Five Minute Major

*Photo from Sportsnet*     This team is taking off right now. Dominic Toninato had an assist, Nino Niederreiter scored twice, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild with a 4-2 victory on Saturday afternoon in Winnipeg.    With the win, the Jets increased their point streak to 7 games, with a 5-0-2 record in that span. They've also gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games as they sit at 21-9-4 and second place in the Central Division. 9 different skaters registered a point for the Jets.    Niederreiter said of the win that "We know we have to play that style of hockey, and that’s how I feel we play best. Coming out of the gates, we want to make sure we get pucks in deep and outwork them, but at the same time, we did a lot of good things and tried to help get our team get that win."    It was the Jets who got on the scoreboard first. Alex Iafallo got it done 3:59 into the game, giving the Jets a 1-0 lead on his 6th goal of the season, with ...

*Photo from the Globe and Mail*     Momentum swings were the name of this game. Adam Fantilli scored, Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime on Friday in Columbus.    The win by the Blue Jackets snapped a 3 game losing streak, with the team sitting at 12-18-7 and dead last in the Metropolitan Division. In addition to Gaudreau's 3 point game, Damon Severson chipped in two assists for a multi point game.    Toronto started the scoring in the first period, with Mitch Marner scoring his 14th goal of the season to make it 1-0. At the 11:17 mark of the first, Cole Sillinger scored his 4th goal of the season, putting Columbus on the board. Auston Matthews added his 29th goal of the season towards the end of the period to make it 2-1 Maple Leafs.    Nick Robertson scored 1:35 into the 3rd period to make the Maple Leafs lead 3-1. Brendan Gaunce scored his first goal of the ...

*Photo from TSN*     This team has proven to be a pesky bunch. Sean Walker scored, Joel Farabee had a goal and an assist, and the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Vancouver Canucks with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night in Vancouver.    Despite having dropped two straight games prior to this one, the Flyers still have points in 11 of their last 12 games, with a 8-1-3 record in that stretch. It's still giving them a second place spot in the Metropolitan Division at 19-11-4 so far.    Farabee said of the win that "We played patient, waited for our opportunities. You get a couple of quick ones, it builds that momentum, and you go from there. Really like how our group played coming off the break. It would be easy to play loose and not play our system, but I really felt like every guy was pulling on the rope."    After a scoreless first period, Egor Zamula scored late in the second period, making it a 1-0 Flyers lead with a power play goal. 1:21 lat...

*Photo from the Boston Globe*     A little break might have been all they needed. Jake DeBrusk had two assists, Charlie Coyle scored two goals, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night in Buffalo.    Having entered the Christmas break with 4 straight losses, the Bruins came out of the break with a win over the division rival Sabres, just their 4th win in 10 games. Brad Marchand also added two assists as the Bruins remain atop the Atlantic Division.    DeBrusk said of snapping the losing streak that "Anytime you can win, it always helps. I think that means there’s lots of things that we’re doing right, and as a group, we didn’t like how it ended going into the break. Had a couple days to reset and came out with a good effort tonight, had some good goaltending and just rolled with it."    The Bruins got on the board early in the game. Rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei made it 1-0 Bruins with his ...

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*     It's the season of the comeback in the NHL. Craig Smith scored the tying goal, Jani Hakanpaa scored the winning goal, and the Dallas Stars rallied to defeat the Nashville Predators with a 3-2 victory on Saturday in Nashville.    The Stars now have wins in 3 straight games and are 5-0-1 in their last 6 games, having done so without Jake Oettinger for the last 5 games. Previously trailing 2-0, the Stars scored 3 times in the 3rd and twice in the final 15 seconds of play to come out on top.    Dallas head coach Pete Deboer said that "We talked at the end of the second period and we felt that there were still points to be had here tonight if we could play a good 20 minutes. Give the Predators credit; they defended hard. They blocked a ton of shots. Their goalie was great. We had some frustration creeping in the second period. We kind of reset and came out in the third and gave ourselves a chance."    A...

*Photo from TSN*     This team certainly plays hard. Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist, Juraj Slafkovsky had an identical line, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Blackhawks with a 5-2 victory on Friday night in Chicago.    Despite a 15-13-5 record and a 6th place standing in the Atlantic Division, the Canadiens increased their point streak to 5 games with their second win over the Blackhawks this season. All 5 Montreal goals came unanswered as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to come out on top.    Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis said that "We got back to playing our game, so to speak. I always say, it’s not like one magic play that’s going to get us back and it’s going to win us the game. We’ve just got to do the positive actions on the ice based on how we want to play over and over and over again kind of stay patient, try not to beat yourself. I thought we got some big plays, some big goals at key times that gave us some life. A...

