There were 12 games on the program last night in the National Hockey League, giving us a great night of hockey with lots of goals.
Here are the highlights.
1. McDavid blanked in Oilers win, now under a point per game
Things aren’t going well for the Edmonton Oilers, last season’s Western finalists.
Jay Woodcroft’s team is not winning, despite all the talent on the roster, including possibly the two best players in the world.
Thursday’s loss to the San Jose Sharks, the NHL’s worst team (2-11-1), further highlighted the Oilers’ abysmal start to the season.
Regardless of whether the players like him or not, or how good he is or isn’t, Jay Woodcroft’s job is clearly in jeopardy, even if it may not be for a while.
The goaltending woes clearly play a big part in the Oilers’ horrific sequence, but we must also note the performance of the attack, and especially of Connor McDavid.
The Oilers captain is no shadow of his former self.
For the third game in a row yesterday, McDavid was blanked from the scoresheet, putting him under a point per game for the first time since 2015 (minimum of five games played) , i.e. during his rookie season.
Indeed, McDavid has just 10 points in 11 games this season, and has just one measly assist in his last five games. As for goals, he hasn’t scored in eight games, since October 17.
Connor McDavid has gone 8 games without a goal, tying for 2nd longest goalless streak of his career.
He has gone 3 games without a point, tying for longest pointless streak of his career.
He has 1 point in his last 5 games, the fewest points in a 5-game span in his career.
– Brian Swane (@BrianSwane) November 12, 2023
In short, McDavid is really experiencing the worst moments and bad sequences of his career right now.
Could he be playing injured? Perhaps. In any case, he seems physically and mentally exhausted.
Anyway, at least the Oilers beat the Seattle Kraken 4-1 yesterday, thanks to a first-period hat trick by Zach Hyman.
A NATURAL HAT TRICK IN THE FIRST PERIOD?! Yes, Zach Hyman did that!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZeneca pic.twitter.com/uIseoIbMTK
– NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2023
2. St. Louis Blues destroy Colorado Avalanche
After a hot start to the season, the Avalanche have cooled off and are now on a tear.
Last night, the Colorado Avalanche lost 8-2 to the St. Louis Blues.
You 8-2 see it, as they say.
Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich both scored hat tricks.
THE CAPTAIN CONVERTS
Brayden Schenn(@Bschenn_10) scores three goals to earn his fourth career hat trick!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/6vuexg3ojl
– NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2023
SHORTHANDED KING
Pavel Buchnevich scores two shorthanded goals en route to his third career hat trick!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/G4ia5AJIjV
– NHL (@NHL) November 12, 2023
3. Two goals for Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin is off to a slow start on the goals front.
It’s not the end of the world, but let’s just say he’s gotten us used to better starts than this.
In fact, we were beginning to wonder whether he’d slowed down drastically.
Well, last night, Ovi scored two goals, bringing his total to four this season, for 11 points in 13 games.
Alex Ovechkin rips one home off the draw for career goal #825! #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/6Aeiwz4pq4
– Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 12, 2023
His second goal, scored in an empty net, tied Wayne Gretzky for the most empty-net goals in NHL history with 56.
Alex Ovechkin ties Wayne Gretzky for the most empty net goals in NHL history!
: @Capitals
pic.twitter.com/fu7bFToC8E
– BarDown (@BarDown) November 12, 2023
With his two goals in the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, Ovechkin now has 826 goals, putting him 68 short of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
He is now just 69 goals short of the record.
In defeat, Islanders fans chanted “fire Lambert” as their team got off to an ordinary 5-5-3 start.
“Fire Lambert” chant at UBS
– Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) November 12, 2023
Let’s see if Islanders head coach Brad Lambert loses his job this season.
4. Leafs benefit from Ryan Reaves’ withdrawal from training
Yesterday, we learned that tough guy Ryan Reaves would be out of the lineup for the Leafs’ game against the Canucks.
Reaves brought nothing to the team, and was more of a detriment than anything else.
This was even more apparent last night, when the fourth line scored two goals, including the winner in the Leafs’ 5-2 win over the Canucks.
Quick catch and release action for Noah Gregor. pic.twitter.com/bVVEIMaUAN
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 12, 2023
Bobby McCann, who replaced Reaves in the lineup, registered two assists in the game.
5. Tristan Jarry’s whitewash on his return to the game
The Pittsburgh Penguins have had an up-and-down season so far.
Whether they’ll fight for a playoff spot or not is still anyone’s guess.
Their 7-6-0 record leaves us in the dark for the time being.
At least the return of their number-one goaltender, Tristan Jarry, will help, as was the case yesterday, when he pulled off a 35-save shutout in a 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Honorable mention to this rather unusual goal by Evgeni Malkin.
the beautiful game pic.twitter.com/6PaOhTnzU8
– Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) November 12, 2023
Extra time
– Here are yesterday’s results.
– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.
(Credit: NHL.com)
– Today’s NHL schedule: five games.
(Credit: Google/NHL)
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