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Top-5: The Habs can thank Makar and MacKinnon, who took care of the Blue Jackets
Marc-Olivier Cook
Top-5: The Habs can thank Makar and MacKinnon, who took care of the Blue Jackets
Credit: The Habs accomplished their mission last night by beating the Bruins at the Centre Bell. But there was also action elsewhere in the NHL. Let’s see what happened: The @EdmontonOilers closed off a nine-game Thursday by keeping pace with the Kings in the Pacific Division, ahead of their crucial head-to-head outing Saturday in Los Angeles.#NHLStats: […]
The Habs accomplished their mission last night by beating the Bruins at the Centre Bell.

But there was also action elsewhere in the NHL.

Let’s see what happened:

1: The Habs can thank the Avalanche

The Habs’ win was important last night, but we were also watching the Senators and the Blue Jackets in the playoff race in the East.

And the Habs were “lucky” in a way because the Blue Jackets lost 7-3 to the Avalanche.

The Senators beat the Lightning… but that’s not bad: the Habs’ win (in regulation, too) combined with Columbus’ loss means the Habs now have a four-point lead over the Blue Jackets in the standings, who still have a game in hand.

Things are getting interesting…

(Credit: NHL.com)

At this point, we can really believe it’s going to come down to the Habs, the Blue Jackets, and the Rangers.

The Red Wings and Islanders are starting to fall behind… and unless there’s a miracle, I don’t see them coming back to secure a playoff spot.

2: Jeremy Swayman… wow!

The Habs played well against the Bruins last night.

But in Boston’s loss… we have to mention Jeremy Swayman’s completely crazy save.

It’s one of the saves of the year in the NHL, after all:

Jeremy Swayman has the talent to win games on his own… but it’s really tough right now.

And it shows in the team’s performance, which has now lost 10 straight games.

The Bruins are last in the East and also 29th in the overall NHL standings this morning.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen this…

3: Cale Makar is sensational

We can agree on one thing: Cale Makar is the best defenseman in the world right now.

And it’s not even close.

The Avalanche defenseman took advantage of his visit to Columbus last night to reach the 30-goal plateau in the National League.

He helped his team beat the Blue Jackets 7-3:

The last time a defenseman scored 30 goals in an NHL season was Mike Green in 2008-2009.

But Cale Makar is a special player, and we’re seeing it right now. The Avalanche has the luxury of having two of the best players in the world in their lineup…

At this level, note that Nathan MacKinnon finished the night with three points (one goal and two assists), just like Makar.

MacKinnon now has 114 points this season and leads the NHL in that category, ahead of Nikita Kucherov (111 points):

4: The Blues had a close call, but…

We’re heading to the end of the game between the Penguins and the Blues.

The Blues are leading 4-3… but Rutger McGroarty hasn’t had the last word yet.

The Penguins prospect scored with just under 35 seconds left to tie the game:

The Blues had a close call, but they still found a way to sign their 11th straight win (!).

It was Robert Thomas who played the hero in overtime:

In the Blues’ win, we should also note this: Jimmy Snuggerud got his first career point in the NHL with an assist on Jake Neighbours’ 21st goal of the season.

Well done!

5: Wyatt Johnston is on fire

Wyatt Johnston, without making too much noise, is terrorizing NHL goalies.

Why do I say that?

Because before the Stars’ game against the Preds, the young Stars player had scored in five straight games.

And he kept it up last night:

Johnston helped the Stars beat the Predators 5-1.

And…

And in the win, Mikko Rantanen reached the 700-point plateau in the National League. He became the third-fastest Finnish player to achieve the feat:


Overtime

– Tough night for Leon Draisaitl.

– Wow.

– Big win for the Flames.

– Nice play.

– The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: NHL.com)

– We’re keeping an eye on the Wings and Islanders tonight:

(Credit: Google)
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