A big day in the NHL saw the Canadiens overpower the Oilers, Macklin Celebrini make history, and the Bruins falter once again.
The NHL provided a day full of excitement with thrilling wins, memorable events, and disappointing losses. The day was full of significant events, from the Montreal Canadiens’ impressive victory against the Oilers to Macklin Celebrini scoring his first NHL goal.
As the Boston Bruins suffered another difficult loss, concerns about Alexander Ovechkin’s injuries stole the spotlight, with the additional news of Mike Reilly’s upcoming heart surgery.
Let’s examine these recently highlighted events that are influencing NHL more closely.
In Game 1 of this season, Samuel Montembeault saved the Montreal Canadiens by making 48 saves against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who dominated every category except goals. The shutout was solely Montembeault’s.
On Monday, facing Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the high-scoring Edmonton Oilers, the Canadiens made Montembeault feel validated by leaving him saying: “The team performed great in front of me.”
Montembeault spoke those words from center ice, acting as the game’s top player without ever being truly tested.
Montreal had 11 shots on goal while the Oilers had 9 shots on goal in the third period. They also prevented the Oilers from scoring on three power-play chances. Even with its strong offensive lineup, Edmonton is ranked in the lower third of the league in power play performance this season.
Edmonton did not have defenseman Darnell Nurse. Coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed earlier on Monday that Nurse will be sidelined for a period of five to 10 days. On Saturday, Nurse suffered a head injury from a hit by Toronto forward Ryan Reaves.
Macklin Celebrini netted his first career overtime goal just 46 seconds into the extra period, securing a 5-4 victory for the San Jose Sharks against the Detroit Red Wings.
“It’s fun to win one in overtime. We’ve been on the wrong side of it a couple of times, so it was nice to get that one, It was a great play by Granlund. He kind of set a pick there, and I just found myself with a lot of space, and I don’t know. I just tried to go low glove. I felt like he was cheating a little bit.” : Celebrini said.
Celebrini had gone three games without scoring a point, but he ended his mini slump by scoring a goal. Thirteen players on the Sharks contributed to scoring in the win, breaking their three-game losing streak. The custom football helmet awarded by the Sharks postgame team was given to Celebrini by Mackenzie Blackwood.
“I love when we win, I mean, to get put in that situation, you want to come through for your team, especially after a couple of misses in the shootout and stuff. To get that goal, it was good for the group.” : Celebrini said.
The Sharks will not have a practice tomorrow, as they will be traveling to Texas to play against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday in the first of two road games.
Alex Ovechkin, a top player for the Washington Capitals, exited their 6-2 victory in Utah on Monday due to a lower-body injury. He had scored two goals before leaving, bringing him within 27 goals of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record.
Spencer Carbery, the Capitals’ coach, stated that Ovechkin’s condition was being assessed post-game and that more information on his status would be available on Tuesday.
Ovechkin finished his final shift at 5:30 of the third period following a crash with Utah forward Jack McBain. Both players’ left knees collided as they both moved towards a loose puck.
Ovechkin went across the ice on his belly in discomfort before receiving assistance to the Washington bench. He ended up spinning on the ice before hobbling away.
Despite seeming unintentional, Capitals forward Tom Wilson later challenged and fought McBain in the same period.
McBain scored first for Utah, but Washington responded with four consecutive goals. Two of the goals were scored by Ovechkin, as he continues his strong beginning in his chase for Gretzky’s record of 894 all-time goals. Ovechkin’s career goal tally has reached 868.
Ovechkin recorded his 14th and 15th goals of the season, topping the NHL goal scoring chart for the first time since January 2022. This is the most goals Ovechkin has ever scored in the first 18 games of a season. He achieved his 100th career multigoal road game, surpassing any other player in NHL history by 17 games.
The New York Islanders stated Monday that veteran defenseman Mike Reilly will have a heart procedure on Tuesday, leading to his indefinite absence from the lineup.
Reilly didn’t know about his heart condition until it was found during testing for a concussion he suffered in a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 1
“It was picked up through the different echocardiograms that you do for different reasons that you go through with any post-concussion situation, It’s probably a blessing in disguise of what transpired. They detected this, something that you’re sometimes born with but never knew.”: Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello said of the heart problem.
The Columbus Blue Jackets netted two shorthanded goals in a 5-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday.
Mathieu Olivier and Justin Danforth both scored while Columbus was shorthanded, and Elvis Merzlikins saved 28 shots for the team, which has won two out of its last three games. Sean Monahan recorded two assists. Charlie Coyle got a goal, while Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves for Boston (8-9-3), who have suffered three consecutive losses (0-2-1).
At 5:17 of the first period, Dmitri Voronkov scored to put the Blue Jackets ahead 1-0. He received a pass from Monahan and scored on a breakaway after being tripped from behind by Brandon Carlo, who accidentally pushed the puck into the net while attempting to defend.
Olivier scored a short-handed goal at 10:39, going through the right side of the offensive zone and slipping a backhand through Swayman’s five-hole to make it 2-0. At 19:28, James van Riemsdyk extended the lead to 3-0 by deflecting Zach Werenski’s shot into the net from the left circle, beating Swayman. Coyle scored at 14:30 of the second period, bringing the score to 3-1 for Boston.
It was their first power-play goal since Nov. 3, as he received a pass from Justin Brazeau behind the net and scored with a snapshot in front of Merzlikins. Danforth increased the score to 4-1 at 7:19 in the third period.
Lohrei made a mistake with a pass at the blue line, allowing Sillinger to grab the puck and pass it to Danforth for a tap-in goal on a short-handed rush. Monahan fed Yegor Chinakhov for a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle following a skirmish in the left corner to secure the 5-1 victory at 14:10.
Image Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
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