The Jets dominated the Leafs in a unique goaltending matchup, the Battle of New York hit closer to home, the Oilers stopped the streaking Bruins and the Lightning fought the force to edge the Ducks.
Here’s what we learned in the NHL on Wednesday night.
An unlikely goalie battle
Wednesday’s game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets featured a pretty unlikely goalie battle between netminders that began the season far down in their respective organizations’ depth charts.
Garret Sparks and Connor Hellebuyck each played their second career NHL games Wednesday night. The two goaltenders entered the game with similar backstories — both 22 years old, U.S.-born, coming off impressive wins in their respective debuts — but they exited the rink with very different outcomes.
Hellebuyck stopped 32 of 33 shots to become the second goalie in franchise history to start his career with back-to-back wins (Kari Lehtonen was the first, in March 2004). He showed plenty of poise behind his team, reinforcing the widespread belief that he is the team’s goalie of the future.
Sparks, coming off an emotional win in which he became the first Leafs goalie to earn a shutout in his debut, didn’t have as strong a second outing against the Jets.
“I lost my composure,” Sparks said after the 6-1 loss. “One of my best assets I would say is to put things behind me, and for whatever reason I just didn’t do that in the third period and I paid for it.”
The Leafs, however, can’t hang their loss on the rookie goalie, who came away with 29 saves. They lacked the structure they’ve been showcasing lately — a recent trend when playing the Jets.
The Jets continued their win streak against the Leafs, having not lost in regulation to Toronto since Feb. 7, 2013. In fact, the Leafs have just a single road victory in Winnipeg since the Jets returned north from Atlanta.
James Reimer is expected to start against the Minnesota Wild Thursday, while Jonathan Bernier attempts to regain his confidence with a stint in the AHL.
The goalie interference debate gets reignited
Goaltending was one of the main story lines heading into the game in Winnipeg, and it was one of the main talking points afterward.
Early in the third period, Nick Spaling stuffed a goal past Hellebuyck. Though the call on the ice was a good goal, a coach’s challenge from Jets head coach Paul Maurice brought on a lengthy review. (Watch the video at the top of this post.)
The result was an overturned call for a no-goal decision, citing goaltender interference. But was the right call made?
You can debate the contact between Tyler Myers, Daniel Winnik and Hellebuyck all you want — was Winnik pushed? — but the incident brings forward a bigger question about how the league can ensure as small a margin of error as possible when dealing with goal reviews.
Particularly, who has the final say? Should it be the on-ice officials, or those examining the play from Toronto’s NHL War Room? It seems it’s becoming increasingly clear that there’s a need for consistency one way or another.
Have your say:
This wasn’t the only crease controversy to happen Wednesday night…
The force is strong in Anaheim
It was Star Wars night in Anaheim, and the force was strong. Through much of the game, it appeared to side with the home team as the Lightning had two (yes, two!) goals disallowed in the second period alone.
First, at 7:15 in the period, a review revealed that Nikitia Kucherov’s stick made contact with the puck when it was above the cross-bar, resulting in a no-goal call.
Then, at 14:54, Alex Killorn shot a rebound past Ducks goalie John Gibson as the Ducks goalie was being knocked over by defender Hampus Lindholm. The call was no-goal, and was upheld following a Lightning challenge. Officials determined Ryan Callahan had pushed Lindholm into Gibson.
In the end, though, the force sided with Tampa Bay, who edged the Ducks 2-1 thanks to Jonathan Marchessault’s second-period tie-breaker.
Battle of New York hits Brooklyn
The storied Battle of New York began a new chapter Wednesday as the New York Rangers and New York Islanders faced off at Barclay’s Center for the first time since the Islanders made the move from Long Island at the start of the season. The game marked the Rangers’ first time playing as visitors in a New York City rink since 1942.
Lucky for fans, the new setting didn’t affect the plot. The game showcased the same kind of intensity we’re used to seeing between the rivals, though we’ll admit it ended somewhat anti-climatically with a shootout in favour of the Islanders.
We’re already looking forward to seeing their next matchup — another battle in Brooklyn — on Jan. 14.
Oilers find some depth to snap a streak
The Boston Bruins went into Edmonton hoping to notch a sixth-straight victory to continue their season-best win streak, but the Oilers made sure that didn’t happen, thanks in large part to Matt Hendricks and Mark Letestu, who each had a goal and an assist on the night.
It took a shootout to solve the game, but the Oilers managed to stump the Bruins. That calls for a hug:
Edmonton Oilers on Twitter
One streak that remains intact for the Bruins: Goaltender Tuukka Rask still has yet to lose to the Oilers in regulation.
