last year, at 27, he proved he’s NHL-caliber.

In 2023-24, the American goaltender allowed an average of 2.46 goals per game, in addition to posting a 0.916 save percentage in 50 games.

Recently, he came to prominence after his team’s overtime win, when he joined his team by “jumping into the pile”.

Of course, he couldn’t stay on his skates after the jump, but that just goes to show his goofy side.

Here’s the sequence in question:

The What Chaos! podcast released an episode featuring the Kraken keeper.

You can find the full video right here.

After hosts Pete Blackburn and DJ Bean revisited the aforementioned footage, a rather peculiar topic surfaced.

Daccord suggested that goalies should be able to join the attack on a delayed penalty, rather than heading to the bench in favor of a sixth player.

He even went so far as to say that he could score five goals a year if this fictitious rule came into being.

He seemed very excited about his idea.

He would like to change the central red line rule for goalkeepers, which prevents them from crossing the middle during the match.

Pette Blackburn tossed out an image of a goalie standing in front of the net to block the other goalie’s view with all his equipment.

To this, Daccord countered by saying that he could very easily make deflections with the width of his goalie stick.

What a conversation.

The goalie even mentioned that he likes to practice his on-reception shots at the end of warm-ups when he’s not playing.

“I still wish I could play forward. Scoring goals is so much fun. Whenever I’m not playing, I practice my spot-kicks at the end of warm-ups. And I’ve got one no worse with my goalie gear.” – Joey Daccord

Jokingly, he occasionally tells his head coach, Dan Bylsma, that he’d like to play on the powerplay.

Definitely, Daccord seems like a good person to be around and must be the type of player who can lighten the mood with his zany side.

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Linus Ullmark says he doesn’t know where his “game” is at the moment

Photo by Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images

Linus Ullmark was acquired by the Senators this summer.

And let’s just say that things aren’t going well for the goalie in Ottawa right now.

He’s not helping the Sens win, which is a problem.

When you look at his stats, it’s clear that he’s not performing up to expectations.

His numbers are… Worrying:

  • 2-4-0 record
  • 3.02 goals-against average
  • .892 save percentage

For a number-one goalie… It’s atrocious. Ullmark knows it, and he told reporters about it earlier today.

But the problem? The man himself doesn’t know where his game is at the moment.

He’s in a difficult period:

These comments come a month after seeing him sign a major contract extension with the Senators.

On October 8, the goaltender reached an agreement with the Sens on the terms of a four-year contract extension, which will pay him a hefty salary of $8.25 million per season.

The contract will begin at the end of the season.

That said, until then, the Sens must be hoping he finds his feet.

You can’t pay a goalie who’s not doing the job $8.25 a season… And if he can’t find his game, his contract will become a nightmare for the Ottawa organization.

To be continued…

Overtime

– Really?

– Good news.

– Impressive.

– This case will generate a lot of attention in the coming months.

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Two goals for Macklin Celebrini, including a magnificent one

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The Canadiens lost last night in New Jersey. Another defeat for Martin St-Louis’ men…

But there were also 11 other games presented across the NHL.

Let’s take a look:

1: Two goals for Macklin Celebrini

The Sharks aren’t off to a good start this season.

But at least Macklin Celebrini is back in the game, having missed the first month of the campaign through injury.

Last night, the youngster stood out against the Wild… even though his club lost again.

Celebrini scored two goals, and his second was particularly beautiful :

Still, the Wild won the game by a score of 5-2, inflicting an eleventh defeat (in 15 games) on the Sharks in the process.

Small victories in San Jose are to be celebrated, and seeing Celebrini score two goals is one of them.

2: An impressive line-up for Marc-André Fleury

Speaking of the Sharks-Wild game…

On the Minnesota side, it was Marc-André Fleury who had the task of keeping goal for the game.

And in getting the start, Fleury had the opportunity to join Patrick Roy in third place for goalkeepers with the most games played in the National League.

Only Roberto Luongo (1044 games) and Martin Brodeur (1266 games) surpass him in this respect.

Fleury, for his part, has now played 1029 games in his career:

He’s got 15 games left before he joins Luongo in second place in history.

It should happen this season, logically…

3: Another embarrassing defeat for the Preds

Right. Now… it’s starting to look worrying.

At least, that’s what Barry Trotz must be thinking right now.

We know that the Preds are off to an atrocious start to the season, and that continued last night.

The Predators were in Florida to take on the Panthers… And they allowed no less than six goals to their opponents :

The Panthers’ 6-2 victory gives them their sixth straight win. Not bad, eh?

But the main thing to remember is that the Predators simply can’t win.

Seems a bit crazy with all the recent major acquisitions…

4: The Jets are unstoppable

The Winnipeg Jets have been solid all season.

Like, really solid.

Connor Hellebuyck was perfect last night, stopping all 35 shots he faced as his club took on the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche’s big guns were unable to break through Hellebuyck’s wall, and the Jets prevailed by a score of 1-0.

Gabriel Vilardi was the lone scorer.

It was the Jets’ 13th win in 14 games since the start of the campaign.

Who will be able to stop them?

5: A record for Crosby

Sidney Crosby made National League history last night.

In his club’s 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Penguins captain won his 14,838th career NHL face-off.

And that’s a record:

Crosby has overtaken Patrice Bergeron to take the top spot all by himself.

His place in the Hall of Fame is already assured…

Jack Roslovic scored his 8th and 9th goals of the season.

He’s off to a good start, as are the Hurricanes: the Carolina outfit have now won their last eight games.

Extension

– He’s too good.

– A battle of Québécois!

– That’s why he’s one of the best in the league.

– Oh.

– He’s on fire.

– Wow.

– Classic.

– You can’t do that, Connor.

– Top scorers of the evening :

(Credit: NHL.com screenshot)

– Quiet schedule tonight :

(Credit: Google screenshot)

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