There was a time when a team scoring 10 goals in a single game was a rare feat, and now it seems to happen once a month.
The Avalanche were embarrassed in every possible way on Saturday, spoiling Jarome Iginla‘s 1,500th NHL game in dramatic fashion.
The future Hall of Famer was noticeably upset after the game, unhappy with Alexei Emelin throwing salt on a gaping wound with a massive hip check on Joe Colborne.
Elsewhere, a familiar trio was reunited by Mike Babcock, Ottawa almost had a reason to be upset, and there’s a new sheriff in the Pacific Division.
Here are five things we learned.
Olé, Olé, Olé
Saturday’s contest between the league’s best and worst teams played out as one might expect, in the sense that Montreal was expected to beat Colorado.
The final score was… a little hard to see coming though.
If the injuries to Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais has had any benefit, it’s that it seems to have forced Michel Therrien to play his two best wingers, Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov, together.
The captain had four goals and assisted on Radulov’s in a 10-1 mega-blowout of the Avalanche.
The Canadiens became the first team to score and give up 10 goals in a game in the same season since the 2005-06 Buffalo Sabres.
Montreal wasted no time in this one, storming out to a 5-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old.
It was a battle of two teams in completely different weight classes.
Nylander-Matthews-Hyman line is back together
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the second period against the Boston Bruins lucky to be tied after being outshot 11-2 in the opening frame.
Coach Mike Babcock decided to put William Nylander back on the wing with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman and things clicked from there:
Hyman scored one of his own later in the second, after some nice work down low from Nylander, and you have to wonder how long these three will stick.
They complement each other well, but if Nylander is expected to become an impact centre at the NHL level, he’s going to have to get his reps there.
Babcock has used Nylander on the fourth line recently, though the 20-year-old started Saturday playing with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.
The Leafs have an interesting decision to make going forward: Do they do what’s best for the long-term outlook of their players, or what gets the best results right now?
Toronto is tied for second last in the Eastern Conference but has games in hand on almost all of the teams it’s chasing.
Staples Center clock and the controversy that wasn’t
The Los Angeles Kings beat the Ottawa Senators in a fairly low-event game.
The Kings’ 19 shots was the lowest total they’ve registered in a win since a 16-shot victory over Minnesota on Oct. 19, 2014.
The Senators looked to be headed into the third down just one goal, but Trevor Lewis‘ buzzer beater gave the Kings an important cushion.
There was 1.8 seconds left on the clock when the puck crossed the line, but astute viewers noticed that the Staples Center clock didn’t start on time to begin the second frame.
In the end, Senators coach Guy Boucher was more concerned with his team’s play.
The game operations crew had actually fixed the time early in the period anyway, putting an end the near-controversy.
The Staples Center has had issues with its clock before, and even if the adjustments hadn’t been made, there’s not much that could’ve been done.
Both teams played the clock they were given and there’s no sense in going back to determine what would have happened had everything functioned properly.
A professional sports league would never assume such authority.
The Flames are Alberta’s No. 1 team
The Calgary Flames got off to a pretty brutal start this season, but have shaped up since.
A big win over the Winnipeg Jets pushed Calgary’s winning streak to six games, and gave them a leg up on a provincial rival.
The goaltending that was so bad to start 2016-17 has turned around, thanks to the great play of Chad Johnson.
Dougie Hamilton, thought to perhaps be on the trade block by at least one idiot, wired two goals past Michael Hutchinson as the Flames jumped into first place in the Pacific Division.
They’ve played more games than everybody, but things are coming around for a Flames team that started the year 5-10-1.
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A warm reception for Gudbranson
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Erik Gudbranson played his first game in Florida since being traded in the off-season, and was given a nice video tribute by the home team.
When the Panthers took Gudbranson third overall in the 2010 draft he was considered a future star blue-liner capable of dominating play at both ends of the ice, which is pretty much what Aaron Ekblad has become.
Ekblad, drafted first overall four years after Gudbranson, scored the game-winner and sported a nasty shiner post-game.
“Great guy, great teammate, he always stood up for me,” said Ekblad of the Canucks defenceman.
Gudbranson had two hits, one shot, and was one of just three Canucks to be plus-1 in the 4-2 loss.
