Hockey

Top-5: Kyle Palmieri injures himself, but completes a pass on the way to the locker room
Mathis Therrien
Top-5: Kyle Palmieri injures himself, but completes a pass on the way to the locker room
Credit: Twitter screenshot

Yesterday was a very busy day in the National Hockey League, as we head into the American Thanksgiving weekend.

There were 15 games on the schedule yesterday, meaning that only two teams in the entire league were not in action.

Here's what we can take away from this busy day of hockey.

1. A crazy sequence for Kyle Palmieri

It was the most incredible sequence I've ever seen in last night's 4-3 shootout loss by the New York Islanders to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Trailing 3-0 in the second period, the Islanders saw forward Kyle Palmieri injure himself on the edge of the boards in the offensive zone.

Palmieri looked unwell, and struggled to make his way back to the bench.

However, just before leaving the ice, on one leg, Palmieri manages to steal the puck from a Flyers defender, and then pass it back to Jonathan Drouin.

The action continued, and Emil Heineman found the back of the net with a magnificent shot.

So Palmieri got an assist on a goal, as he made his way lamely to his bench, and subsequently to the dressing room.

It's a completely insane sequence that deserves to be seen over and over again, and will certainly go down as one of the best games of the year.

2. Elias Pettersson scores goal of the year

The Vancouver Canucks are in trouble again this season, heading straight for the wall and not the playoffs.

At least, if there's one positive element to this Canucks season, it's that Elias Pettersson seems to be back in form, as he's once again producing at a respectable rate.

Pettersson has 22 points, including eight goals, in 25 games.

And yesterday, he demonstrated the full extent of his talent by scoring what could prove to be the goal of the year against the San Jose Sharks.

A magnificent goal that combines a shot while lying down, but also a superb in-flight puck recovery while spinning around.

In short, Pettersson is confident, but that doesn't stop the Canucks from losing, as they did yesterday, losing 3-2 to the Sharks.

3. Matthew Schaefer continues to impress

I've already mentioned the game between the Islanders and Flyers with the Kyle Palmieri sequence, but I'll come back to it to talk about Matthew Schaefer.

The Islanders' rookie defenseman has been nothing short of impressive this season, dominating at just 18 years of age.

He may have been the first overall pick in the last draft, but he's really making hockey fans sit up and take notice.

Yesterday, he scored his 8th goal of the season and added an assist, joining Ivan Demidov and Beckett Sennecke in a tie for first place among rookie scorers with 18 points.

Eight goals is good for first among rookie scorers, ahead of Oliver Kapanen's and Beckett Sennecke's seven goals, as well as being a record for an under-20 defenseman after his first 25 NHL games.

In short, Schaefer is truly impressive, and it's obvious that he's the current frontrunner for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the Rookie of the Year.

4. Mason McTavish and the Ducks have fun

If there's one surprise team in the NHL this season, it's the Anaheim Ducks, who are performing far beyond expectations.

Indeed, the Ducks are playing some excellent hockey this season, and their first-place finish in the Pacific Division is entirely deserved, and not due to luck.

In fact, they defended that first-place finish in style last night, with a 5-4 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings, who are currently in second place in the Pacific Division.

The Ducks trailed all game, but always found a way to come back, especially late in the game, when Leo Carlsson tied the game with just over a minute remaining.

Note that Leo Carlsson had three points in this game, giving him 33 points, including 13 goals, in 24 games, good for 4th in the NHL, and equivalent to a 113-point pace over an 82-game season.

Anyway, let's move on to the shootout, where another Ducks prodigy put on a show, as Mason McTavish pulled off a superb deke at the expense of Darcy Kuemper.

In short, the Ducks are really fun to watch this season.

5. Auston Matthews humiliates Alex Ovechkin

The Toronto Maple Leafs were in Washington last night to take on the Capitals, and true to form, the Leafs choked.

They blew a 2-0 lead, only to lose 4-2 and remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

The only bright spot in the game for the Leafs was Auston Matthews' fine play to avoid Alex Ovechkin's check on Matthew Knies' goal.

Ovi looked crazy on the sequence, but in the end, he'll have had the last laugh, as the Caps prevailed.

Jakob Chychrun has 13 points in his last ten games.


Overtime

– Here are all yesterday's results.

– Here are yesterday's top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today's NHL schedule: 11 games.

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