There was plenty of action last night in the NHL.
Martin St-Louis’ men lost in Pittsburgh, in a game that saw Jayden Struble injured. That said, 10 other games were presented elsewhere in the league:
The @NYRangers earned their ninth straight win – one shy of their franchise mark – to move into third place in the overall League standings.#NHLStats: https://t.co/DwCYryLZTy pic.twitter.com/nBE46TdBh6
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
1: Islanders need to turn around
The Islanders haven’t been able to be consistent since the start of the season.
Lou Lamoriello tried to stir things up by hiring Patrick Roy, an intense coach because he’s so passionate… But it’s not working out.
At least, last night, the Isles didn’t look like a club that had its destiny in its own hands.
The New York outfit fired 38 shots at Jordan Binnington’s net, but were never able to capitalize on their scoring chances.
On the other hand…
The Blues scored three goals in the space of 32 seconds early in the second period, and never looked back:
THE BLUES JUST SCORED THREE GOALS IN 32 SECONDS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Z7oFNfJ7KA
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
Patrick Roy wasn’t necessarily the happiest guy in the world to see his club give up three goals in such a short space of time…
And the Blues took the opportunity to taunt him a bit on social networks, posting a photo of him on X / Twitter where it reads “Patrick Roy is not happy:
Patrick Roy is not happy. pic.twitter.com/wrT6P8FKgy
– St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 23, 2024
The Islanders trailed by three goals (3-0) with just over ten minutes left in the game…
And that’s when Patrick Roy had the audacity to pull his goalie to try and create something.
The strategy didn’t work, Pavel Buchnevich completed his hat-trick in an empty net and the Blues won 4-0 :
Patrick Roy pulled the Isles’ goalie with 11 minutes left in the third period… 😳
—
(🎥: @BR_OpenIce) pic.twitter.com/r1lqvAw1ZL– JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) February 23, 2024
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2: It’s starting to become a habit
These days, when the Leafs are in action…
It almost means we’re going to see Auston Matthews score a goal. And last night’s game was no different.
Firstly, the Leafs outshot the Golden Knights 7-3, and Mitch Marner stood out with two assists.
Secondly… we must mention Matthews, who took advantage of a beautiful pass in the slot to score his 52nd goal of the season:
Auston Matthews scored his 52nd goal of the season and 351st of his career. His 260 even-strength goals are the most among all players since his debut in 2016-17 and 33 more than the next closest (Connor McDavid: 227).#NHLStats: https://t.co/DwCYryLZTy https://t.co/6NkWNP8gOJ
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
It will be interesting to see whether the American forward can keep up the pace between now and the end of the season.
Because, as it is… He’s on track to score 76 goals.
That’s really impressive.
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3: What a great moment for Cody Hodgson
After the 2015-2016 season, Cody Hodgson was forced to retire due to a diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia.
You never want to see that in the sports world or in life in general, we agree….
But Hodgson made his return to hockey this year, playing with the Nashville Predators club team.
This is where it gets really cool.
The right-handed forward scored yesterday in his club’s victory… A first goal for him at professional level in eight years.
It must really have been a special moment for the man who missed so many years of activity :
After 328 NHL games, Cody Hodgson was forced to retire from hockey after being diagnosed with malignant hyperthermia.
Cody’s now healthy and today he scored his first pro goal in EIGHT years with the Milwaukee Admirals! 👏
(🎥: @mkeadmirals) pic.twitter.com/m5m3geS4bY
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
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4: Jacob Markstrom establishes himself as one of the best Swedish goalies in history
The Flames faced a tough challenge last night, as the Bruins visited Calgary.
Jacob Markstrom put in a fine performance, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced to help his club win in overtime.
Nazem Kadri was the hero in overtime, as the match ended 3-2.
Markstrom earned his 211th career victory, placing him second in NHL history among Swedish goalkeepers:
Jacob Markstrom earned his 211th career win and passed Tommy Salo for the second most by a Swedish-born goaltender in NHL history. Henrik Lundqvist tops the list with 459.#NHLStats: https://t.co/TdKwmCk2gf https://t.co/if4N2TI1he
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
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5: Great Patrick Kane
Nathan MacKinnon scored his 34th goal of the season as the Avalanche visited the Red Wings last night…
But in the game, which ended 2-1 in overtime, it was Patrick Kane’s winning goal that made the headlines this morning.
The former Blackhawk closed the books in overtime with a classic goal…
And the Wings commentator had a field day after Detroit’s win:
SHOWTIME 🎬
Patrick Kane(@88PKane) buries his first @Energizer OT winner with the @DetroitRedWings! pic.twitter.com/2zriNvoPPr
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
This is an important win for the Red Wings, who are trying to hold on to a playoff spot.
They sit in 1st Wild Card spot in the East, one point behind the Lightning and six points behind the Caps, Devils and Islanders.
The race will be interesting to follow from now until the end of the season.
Extension
– Phew.
Matthew Rempe was given a match penalty for this hit on Nate Bastian pic.twitter.com/2AzdNRJncW
– B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 23, 2024
– Great performance by the young goalkeeper.
Pyotr Kochetkov (44 saves) became the sixth different goaltender in franchise history and third in @Canes team history to record a 40-save shutout.#NHLStats: https://t.co/TdKwmCk2gf pic.twitter.com/x9F4LSJhfP
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– Rangers are hot.
NINE. STRAIGHT. WINS. 😤
How about those @NYRangers?! pic.twitter.com/5mBUndUz4j
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
– We don’t see this every day.
We don’t often post empty netters, but when you go bar down from the far blueline you deserve some love.
This was actually pretty nasty. 🥵 pic.twitter.com/1PlfMD59wE
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
– Nice goal for Laffy.
Lafrenière takes advantage of a juicy turnover and scores his 15th of the season! #NYR pic.twitter.com/HhWzaq4vzH
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) February 23, 2024
– He had quite a night at work.
Jared McCann finished with 1-3-4 to establish a career high for points in a game and match the @SeattleKraken record for points in a contest.#NHLStats: https://t.co/DwCYryLZTy https://t.co/sU7TvISos1
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– Sebastian Aho is so good.
Sebastian Aho scored with 19 seconds remaining in regulation, marking the fifth-latest go-ahead goal in @Canes / Whalers history.#NHLStats: https://t.co/DwCYryLZTy https://t.co/sGLS5ulifG
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– 10th straight game with at least one point for Ovi.
The @Capitals earned a crucial regulation win against the Lightning and captain Alex Ovechkin helped secure the victory by extending his point streak to 10 games. #NHLStats: https://t.co/TdKwmCk2gf pic.twitter.com/DsbiaEQ8Se
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– He’s pretty good too.
Artemi Panarin (32-45-77) has been one of the NHL’s most potent point producers all season long. The @NYRangers forward moved into the top five in scoring in 2023-24 and did so thanks to his third multi-assist outing in four games.#NHLStats: https://t.co/TdKwmCk2gf pic.twitter.com/nb0Yjn8nPz
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– He’s not getting any younger.
Joe Pavelski (20-28-48 in 58 GP) became the second player in @DallasStars / North Stars history to record a 20-goal season at age 39 or older, joining Dean Prentice (26 in 1972-73 & 20 in 1971-72).#NHLStats: https://t.co/TdKwmCk2gf pic.twitter.com/mVCbpjRUaH
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 23, 2024
– Great moment for Zachary Bolduc.
A lap he’ll never forget. 💙
Congratulations, Zachary Bolduc! pic.twitter.com/3a5HETTEsR
– NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2024
– Top scorers of the night :
– Three games today in the NHL.