A couple of stars snapped slumps, a dad shone for his ailing daughter, and the Flames may have a new No. 1.
Here are five things we learned in the NHL Wednesday.
Cammalleri’s heartwarming return
New Jersey Devils forward Michael Cammalleri was out of the lineup for six games for “personal reasons” which were only revealed Wednesday. His daughter was suffering from a severe case of pneumonia that required her to have surgery.
“It’s your worst nightmare but we’re fortunate she’s going to make a full recovery,” Cammalleri told reporters at the morning skate.
That surgery was successful and the winger returned to the Devils’ lineup with an apparent surge in dad strength as he potted a goal and three assists in a 5-4 Devils win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Prior to Wednesday’s game, Cammalleri had scored just three goals and five points in 12 games this season, which was disappointing given his 38 points in 42 games last year. Here’s hoping he gets back on track and his daughter stays healthy.
Way to go, Mike.
Matthews busts slump
Like Connor McDavid before him, Auston Matthews snapped an extended scoring slump with a superb performance, scoring twice and adding an assist in the Maple Leafs‘ loss to New Jersey. The rookie had four shots on goal in 16:34 of ice time.
It’s already the second time Matthews has scored multiple goals only to see the Leafs lose 5-4 (the same score of opening night against Ottawa.)
All three of his points came in the first period.
Matthews now has 16 points in 20 games. He hadn’t scored since Oct. 25 against the Lightning but took 45 shots on goal in the 13 games over that period.
Another thing we learned from this game was that Devils goalie Cory Schneider watched shootout footage of the Leafs’ previous attempts just prior to the skills competition.
It seemingly worked as Schneider stopped all three Toronto shooters.
Crosby’s statement game
We were all ready for Sidney Crosby to be a world-beater this season after the 2016 that he’s had so far. Then he got hurt. Then he came back. And he’s been a world-beater, just like we thought.
In his 14th game of the year, Crosby scored two goals and an assist, dropped the gloves, and took six shots on goal in just 16:39 of ice time. For reference, it took me 8:29 just write, rewrite, and edit this sentence.
Yes, Sid dropped the gloves, though it didn’t register as a five-minute major for fighting.
Crosby now has 14 goals in 14 games to lead the league in that category. Patrik Laine, Michael Grabner, and Alex Ovechkin are all at 12 but each have played at least five more games than Crosby.
The Penguins scored five goals in the second period and six unanswered as they smoked the New York Rangers 6-1.
Kuznetsov finally breaks out
While the story of this game was Ovechkin’s explosive hat trick performance, it was last season’s 10th highest scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov who needed a win more than most.
Kuznetsov was stellar last year, scoring 20 goals and 77 points before a late-season slump and a bunch of zeroes in the playoffs. He started 2016-17 similarly, scoring just two goals and seven points in 18 games.
Wednesday, he broke out, scoring once and adding an assist. But the numbers only say so much.
Let’s leave the final word for Ovi himself:
The Great 8’s trick, by the way, came in under 16 minutes on the ice. He’s already skated for less than 16 minutes four times this year.
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Chad Johnson, Flames’ #1?
When the Calgary Flames traded for Brian Elliott in the offseason, it was seen as a crafty move. The Flames would theoretically solve their goaltending issues in the short term while not having to commit long-term to a goalie with an expiring contract.
Only Elliott started the season poorly and the Flames had to resort to using their backup.
Enter Chad Johnson.
After shutting out the Columbus Blue Jackets Wednesday, the 30-year-old veteran is now 6-3-1 and has started the last five straight for Calgary, recording two shutouts and four wins.
(And prior to Wednesday’s games…)
Johnson was asked by Sportsnet’s Roger Millions after the game if this is the best he’s ever played in the NHL.
“I don’t know — today I felt good and that’s all that really matters,” he said.
That’s true. Sometimes a string of good play and a little extra coverage (you’re welcome, Chad) can help with that next contract or just another start in goal.
But Johnson, ICYMI, has been quite serviceable over his 111-game career. He went 17-4-3 with a 2.10 GAA and a .925 save percentage in 2013-14 with Boston and won 22 games last season with Buffalo.
But he won today, and for the Flames, that’s all that matters.
