All four Canadian teams were victorious on Friday.
Carey Price returned from injury, Nazem Kadri broke his scoring slump and Leon Draisaitl continued to turn heads.
Here are five things we learned in the NHL.
Phaneuf exacts revenge on Hurricanes
Some may recall that Dion Phaneuf and the Carolina Hurricanes had a run-in last season. The Maple Leafs defenceman hit Jordan Staal with a solid body check before dropping the gloves and fighting his brother. Eric, in the final moments of the game, took a slapshot in Phaneuf’s direction and gave him a look as the Hurricanes skated away with the victory.
Friday was Phaneuf’s opportunity at some retribution. The Leafs’ captain reminded the Hurricanes of his ability to hit hard in open ice by taking down two of their skaters in the same period.
The Leafs and Hurricanes went all the way to shootout where Toronto came out on top, winning 2-1.
Blue Jackets bury Predators on the ice, canvas
The Columbus Blue Jackets have found a new way to troll their opponents with these game day posters. On Friday, they didn’t disappoint with this offering ahead of their tilt with the Nashville Predators.
The Jackets stormed out of the gate by scoring two on their first two shots and three on their first nine despite losing two defencemen to injury. Meanwhile, coach John Tortorella must have been smiling as his club blocked 14 shots in the first period alone.
The Blue Jackets won 4-0 on the strength of Sergei Bobrovsky‘s first shutout of the season. Columbus was outshot 39-18.
Bobrovsky later got a little philosophical about this sprawling save on James Neal.
Price returns from injury, chases Halak…again
Mike Condon, an unknown goaltender before winning the backup job with the Canadiens in training camp, was thrown into nine games of action in the absence of an injured Carey Price. He went 5-2-2 and impressed with his durability.
Carey Price, though.
The Hart and Vezina trophy winner made 33 saves as Montreal hung on for a 4-3 win, tying them with the Dallas Stars atop the NHL standings. Once again, Price’s presence chased Jaroslav Halak from a hockey rink as the Islanders goaltender allowed three goals on 11 shots.
It was a fun holiday while it lasted, Eastern Conference.
Kadri breaks scoring slump
Nazem Kadri has been shooting the puck this season. Right at the goalies.
His scoring slump has been analyzed if only for the notable fact that he sits tied for second in shots on goal while having only scored one before Friday’s game. His goal came with 3:33 remaining in the third period to even the contest 1-1.
It was his 83rd shot of the season and his first goal in 16 games.
James Reimer, meanwhile, has been OK recently.
Draisaitl doubling down
Incredibly, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has six multi-point games in the 10 that he’s played in the NHL this season, including Friday night’s game.
He finished off a beautiful rush with Taylor Hall and assisted on two other goals.
The Oilers defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 Friday for just their third win in November.