*Photo from Reuters*     This will go down as the Nathan MacKinnon game. Valeri Nichushkin had 3 assists, MacKinnon had 4 goals, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators with a 6-4 victory on Thursday night in Denver.    The Avalanche improved to 20-11-2 on the season, sitting in second place in the Central Division. Although it's just their 5th win in 10 games, the Avalanche had a big showing at home, with 4 skaters registering multi point games.    One of them was MacKinnon. Adding an assist on top of his 4 goals, he extended his point streak to 17 games, continuing a career best point streak. He has 12 goals and 21 assists during the streak and also surpassed 300 career goals with his 4 goal showing, which was also the first 4 goal game in Avalanche history.    MacKinnon said of his game that "I’m just trying to play the best I can. I thought I’ve had some better games. I just got some goals tonight. They just went in. Hit o...

*Photo from Head News*    It's very hard to stop the team from Manitoba right now. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby had a goal and an assist, Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and two assists, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Detroit Red Wings with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.    The Jets rode multi point games from Vilardi, Jonsson-Fjallby, and Nikolaj Ehlers to their 7th win in 10 games, with points in 8 of those 10 games. Vilardi in particular is heating up, rattling off 5 goals and 5 assists in his last 4 games.    Jets head coach Rick Bowness said of Vilardi that "You watch him every game, his confidence is growing. He's so good around the net because he hangs on to it. He's so big and strong, got great vision and has patience with the puck of when to pass it and when not to pass it and hang on to it. He's been very, very impressive for us."    Neal Pionk scored the only goal of the first period, giving the Jets a 1-0 lead with his ...

*Photo from Lakeland Today*     Things are looking up on the Island right now. Simon Holmstrom scored, Bo Horvat had the game winning goal, and the New York Islanders defeated the Edmonton Oilers with a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night on Long Island.    After a rough start to the season, the Islanders are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and have jumped into the playoff picture with a 15-8-8 record and a 3rd place spot in the Metropolitan Division. On Tuesday, it was 3 unanswered goals in the second period that put them over the top.    Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said "We had to move some people around, mixed the lines around on a consistent basis because of the fact that we weren't trying to tax people too much. All the forwards did a good job. I thought our defense played well, but I thought our forwards did a good job of trying to manage their ice time."    Starting the scoring was the Oilers. The only goal of the first period came from Leon Dr...

*Photo from the Santa Maria Times*     Quack quack go the Ducks. Troy Terry had a goal and an assist, Adam Henrique had an identical line, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Detroit Red Wings with a 4-3 victory on Monday night in Detroit.    After 5 straight losses, the Ducks swept their back to back, winning consecutive games as they look to right the ship. 10 skaters in total registered a point for the Ducks, while Terry and Henrique had two. Henrique scored his 4th goal in two games after a hat trick on Sunday.    Terry said of what led to this win that "I think being able to win last night, for a lot of us, let us loosen up on the stick a little tonight. I think guys just had more confidence around the net."    Radko Gudas started the scoring in this one, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead 2:23 into the game on his 5th goal of the season. At the 8:19 mark of the first, Pavel Mintyukov scored his second goal of the season to double the ...

*Photo from Yahoo News*     What better way to get out of a cold streak than beating a division rival? Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the shootout to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday in Raleigh.    The Capitals entered the game with two straight losses as well as 5 losses in 7 games, but managed to right the ship against Carolina, now sitting at 15-9-4 and 5th in the Metropolitan Division. Goals came at a premium, which allowed Washington to keep it close with one of the league's best offenses.    After a scoreless first period, it was the Hurricanes who took the lead first. Sebastian Aho scored 7:41 into the second period, assisted by Seth Jarvis on his 12th goal of the season. At the 11:33 mark of the period, Martin Fehervary scored to tie things up for the Capitals, with Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome assisting on his first goal of the season.    Wilson said of Fehervary's goal that "Sometimes it’s the ...

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*     Losing streak? Not anymore. Trevor Moore scored, Carl Grundstrom contributed the shootout winner, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Seattle Kraken with a 3-2 shootout victory on Saturday night in Seattle.    Entering play with 3 straight losses, the Kings righted the ship to improve to 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, sitting in 3rd place in the Pacific Division at 17-6-4. The Kings improved to an NHL best 12-1-1 on the road after having won their first 11 road contests to open the season.    Kings center Phillip Danault said of the win that "Obviously, kind of a relief to win that game. We knew we weren’t playing well the last couple of games, so it was a big game for us. Doing it that way was very stressful, but it was fun."    It was the Kraken who drew first blood to start the game. Adam Larsson scored 6:45 into the game, tallying his second goal of the season to make it 1-0 Kraken, assisted ...

*Photo from Spectrum News*     It was the downtrodden that came out over the newly minted. Casey Middelstadt had two goals and an assist, Zach Benson had a goal and an assist, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Friday night.    The Sabres knocked off the defending champions as they look to end the NHL's longest active playoff drought, having last made the playoffs in 2010-2011. Benson and Alex Tuch each had a goal and an assist while Dylan Cozens had a goal and two assists to go with Middelstadt's 3 point game.    Buffalo head coach Don Granato said of the win "That was a great effort all around. We looked fresh. We looked rested. We took advantage of that. We had great legs all the way through. We had to come back in the third, tied 1-1. We fall down 2-1 and the response was outstanding."    After a scoreless first period, it was the Sabres who scored first. Cozens scored his 5th goal of the season 7:42 into the ...

