With 10 games on the schedule, it was an eventful night in the NHL.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Calgary Flames all continued their solid play, while NHL legend Jaromir Jagr was banged up after a nasty hit from Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Robert Bortuzzo.
Here are five things we learned during Tuesday’s NHL action:
Peter DeBoer might need a history lesson: It was totally justifiable that the New Jersey Devils head coach was upset with Robert Bortuzzo’s hit on Jaromir Jagr, but his post-game comments left some scratching their heads. While speaking to reporters, DeBoer said the Bortuzzo’s hit on Jagr was “totally unnecessary” and proclaimed that if the same thing happened to Sidney Crosby, World War 4 would have ensued. Unless he thought the reaction would’ve been so big it would’ve skipped World War 3, it was not the best choice of the words.
Tyler Bozak has been on fire: Let’s get this out of the way: Tyler Bozak is far from your ideal No. 1 centre. And yeah, he can’t keep up this pace (averaging close to a point per game on the season) but at some point shouldn’t Leafs fans appreciate Bozak’s production rather than try to bring him down? Bozak has been a key component of Toronto’s improved performance. The Leafs forward has registered six goals in his last four games and has scored a total of eight points during a five-game point streak. Sure, that’s hardly sustainable considering his shooting percentage, but Bozak deserves credit for the offensive output. He has earned that.
Brooks Laich has surprisingly sick hands: Considering he had yet to score all season before Tuesday’s contest with the Vancouver Canucks, no one could’ve reasonably expected Brooks Laich to pull off a highlight-reel goal. But, Laich caught everyone by surprise. The Canucks were certainly caught off the guard when Laich dangled the puck through Kevin Bieksa’s legs and went upstairs on Ryan Miller to complete his first goal of the season. If he has these kind of moves, maybe Laich should try this more often.
The new Rory Fitzpatrick? Zemgus Girgensons may have the coolest name in the NHL, but outside of that, it’s hard to understand how the Buffalo Sabres forward leads all players in all-star votes. According to coach Ted Nolan, the reason behind this is his popularity in Latvia. Girgensons suited up for Latvia during the 2014 Sochi Olympics and must have made quite an impression. Nothing against Girgensons, who is an intriguing young player, but it’s strange to see him with more votes than Sidney Crosby, P.K. Subban or Jonathan Toews.
Halak thriving with Islanders: We didn’t necessarily learn anything new about Jaroslav Halak on Tuesday night, but what continues to stand out is how valuable the veteran goalie has been for the New York Islanders. Halak’s play has been critical for a team that has struggled in net for the better part of a decade. He’s been arguably the best acquisition of the off-season and that showed Tuesday night when he picked up his 10th consecutive victory, matching an Islanders record that was set by Billy Smith back in the club’s glory days in 1982. It’s not often we say this, but credit is due to GM Garth Snow for finally finding a stable goaltender.