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Top-5: Brady Tkachuk freaks out over an empty net after the game is over
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
There were 11 games on the program yesterday in the National Hockey League, and there were plenty of interesting highlights.

The 22 teams in action put on a great show.

Here are the highlights of yesterday’s games.

1. Brady Tkachuk lashes out at Nico Hischier

The Ottawa Senators are having another catastrophic season, and for the umpteenth time, we expected them to perform well and get closer to the playoffs.

Yet they’re still in the bottom half of the NHL.

Last night, they lost again, this time 4-3 to the New Jersey Devils.

What caught the eye, however, was what happened after the siren signaling the end of the game.

Devils captain Nico Hischier was seen calmly depositing the puck into the Senators’ empty net.

It seemed like an innocent gesture, but Brady Tkachuk was furious.

The Senators captain completely lost it and went after Hischier.

Well, well, a scrum in connection with a goal in an empty net involving the Ottawa Senators seems like something we’ve seen before.

It’s clearly reminiscent of the Ridly Greig situation, in which a slap shot was fired into the Toronto Maple Leafs’ empty net a few months ago.

Morgan Rielly retaliated with a dangerous blow to the head.

In short, it’s quite funny to see Tkachuk get so angry over a much less arrogant empty net, when he found Ridly Greig’s gesture so funny.

Tkachuk continues to stir up trouble (sometimes for nothing), which makes us wonder about his captaincy.

2. Brady Tkachuk sets NHL record with 16 body checks in a single game

In the same game, Brady Tkachuk also drew attention for his physical play.

He served up 16 checks during the game, which is a new NHL record, surpassing Nikita Zadorov’s 15 on March 22, 2018.

Here are Tkachuk’s 16 body checks.

In any case, you can’t blame the Senators captain for not being physically involved.

3. Six goals by defensemen for the Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets tied an NHL record last night, as their defensemen scored six goals in a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

All their goals were scored by defensemen in this game.

Zach Werenski and Damon Severson both scored two goals, while Nick Blankenburg and Erik Gudbrandson each scored one.

It’s a rare feat to see so many defensemen score in a game.

But it’s a feat that doesn’t please John Tortorella and Flyers fans, who lose another game and are officially out of the playoff picture right now.

4. Crucial wins for Penguins and Islanders

The playoff race in the NHL conference is VERY tight, and every day things can change.

Yesterday, with the Flyers defeated, the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders took advantage of the situation to both advance to the playoffs with a very important victory respectively.

The Penguins won 5-4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Islanders beat the Nashville Predators 2-0.

The Penguins can thank Sidney Crosby, who scored his 40ᵉ goal of the season. It is the third time in his career he has reached this plateau.

The Islanders, meanwhile, can say thank you to Semyon Varlamov.

5. First career hat trick for William Eklund

The San Jose Sharks are having the worst season in the NHL.

The team’s fans don’t have much to cheer about, which makes it all the more difficult.

At least they can celebrate good performances from their young players, as was the case yesterday, when William Eklund scored his first career hat trick in a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.

Eklund represents the future of the Sharks, so seeing him perform is encouraging. He has 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists) in 74 games.

The 21-year-old Swede has helped the Sharks record only their second win in their last 13 games.

Extension

– Incredible.

– Quite a shot from Connor Bedard.

– Anton Lundell could be suspended for this gesture.

– Charlie McAvoy made sure to avenge his teammate discreetly, as he took Lundell down while heading to the penalty box.

– Here are the results from the previous day.

– When it comes to the previous day’s top scorers, the NHL Stats tab is in trouble right now.

– On today’s NHL schedule: nine games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)

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