McDavid vs. Eichel round one did not disappoint, don’t forget about ol’ Crosby vs. Ovechkin, Pageau scored a timely one, and more in five things we learned in the NHL.
It was a decisive victory for Connor McDavid over Jack Eichel in round one.
McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, put the Oilers on the board just 22 seconds into the contest Tuesday night. He’d strike again in overtime, scoring the game winner on rush that was preceded by Eichel’s own quality chance at the other end of the ice.
Make it a 2-1 final in the first meeting between two of the most exciting young players in the game.
Shoutout to Sam Reinhart, who flashed some skill of his own with a blind behind-the-back pass to Cal O’Reilly to tie the game in the third period.
These two teams will never meet each other enough. Sometimes life just isn’t fair.
Penguins, Capitals entertain in potential playoff preview
Somewhat lost in the hype of McDavid vs. Eichel was the night’s meeting between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. Wither now, Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin? Hardly.
The Crosby-Ovechkin “rivalry” took a backseat to what was a fast-paced potential preview of a first-round playoff series. Matt Niskanen‘s power-play goal at 13:38 of the third period was the difference as the Capitals pulled off a 3-2 win.
Washington’s been the class of the Eastern Conference thus far in 2015-16. If the season ended today, the first-place Capitals would face the wild card Penguins in the first round of the playoffs.
Pittsburgh kept up with the Capitals, taking the 5-on-5 possession battle 54 shot attempts to 44. The Penguins appear to have found their footing under coach Mike Sullivan, which could be good news for those of us holding out for a renewal of this rivalry in the post-season.
Iginla ties Ciccarelli on all-time goals list
The Minnesota Wild scored three goals in the third period to down the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 Tuesday.
Jarome Iginla’s power-play goal 33 seconds into the first period was the 608th of his career, which moved him into a tie with Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli for 17th on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
Vintage Iginla.
Hurricanes’ Ryan enjoys night of NHL firsts
While he’s never going to catch Iginla in the goals department, 29-year-old Carolina Hurricanes rookie Derek Ryan penned quite a chapter in his own hockey career Tuesday night.
Against the New Jersey Devils, Ryan played in his first NHL game and scored his first career goal on a power play early on.
Ryan played under Hurricanes head coach Bill Peters for two seasons with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League from 2005 to 2007.
Calgary Flames defenceman Jakub Nakladal also got in on the elderly rookie scoring movement, too. The 28-year-old scored the first of his career in the Flames’ 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins.
It was the 10th game of Nakladal’s career.
Pageau strikes late…like, as late as it gets
Jean-Gabriel Pageau led a late third period charge by the Ottawa Senators that saw the St. Louis Blues cough up a 3-0 lead.
Pageau scored his 15th of the season at 17:19 of the third to pull Ottawa within one, then tied the game at 19:59 to force overtime.
The Senators and Blues combined for 22 shootout attempts before Patrik Berglund sealed a 4-3 win with a snap shot that beat Andrew Hammond, who had replaced starter Craig Anderson after he left the game with an injury in the second period.
