Bruins are A Beaut
It was a masterful performance by the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on Tuesday. David Pastrnak notched his seventh National Hockey League career hat trick as the Bruins hammered the Montreal Canadiens 8-1.
Pastrnak and Brad Marchand normally team up with Patrice Bergeron on the most dynamic line in hockey according to the smart sports betting apps. However, Bergeron did not play due to a lower body injury. That meant Charlie Coyle of Weymouth, MA got promoted to the number one line and Boston did not miss a beat.
Pastrnak’s first goal was the game winning goal at 14:24 of the first period on the power play from Coyle and Marchand. The goal broke a 1-1 tie.
Pastrnak then put the Bruins up 4-1 on a goal from Marchand and Zdeno Chara at the eight second mark of the second period. Then at 9:06 of the second period, Pastrnak scored from Brandon Carlo of Colorado Springs, Colorado and David Krejci to put Boston up 6-1.
In 24 games, Pastrnak leads the NHL with 23 goals, 12 power platy goals and five game winning goals. He also has 16 assists, 39 points and is a +10. Pastrnak also has 18 penalty minutes, 16 power play points, 98 shots on goal, one faceoff win, seven blocked shots, 13 hits, 19 takeaways and 31 giveaways.
Pastrnak was one of six Bruins to have a multi-point game in the touchdown win over Montreal that would have made Tom Brady and the New England Patriots proud. Marchand and Coyle also had one goal and two assists, while Sean Kuraly of Dublin, OH also had a three point game as he notched three assists. Bruins with two point games were Torey Krug of Livonia, MI and David Krejci, who each notched two assists.
The Bruins are the best team in the NHL at the moment. They have a record of 16 wins, three regulation losses and five losses in extra time for 37 points.
Duck, Duck, Goose
John Gibson of Pittsburgh, PA recorded his 19th career National Hockey League shutout on Monday. Gibson made 26 saves as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the New York Islanders 3-0 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Gibson made 16 saves in the first period, seven saves in the second period and three saves in the third period. Interestingly, the Ducks seemed to play the third period like they did 16 years ago when they went to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils. There were only six total shots on goal in the final frame as Anaheim only had three shots on goal in the the third period themselves.
Anders Lee of Edina, MN and Ryan Pulock led the Islanders in shots on goal. They each had four.
The Ducks got goals from Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler and Ondrej Kase. Even though Fowler was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, he has lived in the United States since being a toddler and represents the United States in international hockey.
In 2019-20, Gibson has a record of eight wins, 10 regulation losses and one loss in extra time. He has a goals against average of 2.86 and a save percentage of .912. The shutout against the Islanders was his first of the season.
In an interesting statistic, Gibson is tied for the 2019-20 National Hockey League lead in regulation losses. He is tied with Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard of Syracuse. NY. Despite leading the NHL in regulation losses, Gibson has played a lot for the Ducks and his respectable goals against average and save percentage shows he has had a solid season to date.
The Ducks are in seventh place in the Pacific Division. They are currently right at the .500 mark. They have 11 wins, 11 regulation losses and three losses in extra time for 25 points overall. Despite being in seventh, they are only two points back of the San Jose Sharks for a playoff spot.
Sensational Senators
Joonas Korpisalo of Pori. Finland recorded his second National Hockey League career shutout on Monday. Korpisalo made 25 saves as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ottawa Senators 1-0 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.
Korpisalo made eight saves in the first period, eight saves in the second period and nine saves in the third period. Brady Tkachuk of Scottsdale, AZ and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each led the Senators with four shots on goal.
In the Blue Jackets’ win over the Senators, the only goal was scored by Oliver Bjorkstrand of Herning, Denmark from Zachary Werenski of Grosse Pointe, MI and Boone Jenner at the 21 second mark of the third period. It has been quite the month for Werenski. In a 4-2 Blue Jackets loss to the Colorado Avalanche on November 9, Werenski set the Blue Jackets franchise record for most goals in a career by a defenseman with 42.
The third round draft pick in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Senators, Korpisalo has a very respectable record in his first year as the starting goaltender for the Blue Jackets. He has 10 wins, seven regulation losses and one loss in extra time. Korpisalo’s goals against average is 2.86 and his save percentage is .902.
Korpisalo recorded his first career NHL shutout on February 25, 2017 in a 7-0 Blue Jackets win over the New York Islanders. Korpisalo made 24 saves in that Columbus win.
With the Blue Jackets deciding to move on from Sergei Bobrovsky (who signed a massive seven year contract worth $70 million with the Florida Panthers in the offseason), it is important that Columbus solidifies their goaltending position. Korpisalo may lack the experience compared to other number one goaltenders in the NHL, but by recording a 1-0 shutout win over the Senators, it should give him confidence.
The Blue Jackets are tied for sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 24 points. They have the same number of points as the New York Rangers.