Trade talk ruled the night, but Friday also featured some pretty cool highlights, too. To recap, here are a few things we learned around the league.
Granlund and Staal strike chemistry
Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to do a little experiment while making up the lines for Friday’s contest against the New York Rangers: Put Eric Staal and Mikael Granlund together, and see what happens.
“I thought let’s try it for a period and see how it goes,” Boudreau told reporters after his team’s big 4-1 win. “And they were pretty good.”
“Pretty good” is certainly an understatement. The aim was to boost Mikael Granlund out of his month-long goal drought, and with two goals and two assists on the night, it worked.
“He’s a guy that when you can see him feeling it, you want to be out there with him and you want to try and get him some touches,” Staal, whose stat line matched that of Granlund, told reporters after the game. “He seems to make things happen and tonight, the puck seemed to be following him around a little bit once he got that first one.
“He’s one of those guys that when he gets the offensive vibes going, he can be a difference maker.”
Looks like Boudreau’s job just got a whole lot easier.
Penguins win the entire night
The entire Pittsburgh Penguins organization had a busy night on Friday. Not only did the team win big over the Carolina Hurricanes thanks to two goals from U.S. women’s hockey star Amanda Kessel’s brother, the front office got itself a victory as well when it acquired centre Derick Brassard from the Ottawa Senators via the Vegas Golden Knights in a (super complicated) three-team trade.
The trade, which unfolded over the course of the evening after the league told the trio of teams to rework the deal, sends defenceman Ian Cole to Ottawa and forward Ryan Reaves to Vegas and also features a number of picks and prospects changing hands. The most intriguing part of the deal is not just that the Golden Knights are retaining 40 per cent of Brassard’s salary… but why they’re doing it. Sportsnet’s John Shannon tweeted in the aftermath of the trade that he believes Vegas wanted to prevent Brassard from heading to a dangerous Western Conference opponent in Winnipeg. (Have you watched the Jets lately? Can’t say we blame ’em.)
Hellebuyck makes history
Speaking of the Jets, they had a pretty strong showing on Friday night against the St. Louis Blues. Captain Blake Wheeler reached a new personal best in assists (53), No. 29 scored his 29th of the season, and Connor Hellebuyck was a brick wall.
Hellebuyck’s 34-save shutout was his sixth of the season, which is a franchise record.
The Other Karlsson steals the show
We’re talking a lot about Erik Karlsson these days, but let’s check in with the other Karlsson for a minute — you know, the one not rumoured as a potential blockbuster trade deadline target.
William Karlsson has been simply spectacular this season in Vegas, with his tremendous stat line just as surprising as the Golden Knights’.
The 25-year-old had six goals and 19 assists with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016-17 before being selected in the NHL Expansion Draft, and he’s already got 33 goals this year as he stars on the NHL’s newest team. He had two on Friday against the Canucks, ranking him third in that category league-wide. And boy, is he fun to watch.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled Erik Karlsson speculation.
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