Sidney Crosby reaches another milestone, Andrew Cogliano makes history, and the Maple Leafs’ kryptonite comes in the form of a North York native. Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Wednesday.
Crosby reaches another milestone:
Sidney Crosby eats up the Philadelphia Flyers, so Wednesday’s game couldn’t have come at a better time for No. 87 despite the team’s eventual 4-1 defeat.
Just one goal shy of yet another career milestone, Crosby batted in his 300th NHL goal during the first period against cross-state rival Philadelphia. It was far from a beauty, but it was another notch in the belt of an already impressive career.
It also put him in some elite company in franchise history.
Despite it being a less than impressive year across the board for NHL scorers, the 27-year-old still leads the league in scoring with 80 points.
Here’s a nice little graphic from the Pittsburgh Penguins public relations staff on the year Crosby has had leading up to Wednesday’s contest.
Matt Moulson: Leaf Killer?
At this point in the season there’s probably a long list of people who’ve had their way with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but one name that might surprise you is Matt Moulson. The North York, Ont. native has feasted on the blue and white recently, and Wednesday’s affair was no different. Moulson potted the game’s tying goal, giving him seven points on the season vs the Leafs. This year was not an anomaly, though, as he has 11 goals and seven assists in his last 13 games against Toronto.
Moulson’s goal was just the tip of the iceberg for the Leafs, who blew a two-goal lead and continued their losing ways across the QEW in Buffalo.
He came in like a wrecking ball:
At 6-feet tall and 195 pounds, Chris Kunitz isn’t the name that comes to mind when you think of a thunderous forechecker. However, during Wednesday’s game against the Flyers he could’ve easily been mistaken for one. Kunitz came down the ice and laid a solid check on Philadelphia defenceman Nick Schultz, and in the process took out the glass on the boards. It didn’t exactly shatter like in NHL 94, but it was fun to see nonetheless.
Andrew Cogliano makes history:
It may be hard to believe, but Cogliano did something Wednesday that has never been done in the 35-year history of the Edmonton Oilers. Five minutes into the third period Oscar Klefbom slashed Cogliano’s stick on a breakaway leading to a penalty shot. This is what happened.
It may seem like a relatively ordinary goal in what would be a 5-1 Oilers loss, but it was the result that made it apart of franchise history.
