Some day, 20 years from now, Rick Nash's firstborn son or daughter will be able to tell a pretty great story about the night they were born.
NHL Sunday: Maple Leafs, Kings earn 1st wins in style
Phil Kessel shined for Toronto, while Rick Nash stole the spotlight in a brief cameo.
After all, not many people can say their father had to leave a NHL hockey game to be there for their birth. And of those who can, even fewer can claim their father scored the opening goal. “Dad scored a goal on the night I was born.” That’s a story that kid will never tire of telling.
Of course, it appears Nash is about to give family members and fans alike plenty of stories to tell this season. He's tied for the league lead with four goals in just three games and finally seems healthy enough to set the pace of play again. For a New York team dealing with the offseason losses of Benoit Pouliot, Brad Richards and Brian Boyle, that's a stabilizing presence that could pay off in spades. He just needs to remain consistent with that scoring touch.
And there’s no reason to think he can’t. The guy just began the season with four goals and a baby. You can’t get a better start than that.
(H/T @MyRegularFace)
All the NHL Scores
Maple Leafs 6, Rangers 3
Three things we learned
1. Phil Kessel is just fine. Such is the nature of Toronto hockey that Kessel can't go pointless in the first two games of the season without being criticized for poor conditioning. It's slightly ridiculous for those kinds of barbs to be thrown this early, even for Leafs fans. Kessel was clearly fed up with it, telling a New York reporter before the game that he would score a goal. And so he did, adding two helpers to Toronto's 6-3 win against the Rangers. So calm down, Toronto.
2. Winnipeg can't even find solace in its backup netminder. It's almost universally accepted that starting goalie Ondrej Pavelec is pretty bad, and after a 3-0 loss on Saturday the Jets handed the reins over to rookie netminder Michael Hutchinson. "Hutch" quickly proceeded to give up three goals on 13 shots and got pulled halfway through the game. It's just one game, but if the Jets can't begin to rely on their backup consistently then it could be a very long season in Winnipeg.
3. The Rangers still have some kinks to work out. Captain Ryan McDonagh said the team needed to “get in sync,” and it showed. New York was unable to establish a consistent, effective forecheck and the Leafs were able to constantly attack as a result. Whether it’s an intercepted outlet pass or an untracked opponent left wide open, the Rangers clearly need to get on the same page before their losing streak spirals.
Impact Moment
The one dark spot in an otherwise bright performance for Toronto was James Reimer’s apparent head injury. After Dominic Moore’s hip collided with Reimer’s head, the Leafs goalie left the game and didn’t return. He told reporters after the game that he felt fine, but considering his past issues with concussions you have to worry about the Leafs’ long-term success if he goes down for a long time again.
The future: Leafs fire Carlyle, skaters finally start looking good, but injuries to Reimer/Bernier sink their goaltending. It's so obvious.
— Bower Power (@So_Truculent) October 13, 2014 Stat of the Night
On a night when their team gave up six goals, Martin St. Louis and Marc Staal somehow ended up with a plus-2.
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