Winning streaks and scoring droughts were ended, fast fights and more.
Here are five things we learned in the NHL on Thursday night.
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Golden Knights have streak ended
Vegas has been the surprise team of the NHL this season and its eight-game winning streak entering Thursday’s game was another highlight along the road.
That all ended after Paul Stastny scored the winner for the St. Louis Blues in a 2-1 victory over the Golden Knights.
Vegas’s last loss came on Dec. 12 in a shootout against Carolina. Its previous regulation defeat was on Dec. 1 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Thornton fights off opening draw…again
Joe Thornton has shown over the course of his career that he’s not afraid to mix things up before the game even starts.
The San Jose Sharks veteran did it again against the Maple Leafs, jarring with Toronto forward Nazem Kadri before the opening draw and then fighting as soon as the puck was dropped.
Thornton, who recorded his 29th career fight, has previously squared off with an opponent before a game, most notably in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs against Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks. And then there was the 2011 Western Conference Final when he tried to fight then-Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler.
As for Kadri, he joined an exclusive group of Maple Leafs tough guys with the fight.
Pacioretty finally hits scoresheet
Max Pacioretty can finally breathe a sigh of relief after he broke a 13-game goalless drought with a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Montreal Canadiens captain hadn’t scored since Nov. 30, but snapped that skid when he beat Andrei Vasilevskiy during a 4-on-4 sequence in the second period. Former Habs prospect Mikhail Sergachev had a rough clearing attempt that landed right on Pacioretty’s stick and he made no mistake.
Pacioretty’s slump had been so rough that it’s led GM Marc Bergevin to start shopping the 29-year-old to teams around the league.
Vasilevskiy’s shutout, streak, meanwhile, was ended in the process after reaching a career high. Montreal won 2-1 in a shootout.
Aho has Penguins’s number
Sebastian Aho has had the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ number over the last week.
The right-winger scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes shut out the Penguins 4-0 for their second win over Pittsburgh in the last week.
Aho had also scored in Carolina’s 2-1 victory over the Pens on Dec. 29.
The 20-year-old has only improved on his solid rookie season and leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 33 points.
Oilers finally hit the scoresheet
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers appear to have started to find their goal-scoring form. At least a little bit.
McDavid, who had gone three straight games without a point for the first time in his NHL career, picked up an assist on Edmonton’s second period goal from Kris Russell. The Oilers went on to win the game 2-1 over the Ducks in a shootout.
https://twitter.com/SportsnetSpec/status/949118632021213184
For a team that has such offensive talent at its disposal like McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, failing to score for such an extended period of time is surprising. The Oilers will need contributions from both their captain and Draisaitl if they’re going to be successful.
