The Toronto Maple Leafs were held scoreless for the first time in more than a year, the Winnipeg Jets suffered through a rare slow start and a pair of Boston Bruins earned respective milestones.
Here are five things we learned in the NHL on Thursday night.
Leafs experience unfamiliar feeling
The Maple Leafs’ offence has earned a reputation. Coming into Thursday night, only the New York Islanders (114) and Tampa Bay Lightning (113) had scored more goals than Toronto’s 108. The Leafs were also level with the Winnipeg Jets in that regard.
However, for the first time since Nov. 30, 2016, a Maple Leafs player was not on the scoresheet. The Calgary Flames shut out Toronto 3-0 on that night, and the Minnesota Wild finally ended the Leafs’ 90-game scoring run with their 2-0 victory.
Auston Matthews was out again with an upper-body injury, and while the Leafs were faring well in terms of results without their top scorer, the offence has been barren since he got hurt, as Toronto has only recorded three goals in as many games.
The Leafs aren’t going to rush Matthews, but if this trend continues, then they might be pressured to slot their No. 1 centre back into the lineup.
Marchand, Bergeron move up record books
It’s always a special night when a player achieves a career feat or breaks a record.
When it happens to two players in the same game, that’s cause for celebration. On the same play? Incredible.
Patrice Bergeron’s second-period goal was his 265th as a member of the Boston Bruins. He moved into eighth place on the franchise’s all-time list, surpassing the great Bobby Orr.
Brad Marchand provided the assist, extending his points streak to a career-high seven games in the process. It was also his 400th NHL point.
The Bruins ended up losing 5-3 to the Washington Capitals, but that was a cool – and rare – moment to remember.
Jets uncharacteristically slow out of the gates
It’s not often that the Winnipeg Jets begin games slowly. Even when they do, they usually recover.
This was not the case on Thursday. The Jets coughed up three goals in the first period, en route to a crushing 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. That is the first time since their regular-season opener that Winnipeg has surrendered three tallies in the opening frame.
Chicago’s victory also snaps Winnipeg’s home winning streak at seven games. Thankfully for the Jets, they’re still three points out of first place in the Central Division.
Oilers struggle against another backup
Despite outshooting the Nashville Predators 46-23, the Edmonton Oilers were defeated 4-0.
But it wasn’t Pekka Rinne stymying the Oilers. It was backup Juuse Saros who produced the 46-save shutout.
This comes just four days after Maple Leafs backup Curtis McElhinney posted 41 saves in a 1-0 win.
To add insult to injury, Minnesota Wild starter Devan Dubnyk is injured, so the Oilers will face backup Alex Stalock.
If Stalock’s performance against the Leafs is any indication of what’s to come, Edmonton may be in for another tough night.
Flyers keep rolling
Remember when the Philadelphia Flyers were struggling?
Philly now has five straight wins after their latest 2-1 triumph versus the Buffalo Sabres. This is on the heels of a 10-game winless run, which puts the Flyers in some unique company.
Talk a about momentum swing…
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