Five Minute Major

*Photo from the Mercury News*     Seeking a strong start out of the holiday break, the San Jose Sharks went to the veteran guys. Logan Couture scored, Tomas Hertl scored in overtime, and the Sharks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in overtime on Thursday night in San Jose.    Coming out of an extended holiday break, the Sharks have now won back to back games at home before embarking on a 4 game road trip to the east coast. Their record sits at 17-14-1 as they hit the road, good for a 5th place spot in the Pacific Division standings. Hertl's OT winning goal extended his point streak to 8 games.    Hertl talked about his OT winning goal and the effects, saying "It was a big goal for us because we needed the two points before the road trip. I think we played way better. We were way better in details and the defensive zone, and we even got more chances than last game. It was a good game."    The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the first period...

*Photo from the New York Post*     Needing to end a losing streak with a fresh start after the break, the New Jersey Devils went to the former number one overall pick. Jack Hughes scored, Jesper Bratt scored, and the Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres with a 4-3 win on Wednesday night in Buffalo.    The Devils start the post holiday break schedule the right way, with the one goal win snapping a 6 game losing streak prior to the break, also having lost 15 of their last 18 games, being outscored by opponents 26-12 in that stretch. The leaders were Hughes and Bratt, each scoring a goal and dishing two assists to have duel 3 point nights.    Hughes said of the fresh start after the break that "I think we were in a pretty big hole there, so for us to get a few days just to refresh and come back to the rink excited, it's a big deal. I think we were all pretty excited coming back and then to start it off with a win, that's huge for us."    First yea...

*Photo from the Eagle Tribune*     The 3rd game played on the first day of action after an extended holiday break in the NHL provided some offensive fireworks. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice, Chandler Stephenson scored, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.    The last game the Golden Knights played before the pause was a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning. With this win over the Kings, Vegas improves to 6-1-0 in their last 7 games, and hold a 21-12-0 record this season, first place in the Pacific Division, while the Kings sit in 6th place.    Asked about how the team has been playing, Stephenson said that "They get the job done. Everybody that is in the lineup is experienced and knows how to just kind of have a greasy, hard-working road game, so I think that was a little emphasis tonight."    4 goals were scored in the first period, and all 4 came within 1:16 of eac...

*Photo from On the Forecheck*     It's time for a return to last season, based off what has been happening leaguewide. The NHL and NHLPA have agreed to CBA roster exemptions to provide relief to teams in the event of multiple Covid-19 cases in a short period of time.    If positive Covid-19 cases hit a team, they are allowed to make emergency recalls from the AHL, so long as they would be dressing fewer than 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and two goalies for any given game. The player being recalled has to be a less than $1 million cap hit. If one or both of a team's top two goalies are not available to play, a team would be allowed to recall an additional goalie.    As part of these roster exemptions, teams can also use a taxi squad of players, which is in effect from now until the all star break, scheduled to start on February 5. The taxi squad is a group of players that travel with the team to away games, and would play in the event of injury or a positive C...

*Photo from the Winnipeg Free Press*     Sunday night in the Canadian Province of Alberta saw the first day of action for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships. Since there's no NHL to recap right now, let's take a look at all 4 games played on Sunday, with brief recaps for all of them. Finland vs Germany The first game of the 2022 World Juniors saw Finland pitted against Germany. The defending bronze medal squad, Finland made no mistake in their first action back. They beat Germany for the 12th straight time in World Junior play. The star for the Fins was Samuel Helenius, drafted with the 59th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Helenius scored two of the Finland goals as they picked up a 3-1 win. Center and University of Vermont skater Joel Maatta scored the game winning goal in the second period for the Fins, with Brad Lambert adding two assists. Leevi Merilainen stopped 23 shots for the win. The drought against Finland continues for Germany...

