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Top-2: Sidney Crosby lays down the gloves for the 10th time in his career
Credit: It was a very quiet Friday night in the National Hockey League yesterday, with only two games on the schedule. The Winnipeg Jets visited the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Buffalo Sabres were in Anaheim to take on the Ducks. Here’s what caught the eye in both games. 1. Things are so bad in Pittsburgh that […]
It was a very quiet Friday night in the National Hockey League yesterday, with only two games on the schedule.

The Winnipeg Jets visited the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Buffalo Sabres were in Anaheim to take on the Ducks.

Here’s what caught the eye in both games.

1. Things are so bad in Pittsburgh that Sidney Crosby throws down the gloves

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a very bad first quarter of the season, and that doesn’t look set to change for the rest of the campaign.

Indeed, the Penguins are last in the Metropolitan Division and 26ᵉ in the NHL with a 7-11-4 record in 22 games, giving them the third-worst points percentage in the NHL at .409.

Things are really going badly for the Penguins, which is quite the opposite of yesterday’s opponent, the Winnipeg Jets, who are in first place in the NHL.

The Jets were in Pittsburgh last night, and won easily, 4-1, in a game in which the Penguins took just 18 shots on net.

What caught the eye in this game, however, was the fact that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby threw down the gloves against Kyle Connor.

Indeed, the two talented players came to blows in an unusual fight.

This is only the 10ᵉ time in his career that Crosby has thrown down the gloves, and it speaks volumes about his level of frustration this season.

In short, the Penguins are going straight to the wall, and will ultimately have no choice but to rebuild.

2. Sabres comeback sparked by Jiri Kulich’s overtime winner

Jiri Kulich is a name that probably rings a bell.

He has often been mentioned on this site, and my colleague Tony Patoine has always liked and defended him, especially compared to Filip Mesar, selected two spots higher by the Canadiens.

Indeed, Kulich was drafted 28ᵉ in 2022 by the Sabres, and since then has been following a very nice development curve, which hurts Habs fans who wanted him at 26ᵉ instead of Filip Mesar, whose development is more difficult.

This season, at 20, Kulich has made his way into the NHL, as he has played 11 games so far, alternating between the stands and the Sabres’ bottom-6.

Last night, he scored a very important goal, as he gave the Sabres an overtime win to complete the comeback against the Ducks.

It was his second goal and point of the season.

Meanwhile, Mesar is injured, which is a real shame because he was off to a great start with five points in five games.


Overtime

– Evgeni Nabokov is still in top form and showed it in the San Jose Sharks All-Star Game.

– Here are yesterday’s results.

– Here are yesterday’s top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today’s NHL schedule: 15 games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
(Credit: Google/NHL)

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