*Photo from BVM Sports*     It was the perfect night for this kind of win. Andrei Kuzmenko scored, Dakota Joshua had two goals, and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Florida Panthers with a 4-0 shutout win on Thursday night in Vancouver.    The Canucks won their 4th straight game by dispatching the Panthers, winning their 7th of 10 to improve to 20-9-1 and in second place in the Pacific Division. Joshua was the only two point player for the Canucks, who had 7 different skaters register a point.    Before the game, former Canucks and Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo was inducted into the Canucks ring of honor. Luongo had 230 wins with the Panthers and 252 with the Canucks, and the ceremonial face off before the game was between both team's goalies instead of the team captains like usual.    Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko said of the win on Luongo's night that "It’s poetic, right? Almost in the air. A really cool evening and he’s such a first-cla...

*Photo from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette*     It was a marathon of a game in Quebec. Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist, Jansen Harkins scored the winning goal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in the shootout on Wednesday night in Montreal.    Following a 4 game losing streak, the Penguins won their second game in a row, sitting at 13-12-3 and 7th place in the Metropolitan Division. Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Penguins while Crosby had 3 points, tying Mark Recchi for 13th in league history in points with 1,533.    Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said of the win that "We didn’t start the way we wanted to start but we kept fighting, we climbed back in the game. And I thought obviously, the power play once again was a big difference for us but the penalty kill in overtime, and down the stretch I thought ‘Ned’ made some real timely saves for us as well. So, I’m just proud of the group. It’s a back-to-back...

*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*     Success starts and stops in the blink of an eye. Michael McCarron scored, Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Philadelphia Flyers with a 3-2 overtime victory on Tuesday night in Nashville.    Holding off a late rally from the Flyers, the Predators won their second straight game and 5th of 6 while ending the Flyers 4 game winning streak. Forsberg's two points made him the highest scoring Nashville skater in a tight game with the Flyers.    Nashville forward Gustav Nyquist said of the win that "We got the job done. Another battle. We’re battling out there. Obviously, we don’t seem to have maybe our best right now, but Saros was great and kept us in the game. We found a way to win again so that’s a big positive."    The only goal of the first period came from Nyquist, who scored his 4th goal of the season, assisted by Forsberg and Alexandre Carrier. M...

*Photo from Yahoo News*     As I've said before, sometimes all you need is one period. Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames 6-5 on Monday night in Denver.    Trailing by two goals entering the 3rd period, the Avalanche rattled off 3 straight goals to take the lead and win the game. Cale Makar and Ross Colton had a goal and an assist to go with MacKinnon, while Valeri Nichushkin had two assists.    Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said that "There's a lot of good things in that game tonight. A lot. So, if we focus on the right things as a coaching staff, relay the right message to the guys, I would feel that that should give us some belief. It's not easy to score in this league, right? Period. Against anybody. So, we did a nice job of it tonight."    Nazem Kadri scored the first goal of the game, getting the Flames on the board 13:46 into t...

*Photo from the Globe and Mail*     All it takes is one period to completely shift things. Josh Morrissey had two assists, Gabriel Vilardi scored, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Anaheim Ducks with a 4-2 victory on Sunday night in Anaheim.    The Jets picked up their 4th straight win and 7th of their last 10 by scoring 4 unanswered goals to take down the Ducks on the road. Morrissey was the only multi point player for the Jets, who saw 10 skaters record at least a point.    After a scoreless first period, Alex Killorn scored on the power play at the 16:07 mark of the second period, making it 1-0. Adam Henrique made it 2-0 Ducks just 1:15 into the 3rd period on his 5th goal of the season. Nino Niederreiter scored 43 seconds later to get the Jets on the board, making it 2-1 on his 7th goal of the season.    Morgan Barron scored his 5th goal of the season 5:55 into the 3rd for the Jets, tying the game 2-2 with assists from Morrissey and David Gust...

*Photo from the Oakland Press*     Motor City, meet the nation's capital to the north of the U.S. Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist, Jakob Chychrun had two assists, and the Ottawa Senators defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday night in Detroit.    The Senators picked up their 3rd win in 4 games and 6th in 10, still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division with a 11-11-0 record. Tarasenko and Chychrun had multi point games, as did Claude Giroux with a goal and an assist.    During the first period, something happened that left a cloud over the game. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was hit in the head simultaneously by two Senators skaters in both directions. He was down on the ice motionless for some time, but was able to leave the ice with help from teammates.    Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said of the injury that "Obviously, that’s a really scary situation with him being knocked out, but he was able to leave on his own feet...