*Photo from Litter Box Cats*     The Holiday break has been extended another day in the NHL. The NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to postpone all 14 games originally scheduled for Monday, December 27, according to a press release from the NHL on Friday.    All 14 games scheduled for Monday, which included the first edition of the Edmonton Oilers-Calgary Flames battle of Alberta, will now be played at a later date. As of Saturday, the NHL is still planning to play the 4 games scheduled for Tuesday, December 28. There have now been 64 games postponed this season.    The NHL said in it's press release that "To allow the League an adequate opportunity to analyze League-wide testing results and to assess Clubs' readiness to play, the target date for resumption of game play will be pushed back an additional day."    Teams will return to their practice facilities on Sunday, and there will be another update on returning to play made by the NHL on Sunday...

*Photo from AP News*     With leaguewide Covid-19 cases on the rise, and over 50 games postponed in a week, the NHL is putting their foot down. The NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to withdraw player participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, according to an announcement made by the league on Wednesday.    NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said "The National Hockey League respects and admires the desire of NHL players to represent their countries and participate in a 'best on best' tournament. Accordingly, we have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events, 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23, Olympic participation is no longer feasible."    There was an opt out clause in the  agreement ...

*Photo from the Tacoma News Tribune*     Well, it seems like the last game before the NHL's Christmas pause was as exciting as it could be. Gabriel Fortier scored, Steven Stamkos scored, and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.    The Lightning end the first portion of the season exactly where they want to be, having now won 8 of their last 9 games, also snapping Vegas's 5 game winning streak in the process. The Lightning improved to 20-6-4 with the win, sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division.    Asked about the win against Vegas, Stamkos said that "It certainly wasn't the recipe that we want to continue. But given the circumstances, and what's gone on here the past week, we found a way to win a game that we probably shouldn't have, and we'll certainly take it."    Starting the scoring for the Lightning was Gabriel Fortier, scoring his first NHL goal 6:05 into the game, ass...

*Photo from The Athletic*     Well, the NHL will be taking their holiday break a few days early. The NHL and the NHLPA have agreed to pause the regular season from December 22 to December 25, giving the players an early start to the annual Christmas break. The announcement was made by the NHL on Monday night.    As part of the season being paused, teams must suspend all day to day operations, and there will be no practices at team facilites and no Covid-19 testing. As of 4:30 on Tuesday, the Tuesday night game between the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning game will go on as scheduled. There currently are no plans to push back any of the 14 games slated for December 27, when the holiday break ends.    This has been a struggle of a stretch for the NHL. Several cross border games between U.S. and Canadian teams had already been called off, and there were 11 teams that were shut down until after Christmas anyway due to Covid-19 outbreaks within the o...

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*     The key for the Pittsburgh Penguins as of late has been scoring goals en masse to win games. The offense was just enough this time around. Teddy Blueger scored, Mike Matheson scored, and the Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Sunday night in Newark, NJ.    It's now up to 7 straight wins for the Penguins, who now possess a 17-8-5 record this season, good for 4th place in the Metropolitan Division. This time around it was the depth scoring that carried the load for the Penguins, with some of their stars like Sidney Crosby not getting on the scoresheet. During this 7 game win streak, Pittsburgh has outscored their opponents 26-10 so far.    Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that "I just like the compete. I like the attitude. These guys, I think, they really care for one another. I think they play hard for one another. Just the compete and the resilience that I think the group has displayed here...

*Photo from TSN*     The key for the Carolina Hurricanes, with their roster reshuffled due to Covid-19 issues, was to get a little fast(I'm terrible at this I know). Jesper Fast scored, Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored, and the Hurricanes coasted past the Los Angeles Kings for a 5-1 victory in Raleigh, NC, on Saturday night.    It was Fast and Kotkaniemi who led the way for the Hurricanes, each contributing a goal and an assist, with defenseman Brady Skjei also adding a two assist night. The Hurricanes improve to 21-7-1 this season, first place in the Metropolitan Division, and they have wins in 6 of their last 7 games. Both Fast and Kotkaniemi scored within the first two minutes.    Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said of the Covid-19 roster shuffle that "Being 100 percent honest, coming into these two games, if you would have said we would have come out with two victories this way, I would have said, 'That's big time.' I just think guys were working r...

