With just three games on the schedule you can’t be blamed for thinking there would be a lack of entertainment on Wednesday. That, however, simply wasn’t the case. All three games were one-goal contests, with two requiring some extra time. It was a highly entertaining night in the NHL.
Here are three things we learned:
Backups proving their worth:
With Henrik Lundqvist injured, and Chicago playing the second game of a back-to-back, Wednesday’s matchup between the Rangers and Blackhawks saw the two backup goaltenders square off. However, if you watched the game, or either goalie recently, backup probably isn’t the word you’d use to describe them. Rangers netminder Cam Talbot has been on fire since Lundqvist went down. Talbot is fresh off being named the NHL’s second star of the week after posting a 3-0-0 record with a 1.00 GAA and .969 SV%.
However, Wednesday was Darling’s turn to shine. Not only did he make an incredible save on Rick Nash early in the first period, he also recorded his first NHL shutout in the victory. The 26-year-old is now 7-3-0 this season with a 1.96 GAA and .936 SV%. Not bad for a couple of “backups.”
The redemption of Nail Yakupov:
The Edmonton Oilers won’t be going to the playoffs this season, but they should take some comfort in the emergence of Nail Yakupov over the past five weeks. There’s no denying that the 2012 first overall pick has been a huge disappointment since his rookie campaign, but the redemption of Yakupov could go a long way to turning around this Oilers club that oozes talent but lacks wins. The 21-year-old Russian entered Wednesday’s game with six goals in his past 16 games despite scoring just five goals in the 53 games prior to that stretch.
Wednesday, he added to that total. Yakupov picked up a goal and an assist, giving him seven goals and 15 points over the last 17 games. That’s over half of his 28 points on the season.
The Ducks and Kings don’t like each other:
Few things are more obvious or redundant than the fact that the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings don’t like each other. The two are bitter division rivals who play just down the freeway of one another. On Wednesday, however, the two clubs threw gasoline on the fire. First Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau told NHL.com that he hopes Los Angeles doesn’t make the playoffs. Then midway through the first this happened.
Kings captain Dustin Brown absolutely levelled Corey Perry with a hit at centre ice, and it was just the beginning of the hostilities in what turned out to be a solid, physical brand of hockey that was highly entertaining. If the Kings don’t make the playoffs like the Ducks head coach hopes it’ll be a loss for the fans. If these two were to meet it would make for one heck of a series.
