Over the last week, we moved forward into a new year, and the NHL provided all kinds of entertaining action. Between playing outdoors, and epic comeback and a historic night for a future Hall of Famer, there was a lot to talk about. Luckily, we have you covered with the weekly NHL Rewind.
On Monday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken took it outside at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Despite the Golden Knights sitting atop the NHL standings, the Kraken were able to put on a show for the home crowd and keep their hot streak rolling in a fun battle of division foes.
Elsewhere, the pesky Coyotes pulled off an incredible four-goal comeback against the Avalanche. Plus, Kris Letang dropped a six-point night on the New York Islanders to show that he’s still got it, even at 36 years old.
Let’s take a look back on the best highlights and biggest stories from the week that was in the NHL.
Goal of the week: Canadiens get a freebie from the Bolts
Normally, the goals in this section are the result of incredible skill, but we’re going to go with an especially weird one today. It’s not often the controller dies for an entire team during the game, but that is what happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
In the second period of Sunday’s game, Tampa put a soft shot on Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault from the point. Montembeault secured it in his midsection with ease, and the Lightning thought the play was over. As they started to skate back to the bench, Montembeault dropped the puck out of his glove to Johnathan Kovacevic.
By that time, Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy had already started skating to the corner, as he does during breaks in the action. Kovacevic saw that and fired the puck into the empty net at the other end of the ice.
Tampa Bay was perplexed, but the goal counted and gave Montreal a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Habs, that goal only seemed to anger the Lightning, who scored four straight goals and won 4-3.
Robbery of the week: Quick steals one from Luostarinen
There were an unusually high number of candidates for this section over the last week. Charlie McAvoy used some astounding hand-eye coordination to knock a shot out of mid-air. Juuse Saros dove across the crease to rob Patrick Kane. However, Jonathan Quick’s save stood out above the rest.
A low turnover by the New York Rangers allowed Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins to walk in all alone on Quick, and he was stopped with a sliding pad save. That alone was a great save, but then the rebound popped out to Eetu Luostarinen, and he looked destined to pot his sixth goal of the season.
To his credit, Luostarinen got air under the puck with Quick laying on his stomach. However, at the last second, threw up his right pad and made a show-stopping save with the back of his leg.
That’s a legitimate candidate for the save of the year, and it’s just another example of how well Quick has played in New York. After a couple rough seasons ended his time in L.A., Quick is thriving in his role as a backup to Igor Shesterkin.
Kraken sink Golden Knights in Winter Classic
Monday’s Winter Classic featured the NHL’s newest franchises in the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken doing battle at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Kraken were able to put an early goal on the board, and never relinquished their lead in a 3-0 victory over the Golden Knights.
With the victory, the Kraken have won five straight games and extended their point streak to nine consecutive games.
Goaltender Joey Daccord really stole the show throughout the Winter Classic as he turned aside all 35 shots he faced. It was the second career shutout for Daccord, who just recorded his first career shutout on Dec. 12 in a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers.
Daccord’s shutout was the first in the history of the Winter Classic.
The Kraken got the scoring started just 4:50 into the first period. Defenseman Vince Dunn put a shot on net from the point, and forward Eeli Tolvanen was able to redirect the puck past Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson for the early goal.
With the assist, Dunn has registered six points (two goals and four assists) in his last four games, and he now leads the Kraken with 31 points on the year
Just 2:19 into the second period, Kraken defenseman Will Borgen picked up his first goal of the 2023-24 season. Thompson made the initial save on a Tye Kartye shot, but the puck deflected to the top of the face-off circle. That’s when Borgen blasted the juicy rebound into the back of the net.
Yanni Gourde added a goal in the third period, and the Kraken were able to cruise to the easy victory.
Coyotes overcome four-goal deficit vs. Avalanche
The Arizona Coyotes are a feisty bunch with eyes on a playoff spot this season, and they got closer to achieving that goal with a thrilling comeback against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.
With 6:34 remaining in the second period, Arizona found itself down 4-0 after Nathan MacKinnon punched home a power play goal. That’s a tough hill to climb, even in the modern NHL, but the Coyotes were undaunted.
Lawson Crouse gave Arizona some life with a goal late in the second period when he finished a great feed from Nick Bjugstad.
Less than four minutes into the third period, Colorado left defenseman Michael Kesselring wide open on the backside, and he ripped a seed off the bar and in to get the Yotes within two.
Just a few minutes after that, Jason Zucker cut the Avalanche’s lead to one. He fought off multiple Avs defenders to get around the net and slip a shot past the pad of Alexandar Georgiev.
After that, the Coyotes made the fans in Mullett Arena sweat for a while. Arizona was still down 4-3 with under three minutes left to play when Sean Durzi finally broke through to tie the game on a seeing-eye point shot.
As exciting as that comeback was, it wasn’t complete without two points. In overtime, Jack McBain forced a turnover in the neutral zone by pressuring Josh Manson before pressing the puck forward to a teammate.
McBain followed the play and was rewarded for his efforts with the game-winning goal when he tapped home a rebound on the odd-man rush.
That game kind of epitomized both teams this season. The Avalanche did a lot of good things, but they were also incredibly frustrating and underwhelming. The Coyotes were imperfect but resilient and entertaining. At this moment, Arizona is holding onto the first wild card spot in the West.
Kris Letang picks six apples against Islanders
Even though everyone had just eaten a Christmas feast a couple days earlier, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang came back from the break with a big appetite, and he reached for a bushel of apples to quell it.
The Penguins made quite the statement on Wednesday night by hammering the Islanders, 7-0, right after the holiday break. Letang was especially impressive because he recorded a half dozen assists on the night. The only goal Letang wasn’t involved in was the first one, which means he assisted on six consecutive goals.
For much of the game, it seemed like there were multiple Kris Letag clones on the ice at all times. He had a hand in countless scoring chances for Pittsburgh, and many of them found the back of the net.
With his six assists, Letang tied the NHL record for assists in a single game by a defenseman. He was also the first player to notch six assists on the road since the great Eric Lindros in April 1997.
The Penguins still have a lot of work to do to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that won’t be an issue if Letang keeps doling out goals to his teammates left and right.
Appointment viewing this week
Maple Leafs at Kings | Tuesday, Jan. 2: This game features a matchup of two teams who have hopes of vying for a division title but have not been playing their best hockey lately. Whoever wins this game will get a big boost to start 2024, and the other will remain stuck in the mud.
Avalanche at Stars | Thursday, Jan. 4: Thanks to the Jets crashing the party, this is no longer a meeting of the top two teams in the Central Division. Still, the Stars are tied with Winnipeg in points, so it’s close enough. The Avs and Stars both have very realistic Stanley Cup hopes, and this might be a playoff preview.
Panthers at Golden Knights | Thursday, Jan. 4: There has already been one rematch of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, and it went to the Panthers in Florida. It was a terrific game that was tied heading into the third period, so hopefully this one in Vegas gives us even more drama.
Lightning at Bruins | Saturday, Jan. 6: Tampa hasn’t had the type of season we’re used to seeing from them, but the team is still right there in the thick of the playoff race while the Bruins are sitting atop the Atlantic Division. Games between the Bruins and Bolst are always fun, and this won’t be an exception.
Bruins at Avalanche | Monday, Jan. 8: The Bruins have a big week coming up, and it ends with a game against the Avalanche. This matchup of division leaders should be a showcase for high-quality hockey, and who knows? Maybe it’s a taste of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