*Photo from Sportsnaut*     One of the strong points this season for the St.Louis Blues has been their home record, which now just got a little better. Logan Brown scored, Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice, and the Blues defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Friday night.    The Blues have now swept the home and home series with the Dallas Stars, having beaten them on Tuesday night in Dallas. The Blues are on a hot streak, with a 5-0-1 record in their last 6 games, and they are 8-0-1 in their last 9 home games. That bumps up their record to 17-8-5 this season, good for a spot in 3rd place of the Pacific Division.    Asked about the team's hot streak, Tarasenko said that "Winning is fun. I think it's enough to say it's fun. The atmosphere, the mood, the confidence, it's great to keep winning. We have a tough trip coming up, so looking forward to the next game."    It was a scoreless first period to start, but Brown broke the stalemate by scoring...

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*     The Vegas Golden Knights have some really good top level talent, but, on Thursday, it was all about the depth. William Carrier scored, Nicolas Roy scored, and the Golden Knights rallied to defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Thursday night in Newark.    It was all of the secondary scoring depth that carried the load for the Golden Knights in this one. 5 different skaters scored while 11 total skaters registered at least one point. Vegas has now won 3 straight games and 6 of their last 7 to improve to 18-11-0 this season, sitting in 3rd place in a tightly packed Pacific Division.    Vegas head coach Pete Deboer said after the game that "We did just enough to win. We take the two points and move on. I liked our first, hated our second and we were opportunistic in the third."    It was the Devils who got on the board first, with Jack Hughes scoring his 5th goal of the season 1:41 into the game, making...

*Photo from ABC News*     Who would have guessed, that, in the middle of December, the Anaheim Ducks of all teams would be leading the Pacific Division? Hockey is like that sometimes. Troy Terry scored, Trevor Zegras scored, and the Ducks defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Wednesday night.    The Ducks improve to a 17-9-5 record this season, with their 39 points good for a 3 point lead on the Pacific, ahead of the currently shut down Calgary Flames in second place. They've won 4 of their last 5 games to take the division lead, in large part thanks to Terry, who's scored 3 goals in his last two games, and 18 so far this season.    Ducks forward Derek Grant said "Whether we're playing the No. 1 team or the 32nd team, we spend time with video watching them and their tendencies, but a lot of times we're focusing on what we've done in the past games, and what's working and what's not."    Zegras kicked off the scoring 10:04 into the game, scoring his 7...

*Photo from DK Pittsburgh Sports*     With every game, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is making history. Evan Rodrigues scored, Crosby dished out two assists, and the Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.    The two assists for Crosby make him the 14th player in NHL history to record 400 or more multi point games, and currently the only active NHL player to do it. After missing time this season due to surgery and stays on the Covid-19 protocol list, Crosby has gotten off to a blazing start when he's on the ice, having tallied 17 points in 16 games.    Crosby said of his hot start to the season that "I just think I feel better timingwise. There's a lot more chances there. If I had to evaluate, I would've liked to bury a few more. But I think, besides that, as far as generating chances, timing and that sort of thing, it's a lot more comfortable than it was starting out."    To start the scoring,...

*Photo from MassLive*     After starting off the season in a good place, Covid-19 has returned and made it's mark on the NHL. After previous shutdowns in the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders organizations, a total of 15 NHL players were placed in league Covid-19 protocols on Tuesday alone.    This seems to be stemming from an outbreak of Covid-19 on the Calgary Flames, who currently have 9 players and one staff member in Covid-19 protocols. All 9 of those players were in Calgary's last game, on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. As for the Bruins, they have LW Brad Marchand and RW Craig Smith in the protocols after Tuesday's morning skate.    For individual cases, Islanders forward Mat Barzal, Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan McLeod, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, Florida Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, and Luke Schenn and Juho Lammikko of the Vancouver Canucks were placed in Covid-19 protocols on Tuesday.    Those teams a...

