The Winnipeg Jets‘ mighty power play was kept off the scoresheet, Connor McDavid joined some pretty good company and the Dallas Stars got a quick burst of offence en route to their fourth straight win.
Here are three things we learned in the NHL on Friday.
Blues put on a PK clinic to help Allen reach milestone
Jake Allen‘s first shutout of the season was a big one.
With great help from the St. Louis Blues‘ penalty-killing unit, the veteran goalie got his 17th career shutout in the 1-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The shutout moves Allen to third place on the franchise’s all-time list. The veteran goalie fended off some dangerous chances from Patrik Laine and the second-best power play in the league as the Blues allowed six man-advantage situations in the game.
Allen finished with 26 saves in a game that saw the Jets sport an extra man on the ice for 14:10 total minutes, as Winnipeg pulled goalie Connor Hellebuyck with 2:10 left in the third period.
The Jets have converted on 29.3 per cent of their power-play chances this season, good for nearly a goal every three attempts. Laine failed to follow up on his five-goal performance against the Blues from last month, and was held to just one shot on net in the game.
Alexander Steen was initially given the only goal of the night in his first game back after missing two contests with a concussion, after it appeared he deflected a shot from Colton Parayko on, *ahem*, a power play. But after the game Steen admitted he didn’t touch the puck, giving Parayko the only marker on the night.
McDavid adds to list of milestones with four-point game
Only six players in history have had more career multi-point games before turning 22 than Connor McDavid.
The 21-year-old centre had a goal and three assists in a lopsided 7-2 Edmonton Oilers win over the Minnesota Wild at Rogers Place. This game was McDavid’s 24th with at least one point this season, something an even more select group of Oilers has been able to achieve in team history.
Needless to say, Wayne Gretzky leads both lists.
The Oilers had three goals in the first period for the first time this season, and needed just six shots to do so. McDavid’s pretty move to score Edmonton’s third prompted Wild coach Bruce Boudreau to pull goalie Devan Dubnyk and replace him with Alex Stalock, but the two of them could have probably guarded the goal side by side and the Oilers would have still found ways to score on a night in which every puck seemed to bounce in their favour.
Stars get it done in less than two minutes
Rookie defenceman Miro Heiskanen and forward Brett Ritchie exploded for two goals in just 1:48 during the third period to give the Dallas Stars a 3-2 comeback win against the San Jose Sharks, extending their winning streak to four games. Logan Couture added a quick one of his own for the Sharks just 33 seconds later, capping off a 2:21-minute span that saw three of the game’s five goals be scored.
The Sharks’ Friday-night loss was also Joe Thornton‘s 1,514th NHL game, which ties him with Hall of Famer and longtime Detroit Red Wings centre Steve Yzerman for 18th on the NHL all-time list.
Ben Bishop had a season-high 41 saves to help the Stars secure the win.
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