Last night's NHL games brought two of the hardest fought, nastiest, fastest paced games I have seen all season. The season is still young yet, and it feels good to think that the best may be yet to come, but the best so far that I've seen came last night in a pair of tilts that went to a shootout. The game between the Avalanche and Maple Leafs was fast paced, nasty, and featured great skill from both the skaters and the goaltenders. It featured goals and great plays from all the big names involved, some nasty play, and big saves. We even got to see, thanks to some of the aforementioned nastiness, several minutes of 3 on 3 hockey, which really does make me think the NHL could use more of this (and I'm not saying this just because the Avs dominated it for nearly the entire time). Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon were flying for the Avs, and Phil Kessel had his legs going for the Leafs, and the speedsters went chance for chance in the high-paced, end to end style of hockey that left the coaches with a few extra grey hairs, and the fans with grins on their faces. Every NHL game should be as quick and breathtakingly intense as this game. There was a surprising amount of hate for two teams that see each other only semi-regularly.
Speaking of surprising amounts of hate, that Jets and Penguins game was one of the nastiest in my recent memory for the Jets. For the Penguins, part of some truly epic pieces of nastiness in recent years against the Flyers and Islanders, this was nothing new. This was a different kind of nasty from the old Penguins-Flyers, however. This was a kind of nasty that didn't feature silly, suspendable plays, or injury-inducing incidents. The hits were hard, but clean, and if there was a score that needed settling the players settled it like men, with their fists instead of with their sticks and elbows. The game had four fights (the official game sheet has only three, but that exchange between Jacob Trouba and Zach Sill was a fight, regardless of what the clueless officials thought) and none of them featured a "goon". Everyone who fought was a regular shit-taker for both teams. Anyone would have thought these two teams had a long bitter rivalry. The Jets to a man said they needed to play that harder, nastier game to be successful. Maybe they were right.
The one sour note from the Jets game, aside from the fact that they ultimately lost (a game in which frankly both teams deserved a win), was that we were left to question just what Chris Thorburn's usefulness to the team is. Four fights, and he's not involved in a single one of them? It's not like the Penguins didn't give him reasons enough. If he's not here to scrap (something at which Anthony Peluso is better anyway) what is he hear to do?
Negativity aside, the games last night were a pleasure to watch. Especially fun to watch was Nate MacKinnon flying out there, dominating the play every time he was on the ice. Best of all, his feet were moving at that eye-blink speed we Avs fans got used to last year. Now he just needs to keep it up.
-Some CHL notes for you: Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters finally lost a game to the Niagara Ice Dogs last night. McDavid was held off the board, incredibly. However, worth noting is the fact that McDavid still has more points than Sidney Crosby had at the same point in his draft year. He's shaping up to be a special player the likes of which we haven't seen since, well Crosby. Some team (I should think Buffalo is the most likely candidate) is going to save their franchise drafting this kid.
-The Brandon Wheat Kings, who now sit 2nd in the WHL with 29 points and only 3 losses all season, continue to roll on. They were missing youngsters Nolan Patrick and Kale Clague during the recent World U17 challenge, but managed to steamroll their competition anyway. Jace Hawryluk and European import Rihards Bukarts are leading the way offensively. The Wheat Kings also have two players, Jesse Gabrielle and Ivan Provorov, who are potential first rounders for this year's entry draft. The Wheat Kings are probably the most feared team in the league right now, excepting the seemingly invincible Kelowna Rockets.
-One final WHL note to leave you off on. The Prince Albert Raiders fired their head coach, Cory Clouston, recently. Rumours abound that he has not been a popular man in any locker room he has stepped foot in (Yahoo sports indicated they had heard the Wheat Kings threw a party when they heard Clouston had been fired two years ago) and he lasted just 15 games into the season in Prince Albert. Yahoo also mentioned a rift between he and certain players, who asked for trades because of issues with him. It will be hard for him to get another job with that reputation hanging over his head. Yahoo also felt, however, that changes weren't done in Prince Albert. The team barely squeaked into the playoffs last year, and that was with German tower of power Leon Draisaitl in the lineup. The thinking is the raiders may trade Jets prospect Josh Morrissey as well. As junior teams often do, they may trade him to a contender if they playoffs don't appear to be a likely possibility. Ditto for the Kootenay Ice and their captain, recently returned Sam Reinhart. Could either of Reinhart or Morrissey find themselves in a Wheat Kings sweater after the trade deadline? It's possible. The Wheat Kings will want to load up for a deep playoff run, and Morrissey or Reinhart could be just the piece they need.
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