Tuesday was a busy night in the NHL.
The Dallas Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres on a disallowed goal, the Colorado Avalanche had no answer for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ power play, while Calgary Flames forward David Jones scored his 100th career NHL goal.
Here are five things we learned:
Parenteau, Holland finding roles for Maple Leafs: It was no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to have difficulty scoring this season. Just ask Nazem Kadri. However, Mike Babcock’s club is getting better production as of late.
The Maple Leafs scored five goals Tuesday night in their win over Colorado — four of which came on the power play — and an underrated part of their recent success has been improved play from forwards P.A. Parenteau and Peter Holland. The pair combined for five points against the Avalanche.
Parenteau, who must’ve been pleased to score against his former team, added two goals Tuesday and has recorded points in six of his last eight games while Holland has racked up six points (three assists Tuesday) in his last five games.
The Maple Leafs’ underlying numbers indicate their play is heading in the right direction, and despite their lack of talent, getting offence from depth forwards is a promising sign in the long run.
Malkin responds in a big way: Just days after Evgeni Malkin expressed frustration about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lack of scoring, the veteran forward put matters into his own hands.
Malkin had a dominant performance, recording two goals and two assists to help Pittsburgh pull out a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
He dazzled the Wild with a highlight-reel goal when the Russian forward put the puck between his legs while receiving a pass from Phil Kessel to dance around a defender before beating Devan Dubnyk for a goal.
It wasn’t all good news for the Penguins, however, as the club saw defenceman Olli Maatta go down with an injury after a dangerous hit into the boards dealt by Wild forward Nino Niederreiter.
Maatta remained on the ice for several minutes before he left the game.
Stars could use some spell check: The Dallas Stars made a rare jersey mistake prior to Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. And it didn’t slip under the radar. Seriously guys, you had one job.
Goaltender Antti Niemi innocently hit the ice for warm-up, wearing a jersey with the name “NIEME” on it. People caught wind of it on social media and had their fun at the expense of the Stars.
Andersen joins Bernier in goaltending infamy: Well, at least Jonathan Bernier has some company.
Just days after the Maple Leafs goalie let it one of the worst goals of the season, Anaheim Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen allowed a total softy against the Nashville Predators.
Predators forward James Neal dumped the puck on net from the neutral zone and what should’ve been a routine save for Andersen somehow ended up in the back of the net.
It’s been that kind of year for the Ducks.
Bieksa loses a chicklet: The Predators and Ducks game had a bit of everything. The Neal goal, an appearance from David Price, and a brawl between Kevin Bieksa and Mike Fisher.
While the two NHL vets were coming to blows, Fisher drilled Bieksa right in the face, knocking out one of the Ducks defenceman’s teeth. Then it sort of awkwardly sat there.
The Ducks’ next game is Thursday night in Florida, so hopefully Bieksa can find time for a trip to the dentist.
Look familiar?
