Canada lost rockstar Gord Downie on Wednesday, taken cruelly by cancer at only 53. The Tragically Hip are as important to Canadians as the game of hockey, and his death sent a ripple across the NHL.
To honour Downie and everything he meant for our country and our game, this edition of things we learned takes some inspiration from the songs that brought us together.
Thanks for the music Gord.
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Maple Leafs rebuild ahead by a century
Wednesday saw another in a long history of battles between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. These two teams go back more than 90 years but at this point in time, they are seemingly headed in opposite directions.
The Maple Leafs are now the betting favourites to win the Stanley Cup, while the Red Wings are getting credit simply for not being as bad as expected.
Getting to this point was a long and painful road for the Maple Leafs and their fans but it’s paying off now. But Red Wings fans can’t expect the same thing for their team, at least not any time soon.
Red Wings GM Ken Holland said earlier in the day that he wasn’t interested in a rebuild despite missing the playoffs last season for the first time in 25 years.
“The rebuild is a long process to get to where you’re elite, I’m talking six, seven, eight years. We’re trying to be competitive,” Holland said on Hockey Central at Noon Wednesday.
Well, the Maple Leafs showed on Wednesday that a full rebuild can be worth the wait. For example, without going into that rebuild, Auston Matthews would be making moves like this for another team.
Toronto blew the doors open with a 4-1 lead in the first period and never looked back, forcing the Red Wings to chase them all night. The Maple Leafs now have the best record in the NHL at 6-1-0 and are well on their way to being a contender.
The Red Wings, like the rest of us, can only look on in awe.
Blues beat Blackhawks, fully completely
The St. Louis Blues put on a near perfect performance against the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday, almost pitching a shutout against one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
The Blackhawks made things interesting with two late power-play goals, but most of the game was carried by Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. The Blackhawks had eight shots through the first two periods. Schwartz and Tarasenko combined for nine.
That included three goals, all of the highlight-reel variety.
Schwartz completed his hat trick with an empty net goal to seal the win. After the game, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was not pleased with his team’s performance.
While he didn’t face a ton of shots (only 22 by the end of the game) Blues goalie Jake Allen was called upon to make some big saves, especially in the third period. And he answered that call, as this incredible stick save on Patrick Kane shows.
The win puts St. Louis one point ahead of Chicago for top spot in the Western Conference, a battle these two teams will likely be engaged in all season. The teams still have three games against each other but the next one isn’t until the middle of March. The chances are high that those games will have a big affect on the final standings in the Central Division.
Canadiens still looking to escape the lonely end of the rink
It’s been a frustrating start to the season for the Canadiens and so far, as expected, their trip to California hasn’t helped turn things around.
One day after losing 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks, Montreal flew into L.A. and failed to get two points against the surging Kings. Los Angeles has yet to lose in regulation and is now tied with the Blues for the lead in the Western Conference.
Montreal is 1-5-1 and is tied with the Rangers for last in the East. The Canadiens haven’t won a game since opening night, 3-2 over the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout.
Habs coach Claude Julien did some tinkering to his lines, seemingly giving fans what they wanted by moving Alex Galchenyuk up to the top line. The promotion sparked the offence with Montreal getting lots of scoring chances and finishing the night with 37 shots. However, as has been the case all season, the goals never came and the Kings were able to run away in the third.
Mike Cammalleri and Adrian Kempe led the way for the Kings, scoring all five goals and each getting four points.
Al Montoya got the start in the second game of a back-to-back and looked solid in his first action of the season.
He finished with 37 saves and wasn’t the reason the Canadiens lost.
Instead, the Canadiens failed to score more than one goal in a game for the fourth time this season. It’s hard to win games without offence, especially games against the defensively-sound California teams.
Montreal will look for something positive from this road trip when they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Beating the Ducks won’t be easy but if they don’t, it’s going to be a long flight home.
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