*Photo from the Dallas Morning News*     The hero of the Dallas Stars playoff bubble Stanley cup run is now gone. The Stars have placed goalie Anton Khudobin on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Stars have confirmed the news.    As of Tuesday afternoon, Khudobin cleared waivers and will be assigned to the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of Dallas. Khudobin's last appearance was November 18 against the Minnesota Wild, when he was charged with 7 goals on 26 shots in a Dallas defeat. He is still under contract next season, at a $3.33 million cap hit.    Khudobin has appeared in 7 games for the Stars this season, making 6 starts. He has a 3-3-1 record with a 3.73 GAA and .873 save percentage. He became expendable after Braden Holtby has regained his starting caliber form, and Jake Oettinger has played so well since being called up from AHL Texas. Oettinger has a 5-1-0 record with a 1.52 GAA and .951 save percentage in the same number of g...

*Photo from TSN*     It was a matchup of NHL heavyweights taking center stage in Colorado. The leaders of the east in the Florida Panthers were taking on the Stanley cup hopeful Colorado Avalanche. You can chalk round one up to the west. Andre Burakovsky tallied a hat trick, Mikko Rantanen picked up 3 assists, and the Avalanche defeated the Panthers 3-2 on Sunday night.    Burakovsky, a talented left wing who's been with the Avalanche for 3 years and the league for 8, had been under the shadow of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Rantanen, among others. He, despite being a top flight scorer, had never had a hat trick before. With Landeskog out due to injury, Burakovsky stepped into the spotlight with his first career hat trick.    Asked about the career milestone, Burakovsky said "Obviously, it felt great getting my first one. It's nice to finally get one. I'm just happy to be producing for the team and helping the team win games. Today was a lu...

*Photo from Yahoo News*     After starting the season with a lengthy road trip and losing the first games at their brand new home arena, the New York Islanders finally have the monkey off their backs. At least for now. Andy Greene scored, Zach Parise scored, and the Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday night on Long Island.    It's the first win in the brand new UBS Arena for the Islanders, who were 0-5-2 in their first 7 games at their new home, which was a record for most consecutive home losses to open a new arena. It's the first regular season home win for the Islanders since May 8, when they beat, guess who, the Devils. Greene and Parise both scoring against their former team was what propelled the Islanders to victory.    Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said of the first home win that "I'll give the fans credit for the win because they stuck with us through the whole game, they stuck with us through the last six or seven home game...

*Photo from The Canuck Way*     The Vancouver Canucks were in need of a shakeup, which is why they brought in Bruce Boudreau as their head coach. So far, the shakeup is paying off. Nils Hoglander scored twice, Elias Pettersson scored the shootout winner, and the Canucks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in a shootout on Friday night in Vancouver.    So far, in 3 games under the new head coach in Boudreau, the Canucks are a perfect 3-0. With the win, the Canucks improve to 11-15-2 this season, 7th place in the Pacific Division. It's the first time the Canucks have won 3 straight games this season. In addition to the two goals by Hoglander, Bo Horvat had a two assist night for the Canucks.    Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko said of the momentum shift that "It's big to get momentum when a new coach comes in. I've never been through it, but I can imagine it would be tough if a new coach came in and you lost the first handful of games. So just to get these three...

*Photo from the Chicago Sun Times*     There was magic in the building known as Centre Bell. It was realized on Thursday. Jonathan Toews scored, Henrik Borgstrom scored, and the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Montreal Canadiens with a 2-0 shutout victory on Thursday night in Montreal.    Marc-Andre Fleury, the Quebec native, born around an hour north of Montreal, picked up the win, stopping all 30 shots he faced for the shutout. But he also made NHL history. Because this win was the 500th of his career. Fleury is now just the 3rd goaltender in league history to win 500 games, joining Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. He's the fastest of the 3 to 500 wins, doing so in 901 games.    Blackhawks head coach Derek King said "Well, you saw the names, right? You saw the names. I don't even know even a decent goalie nowadays that's played around that many games, how many wins they've got. It's unbelievable. This, you're not going to see this often."   ...