3 things we learned in the NHL: Flyers get back on the nice list

Joonas Korpisalo made 39 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets handed the Toronto Maple Leafs their fourth straight road loss.

There were just three games on the NHL schedule, but plenty of pretty goals to choose from.

Here are three things we learned around the league on Wednesday night.

Marner scores a beauty vs. Blue Jackets

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered their fourth straight road loss on Wednesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, falling 4-2.

The home team displayed excellent goaltending from backup Joonas Korpisalo and his 39 saves, but no one could stop Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner on this gorgeous end-to-end goal in the third.

It was just his fourth goal of the season, but his second straight — he had a goal and three assists Tuesday afternoon against Carolina — and boy, was it pretty.

Couturier gets a personal best

The Philadelphia Flyers rebounded nicely from their November slump, enjoying a string of six straight wins earlier this month and getting another two points Wednesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. The Flyers have now won seven of nine games in December to get back into relevance.

Wednesday’s win came courtesy of Sean Couturier’s tie-breaker in the third period, which also gave the forward a personal best. The goal was Couturier’s 16th this season, which not only leads the team in that category, but is his highest goal total in a single season so far in his career — and we’re just 33 games into the campaign.

The 23-year-old also has 15 assists so far this season for 31 points.

Couturier wasn’t the only Flyer to shine on Wednesday, as captain Claude Giroux put together another three-point game to help the Flyers to victory.

Schenn matches Marner

It’s safe to say St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn didn’t see Marner’s gorgeous goal before he hit the ice to take on the Calgary Flames, but he certainly put himself in the running for goal-of-the-night honours when he made his way through the Flames zone early in the second period and sent a rocket of a wrist shot past Calgary netminder Mike Smith:

Schenn’s goal didn’t get the Blues a victory, as the Flames earned a much-needed (and somewhat rare) home win, 2-1.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.