The Hamburglar won again. The Calgary Flames made mince meat out of the faltering Maple Leafs while the Anaheim Ducks beat the Minnesota Wild in a potential playoff preview.
Here are three things we learned in a relatively quiet Friday night in the NHL:
Andrew Hammond is ridiculous: I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but what more can the Ottawa Senators goaltender do? After a 34-save effort in Ottawa’s 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders, Hammond became the third goalie in NHL history to allow two of fewer goals in each of his first 10 career starts. The 27-year-old has still yet to lose a game in regulation time (9-0-1). It’s crazy to think that it was just a few months ago when Hammond was only being talked about for allowing three goals in 21 seconds in an AHL game. Feels like that was eons ago.
Leafs have major power play problems: Just when you thought the Maple Leafs’ play couldn’t get any uglier, the team allowed two goals on a five-minute power play against the Calgary Flames. This isn’t exactly a rarity, either. Toronto has allowed a league-high 34 short-handed goals since the start of the 2011-12 season. Who would’ve thought power plays would be so dangerous?
Rare rough night for Holtby: Braden Holtby’s resurgence under head coach Barry Trotz has been one of the best stories of the season, but Friday night was an outlier for the Washington Capitals goaltender. Holtby was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 22 shots. It was just the first time Holtby had been pulled since October. Justin Peters stopped all nine shots he faced in relief. Holtby had not allowed four goals in a start since Feb. 25. After the game, Trotz acknowledged that the team hasn’t been playing well of late.
