It was an eventful night in the NHL.
Max Pacioretty potted two goals on his birthday, the Toronto Maple Leafs actually won a game, and Ryan Kesler made his return to Vancouver.
Here are three things we learned during Thursday’s NHL action:
Datsyuk injury not slowing down Detroit: Some teams make excuses when they’re missing top players, but the Detroit Red Wings have proven to be an incredibly resilient bunch under head coach Mike Babcock. On Wednesday, Detroit won a tough road game in Winnipeg, moving the Red Wings’ record to 6-1-2 when Pavel Datsyuk is not in the lineup. Datsyuk has missed two straight games with a groin injury, but it has hardly slowed down the Red Wings. Tomas Tatar scored two goals against the Jets while backup goalie Petr Mrazek made 28 saves in his first game of the season.
Canadiens know how to close: Pacioretty’s performance stole the headlines, but it wasn’t our biggest takeaway. The Canadiens were able to extend their record to 12-0 when tied or leading after two periods. That’s a really impressive number for a team that some have expected to regress for a quite a while. By beating an impressive St. Louis squad, that hadn’t lost in Montreal since 2004, the Canadiens were able to post their highest win total after 21 games since the 1959-60 season. Not bad for one of the most historic franchises in the sport.
Patrick Kane is ridiculous: Does anyone score more highlight-reel goals in today’s NHL than Patrick Kane? The Blackhawks sniper had another masterful display of hands with his goal against the Calgary Flames. Kane slipped the puck through a defender’s leg in close before going upstairs on Jonas Hiller to complete an unbelievable play. Hiller looked like he was in complete shock after the play.