James Reimer and the Maple Leafs stumped the Stars to get their first home-ice win of the season, the Blackhawks cooled off the red-hot Kings, and a couple of Canucks rookies earned their keep against the Flyers — though not before a little initiation, of course.
Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Monday night:
Reimer states his case
When the going gets tough, Reimer gets going. He got the nod to start Monday night over Jonathan Bernier.
The Maple Leafs were sorely outshot but, lucky for them, that’s when Reimer is at his best.
Reimer stopped all but one of the Stars’ 44 shots — he let in a first-period goal by NHL scoring leader Jamie Benn — to steal the show and help the Maple Leafs to their first win on home ice this season.
The 27-year-old goalie’s career save percentage is .940 when facing 40+ shots on goal. Compare that to his .903 save percentage when facing fewer than 40 shots.
Since he made his NHL debut in December 2010, no goaltender has faced 40+ shots on goal in a game more than Reimer.
The netminder wasn’t the only Leaf to shine in the 4-1 victory. Joffrey Lupul scored twice and added an assist, marking his first two-goal game since the last time the Leafs hosted the Stars (Dec. 2014).
It was a big game for another Leaf, too…
Boyes’ patience pays off
Brad Boyes has been waiting a long time for this moment. 5,609 days, to be exact.
Boyes scored his first goal as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night, kicking off the scoring in the first period against the Dallas Stars. This was his ninth game with his hometown team, as he was a healthy scratch for the Leafs’ last two games.
Boyes was drafted by the Leafs in the first round (24th overall) of the 2000 NHL draft.
Blackhawks’ lucky number seven
The Chicago Blackhawks cooled off the hottest team in the league Monday, halting the Los Angeles Kings’ seven-game win streak to get their seventh win of the season.
Patrick Kane scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game-winner, and lots of the credit should go to Corey Crawford’s perfect 19-save performance in the third period to stump the Kings.
But the play we’ll be watching again and again is this gorgeous go-ahead goal from Artem Anisimov to make the final score 4-2:
Virtanen plays for keeps
The Vancouver Canucks are going full-speed ahead with their youth movement, keeping 19-year-olds Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen past the nine-game barrier.
Virtanen rewarded coach Willie Desjardins’ decision Monday night by scoring his first career NHL goal to help the Canucks to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Welcome to the show!
