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Top-5: Nikita Kucherov expelled from the game for a vicious kneeing on Matthew Tkachuk.

 Mathis Therrien
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Top-5: Nikita Kucherov expelled from the game for a vicious kneeing on Matthew Tkachuk.
Credit: Getty Images
Yesterday, on this last day of action in the National Hockey League before the holiday break, we had 13 games.

26 teams were therefore in action one last time before going to unwrap their gifts.

Here are the various highlights that caught our attention yesterday.

1. Kucherov expelled from the game for a vicious knee-on-knee hit on Matthew Tkachuk

The Battle of Florida was on the agenda last night, and true to form, it did not disappoint.

Indeed, we know that the two teams do not like each other, which always results in a lot of intensity and animosity.

Even the star players get involved in the physical and dirty play in this type of game.

This was the case last night, as after scoring his 15th goal of the season and 50th point in 30 games, Nikita Kucherov delivered a vicious knee hit to Matthew Tkachuk.

Here’s the goal.

And here’s Kucherov’s dirty hit, which cost him a five-minute major penalty and an ejection from the game.

Fortunately for the Panthers, Tkachuk returned to the game, so it was more fear than harm.

Let’s see now if Kucherov will be suspended for this clearly deliberate and disgusting act.

As for the game itself, the Lightning won 4-0, with Jonas Johansson stopping all 36 shots from the Panthers.

2. Sidney Crosby ties a franchise record held by Mario Lemieux

Last night, while the Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a 7-3 victory against their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby achieved quite a feat.

Sure, he got four points, but what stands out is that he registered three assists.

With his three assists, Crosby tied Mario Lemieux and equaled the franchise record for the most assists in Pittsburgh Penguins history.

Crosby and Lemieux both have 1,033 assists.

Here’s the pass that allowed Crosby to tie Lemieux.

This is quite an achievement to catch up to Mario Lemieux in a statistic.

It speaks volumes about Sidney Crosby’s career and how much of a legend he is in the sport.

3. Jacob Markstrom records a second consecutive shutout with 12 saves

The New Jersey Devils are back in full force this season, largely due to having solved their major goaltending issue from last season that cost them a playoff spot.

Indeed, Jacob Markstrom (and even Jake Allen) is really solid in front of the Devils’ net, regardless of the action he faces.

Sometimes, Markstrom needs to save a game, but other times, he barely has to do anything to help his team.

This was the case in the last two games, as the Devils’ goaltender has now recorded two consecutive shutouts with 12 saves each.

On Saturday, in a 3-0 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and last night in a 5-0 victory against the New York Rangers.

Speaking of the Rangers, things are not getting better in New York, as even with shaking things up by trading Kaapo Kakko or benching Chris Kreider, the Rangers continue to lose miserably.

The Rangers are currently five points out of the playoffs and have only two points more than the Montreal Canadiens, with the same number of games played.

In short, things are really bad for the Blue Shirts, and the New Jersey Devils did not hesitate to mock them last night.

Indeed, they taunted Kaapo Kakko’s selection in 2019 by showing on the big screen the reaction of Rangers fans during that selection, then showing Jack Hughes on the bench smiling.

The Devils fans also chanted Kaapo Kakko’s name throughout the evening.

In short, nothing is going well for the Rangers, much to the delight of their rivals.

4. The Sabres finally end their horrible losing streak

And there you have it, the Buffalo Sabres have finally won a hockey game, as they ended their streak of 13 consecutive losses by demolishing the New York Islanders 7-1.

The Sabres managed to get Islanders fans to leave well before the end of the game.

This is a harsh defeat for the Patrick Roy’s Islanders, who remain five points out of the playoff picture while having the worst special teams in the entire NHL.

Patrick Roy did everything he could to get his team back in the game, pulling his goalie with 11 minutes remaining in the game while trailing 5-1.

It should also be noted that despite the 7-1 loss, Roy stated that his team did not play as poorly as the score indicated.

5. Hat trick for Dylan Holloway

Since joining the St. Louis Blues via the offer sheets submitted to the Edmonton Oilers, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg have really blossomed.

The two former Oilers seem to be thriving with the Blues, especially in Holloway’s case.

In 89 career games with the Oilers, Holloway had only nine goals and 18 points in the regular season.

And now this season, before yesterday’s game, Holloway had already surpassed his career best with more goals (10) and more points (19) in 35 games with the Blues.

And yesterday, the former Oilers player scored his first career hat trick in a 4-0 win for the St. Louis Blues against the Detroit Red Wings.

In short, Holloway seems to be really enjoying his time in St. Louis, and it’s great to see the 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft bloom like this at age 23.


Overtime

– Ouch. John Gibson had to leave the game after this incident. Hopefully, he is not seriously injured.

– Elias Pettersson’s health status remains to be monitored closely with the Canucks.

– Here are all the results from yesterday.

– Here are the top scorers from yesterday.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– On the agenda tonight: Christmas Eve!

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