Sidney Crosby edged out Connor McDavid in a battle between superstars, another penalty shot was missed and Bob Murray made his coaching debut for a struggling Anaheim Ducks squad.
Here are three things we learned in the NHL Wednesday.
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Crosby is undefeated when facing McDavid
It was a battle between two of the NHL’s top talents as McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers took on Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
McDavid struck first with an assist on Leon Drasaitl’s 33rd goal of the season, bringing him into a tie with Chicago’s Patrick Kane for second in NHL scoring with 82 points. The Oilers’ captain’s helper also extended his point streak to eight games.
Crosby got the last laugh over McDavid, though, adding an assist of his own to help the Penguins earn a 3-1 victory over the Oilers on home ice.
No. 87 is now a perfect 6-0-0 against McDavid in his career. The Oilers’ phenom will have to wait until next season to try and earn his first career win against Pittsburgh, given the teams face each other only twice per campaign.
Penalty shots aren’t converted very often
You’d think converting penalty shot opportunities into goals would have a high success rate given there’s no defence in sight and only a goalie to beat.
Guess again.
McDavid nearly found the scoresheet after being awarded a penalty shot, but Penguins netminder Matt Murray had other ideas, robbing the Oilers’ captain with a highlight-reel glove save for one of his 38 stops on the night.
After McDavid’s miss, Sportsnet’s John Shannon noted that only nine of 29 attempted penalty shots this season have resulted in goals, which equates to a 31 per cent success rate.
For Murray and the rest of the NHL’s goaltenders, a statistic like that should certainly help boost egos and confidence levels to say the least.
Bob Murray makes an immediate impact
After losing 19 of their past 21 games, Ducks general manager Bob Murray determined action had to be taken into his own hands, literally.
Murray fired former head coach Randy Carlyle following the Ducks’ most recent loss, then inserted himself behind the bench to fulfill interim head coaching duties for the remainder of a forgettable campaign in Anaheim.
Well, the executive’s impact behind Anaheim’s bench was immediately felt, with the Ducks earning a much-needed win over the Vancouver Canucks to snap their seven game losing streak.
The Ducks’ fall down the standings these past two months has been one of hockey’s oddest stories this season and is all the more puzzling when you consider the club was a respectable 19-11-5 on Dec. 17.
While a playoff spot seems well out of reach at this point, hopefully Murray can use the weeks ahead to not only try coaching this team back to respectability, but also as a way to evaluate, from an executive’s standpoint, what talent on the roster is worth holding onto heading into next season and beyond.
One thing is for certain: Change is on the horizon in Anaheim.
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