There were only eight games on the schedule, but a lot happened last night in the NHL.
Let’s take a look at what caught our eye. To begin with, here are the evening’s scores:
An overtime win for the @BlueJacketsNHL following a five-goal Maple Leafs rally. A four-goal game for @TBLightning captain Steven Stamkos. A shutout for Thatcher Demko on the night the @Canucks honored Roberto Luongo.
Thursday night had it all. #NHLStats: https://t.co/PQax5hpmOE pic.twitter.com/zsL90VnQZF
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 15, 2023
1: Crazy game in Toronto
Wow!
The Leafs and Blue Jackets played the game of the season so far in the NHL.
Let’s jump ahead to the third period… when the score was 5-0 in favor of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
That’s right!
The Toronto team didn’t seem to be in the game at all… And that’s when the team’s big guns woke up.
William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Jake McCabe and Auston Matthews all hit the target in the final frame to make it 5-4 Columbus with a minute and fifteen seconds left on the clock…
And Matthews, once again, was the hero as he tied the game at the very end:
ALL 5 LEAFS GOALS FOR THE COMEBACK vs Columbus Blue Jackets courtesy of Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph. #LeafsForever @Bonsie1951 @Jim_Ralph
12/14/2023 pic.twitter.com/jabVU5Kzea
– LeafsJellyHD (@LeafsJelly) December 15, 2023
The overtime period was necessary…
And unfortunately for the Leafs, it was Kent Johnson who ended the debate with his second goal of the night.
A first career three-point game for the young Blue Jackets player… And a morale-sapping defeat for the Leafs.
Kent Johnson was feeling it tonight! 🔥
He caps off the first three-point performance of his career with the @Energizer overtime winner! pic.twitter.com/OmtKpjMTmz
– NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2023
Note that Sheldon Keefe left Ilya Samsonov in net, even when the score was 5-0.
Clearly, the Leafs’ pilot still had confidence in his goalie.
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2: Alex Ovechkin is unrecognizable
Has he finally reached the end of his rope?
At least, the way Alex Ovechkin has been going all season… We have every reason to believe so.
The man considered by many to be the all-time leading scorer has scored just five goals this season… in the space of 26 games.
What’s going on?
The Capitals’ captain is in a slump. He hasn’t found the back of the net in his last eleven games, a first for him in his NHL career.
He seems to be at the end of his tether, unfortunately.
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3: 50 points for Kuch, 4 goals for Stamkos
Nikita Kucherov is the most productive player this season in the NHL.
He took advantage of his club’s visit to Edmonton to collect a goal and an assist to reach the 50-point plateau in 2023-2024.
He is the first player to reach the plateau this year on the Bettman circuit.
Nikita Kucherov tallied 1-2-3 to improve his season totals to 20-30-50 – he became the first player this season to reach 50 and set a franchise mark for most points through 30 games of a season.#NHLStats: https://t.co/ntfJVa3qu3 pic.twitter.com/682nLi6eft
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 15, 2023
But the story of the game isn’t Nikita Kucherov’s three-point performance…
It was the four-goal performance of team captain Steven Stamkos.
Stammer scored his 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th goals of the campaign to help the Bolts inflict their first defeat on the Oilers in eight games.
The game ended 7-4.
Steven Stamkos made it rain hats (and money for AstraZeneca) as he recorded his 12th career hat trick and first four-goal game.#NHLStats: https://t.co/ntfJVa3qu3 pic.twitter.com/GI62OSzsoA
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 15, 2023
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4: Tatcher Demko shutout
The Canucks are really fun to watch this season.
The Vancouver team seems to have found the confidence to perform up to expectations.
They’ve been one of the best teams in the NHL so far, and they continued that momentum last night with a 4-0 win over the Panthers.
It was a fourth straight win for the Canucks and Tatcher Demko’s third shutout of the season.
Thatcher Demko helped the @Canucks pick up their fourth straight victory with his third @pepsi shutout of the season! 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/Hysx93R1Bo
– NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2023
The Canucks now sit second overall in the NHL standings, behind the Vegas Golden Knights.
Few would have predicted this, before the season began…
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5: Sens still struggling
At some point, the Senators will have to make a decision.
What’s happening right now is that the talent of young players is being wasted. The Sens have what it takes to be competitive, and they should be.
You see where I’m going with this…
The Sens lost again last night, when they were in St. Louis to face the Blues.
It was the third loss in four games for the Ottawa club, which now finds itself in 29th place in the NHL standings.
When will D.J. Smith be fired? And God knows, it’s not the first time this comment has been heard…
Sens drop to 1-3-0 in their last 4, 3-6-0 in their last 9.
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) December 15, 2023
Extension
– Still.
It was lucky number 7️⃣ for the @SeattleKraken, who put up seven goals in a game for the third time this season en route to victory.#NHLStats: https://t.co/ntfJVa3qu3 pic.twitter.com/7IfouHUihw
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 15, 2023
– Nice performance for the Canucks player.
It’s a two-goal night for Dakota Joshua. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/N5RRIZVpDx
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2023
– It’ll do him good.
Andrei Kuzmenko has goals in back-to-back games! 🔵🟢 pic.twitter.com/iUDiHeLDpG
– NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2023
– You don’t see that every night.
WATCH IT | Two goals in an “empty net”… in a shootout! 🤯🤯 https://t.co/AtxYqRNRWF
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 15, 2023
– I love this. The photo is really beautiful.
This is not a drill… we have a goalie faceoff!
Thatcher Demko and Sergei Bobrovsky join Roberto Luongo for a ceremonial face off. pic.twitter.com/JavCJbLTMT
– Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 15, 2023
– No worse for a defenseman.
Evan Bouchard has extended his point streak to 13 games! 🟠🔵
📺: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/sEijvXhbA1 pic.twitter.com/O6xbCMAaPi
– NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2023
– And yet, he finished so well last season in Boston.
Tyler Bertuzzi with 0 pts in his last 8 games, just 5 goals, 9 pts in 27 games this season. #LeafsForever
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) December 15, 2023
– When McDavid gets going…
Connor McDavid extends his points streak to 11 games with a PPG, 26 pts total over that span. #LetsGoOilers
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) December 15, 2023
– Snipe.
A laser from Kailer Yamamoto 💥 pic.twitter.com/lLjSjIIGwN
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2023
– Patrick Kane’s signing has yet to take effect.
Red Wings drop to 1-4-0 in their last 5.
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) December 15, 2023
– Disgusting!
T.J. Oshie with an absolutely nasty goal in the shootout 🔥
(🎥: @MonSportsNet) pic.twitter.com/hZz0dRCplx
– BarDown (@BarDown) December 15, 2023
– Holy Brady. Imagine if the… No. Not this morning.
Brady Tkachuk and Tyler Tucker drop the mitts. 🥊 pic.twitter.com/4I7Mw70P0w
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2023
– Mitch Marner gets his Sunday hands out.
Mitch getting tricky w’ it 🕺 pic.twitter.com/0xxd2p0iG1
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2023
– A real laser.
What a shot from Michael Rasmussen! 🚀
📺: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l pic.twitter.com/MiHMjV6H8H
– NHL (@NHL) December 15, 2023
– That was close!
Great pass. Better save. pic.twitter.com/Nk8c1e1qUn
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 15, 2023
– Stamkos’ 4 goals put him at the top of last night’s scoring column.
– Six games tonight in the NHL.