Key NHL Moments: Werenski’s Heroics, Ovechkin’s Setback, Cassidy’s Milestone, and Toews’ Spiritual Healing
NHL provided another exciting day, featuring impressive performances, important milestones, and off-ice stories that still engage fans.
Zach Werenski’s outstanding play helped the Blue Jackets secure a vital win, maintaining their momentum as Alex Ovechkin’s injury paused his pursuit of a historic goal. Bruce Cassidy’s 400th coaching victory showcased his strategic acumen and steadfast performance. Jonathan Toews engaged in an unconventional healing process off the ice by journeying to India for a holistic experience that involved meditation and spiritual activities.
Let’s explore the key NHL highlights of the day and the factors impacting the hockey landscape.
Zach Werenski scored the winning goal in overtime to complete a five-point night for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who came back from being down by three goals to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-6 on Thursday.
Werenski equalized the score at 4 during the second period and also contributed three assists to help the Blue Jackets secure their second consecutive victory. Sean Monahan scored a goal and provided three assists, while Dmitri Voronkov scored a goal and assisted on another.
Kent Johnson scored while his team was on a power play and when they were short-handed in his first game back after being out for 14 games due to an injury he got on Oct. 17. Yegor Chinakhov scored a goal while Elvis Merzlikins saved 24 shots.
Tampa Bay’s goals came from Anthony Cirelli, Mitchell Chaffee, Brandon Hagel, and Connor Geekie, each contributing a goal and an assist. Brayden Point and Cam Atkinson scored as well, with Nikita Kucherov recording three assists. Jonas Johansson stopped 36 shots.
The team announced on Thursday that Alex Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals, will be out for the next four to six weeks due to a fractured left fibula.
Therefore, the Great 8 is now taking a break in his quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal-scoring record. Ovechkin has scored 868 goals and is close to surpassing Gretzky’s 894.
At the moment, the Capitals trail the Carolina Hurricanes by just a point in the Metropolitan Division standings as the season approaches the quarter mark. Ovechkin has sat out only 35 games because of injuries throughout his 20-year career.
That is a remarkable achievement in itself and showcases the veteran’s overall toughness. Even his fellow players were surprised at the possibility of Ovechkin being out of action for such a long period.
Losing the player who scores the most goals for over four weeks is a difficulty that any team may face. However, when it’s a player who was close to scoring almost 70 goals, on a team that is the top in the NHL for averaging 4.33 goals per game? This only makes it clearer how significant Ovechkin’s absence will be for the Caps.
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery may opt for a top line with Connor McMichael on the left wing, Pierre-Luc Dubois at center, and Wilson on the right wing. This would mean that the Caps would have Dylan Strome leading a second line with Andrew Mangiapane and Aliaksei Protas, as they seemed to be set up before Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite Ovechkin leading in goals, the Capitals have seen important performances from McMichael and Protas, who are homegrown talents. McMichael had the second-highest number of goals on Thursday with 12, and Protas was third with seven.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 38 shots to help the Vegas Golden Knights give head coach Bruce Cassidy his 400th coaching win with a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
Goals from Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, and Pavel Dorofeyev, along with two assists from Ivan Barbashev, helped Vegas end a two-game losing streak. The Golden Knights now have a 12-1-1 record against the Senators, with a 6-0-1 record in Ottawa. Cassidy, who is from Ottawa, became the eighth current coach in the NHL to reach 400 career wins.
Adam Gaudette and Drake Batherson each found the back of the net while Linus Ullmark made 29 saves for Ottawa, who suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
After being shut out for the first time since Jan. 10, 2024, in Toronto on Wednesday, Vegas scored first with Eichel’s sixth goal of the season at the 6:45 mark of the first period. Barbashev assisted in scoring by passing from the bottom of the left goal line to Eichel, who was wide open, and then Eichel put the puck into the net from the low slot.
Howden scored his eighth goal, nearly matching his career high, in the middle of the second period with a wrist shot from a Barbashev drop pass in the left circle that snuck past Ullmark’s blocker side to make it 2-0.
Samsonov was penalized for holding after grabbing Claude Giroux as he skated by the net, allowing Ottawa to capitalize at 7:17 in the third period. Gaudette scored his eighth goal of the year on a power play by converting Ridley Greig’s no-look backhand pass to bring the score to 2-1.
Jonathan Toews, the ex-Chicago Blackhawks captain, has been absent from the NHL for almost two seasons and is now describing his current experience as a process of healing.
The 36-year-old took to Instagram on Thursday to share about spending five weeks in India for a detox, noting, “I’m happy to say things are trending.”
Toews experienced health problems during his last few years in Chicago. The three-time Stanley Cup winner sat out the whole 2020-21 season due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. He was absent from Feb. 21-April 1, 2023, due to managing the impacts of long COVID-19.
“It’s too long of a story to share all the details here, but it’s been almost (five) years of searching for a way to heal the inflammatory and immune system issues that took me out of hockey, The wisdom of Ayurveda has taught me that everything I experience, I am responsible for. Not only did it teach me better diet choices specific to my body type, it has deepened my intuitive relationship with myself and the world around me.” : Toews wrote in the post.
The Blackhawks did not extend his contract after the 2022–23 season, when his eight-year deal signed on July 9, 2014, came to an end. He played his last game for the Blackhawks on April 14, 2023, where they lost 5-4 in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers.
“There [are] absolutely no hard feelings. I have nothing but love and gratitude for the Blackhawks and Rocky Wirtz and the Blackhawks family, everyone over the years who’s been a part of that. Like I said, you can’t ask for more than that, At the end of the day, it’s a business. It’s a business where you want to win games and you want to go out there and entertain the fans and chase Stanley Cups, and I think it’s exciting for me too, at the same time, not knowing what’s really around the corner for me personally. But at the same time, it’s a new start for the Blackhawks.” : Toews said following his final game.
Toews has not officially declared his retirement from the NHL and is still a free agent without any restrictions.
Toews and forward Patrick Kane were key figures for the Blackhawks during their rebuilding phase in the early 2000s. Selected third overall by Chicago in the 2006 NHL Draft, Toews accumulated 883 points (372 goals, 511 assists) in 1,067 career games with the Blackhawks. He became their captain on July 18, 2008, and played a key role in leading the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015. He achieved gold medals with Canada in both the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. In 2017, Toews was honored as one of the top 100 NHL Players during the NHL Centennial Celebration, along with Kane and Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith.
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