Only three games were played last night, but Erik Karlsson’s injury stole headlines from each of the results. We’ll get to that in a bit, but first let’s get to the scores and answer some questions.
NHL Scores: Senators lose Karlsson for a long time
That was painful to watch.
Grant Halverson
All The NHL Scores
Get caught up on last night’s NHL scores with recaps from our network of SB Nation team blogs. Here’s a quick glance at the full night of action:
Five Answers
Prior to last night’s games, we presented five burning questions regarding the night’s action. Here are your cool, soothing answers.
1. Do Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen play for Pittsburgh?
According to the roster they do. Kidding aside, both Letang and Niskanen suited up for the Penguins last night. Neither had any real impact though. They each registered only one shot on goal.
2. As the Blues hit the road, can they possibly turn their February around?
It didn't get off to the greatest of starts for St. Louis (rookie Jake Allen let in his first NHL goal on the first shot of the game) but they rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Wings in overtime. The key? The Blues came back in the second period and were hard to play against. They were more physical and played a more intense checking game, and they got results. We'll see if that continues on Friday against the Flames.
3. Can Dallas win the back half of a back-to-back?
Not even close. The Stars looked weary and lost in the first period and immediately found themselves down by three goals after the first period. The Flames didn’t let up and ended up winning, 7-4. Give Dallas credit for pulling it back together in the final two periods, but they have to find some way to play sound hockey in these back-to-backs if they are going to survive February.
4. Can Pittsburgh rebound from a rough weekend?
The Penguins got contributions from each of their stars in the convincing win. Sidney Crosby and James Neal both contributed three points and Neal, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were a combined +5 with 10 shots on goal. But overall it was a complete game for Pittsburgh and a good rebound after the weekend.
5. Will Detroit get scoring from all four lines as they did last time against the Blues?
The first two goals for Detroit were from their bottom two lines, as Tomas Tatar and Drew Miller got on the scoresheet. Pavel Datsyuk notched Detroit's third goal. It certainly seems like Detroit is balanced offensively up and down the roster at the moment.
Impact Moment
What moment from last night’s games will be making headlines in the coming days?
Erik Karlsson’s injury last night might be the impact moment of the season so far. No one player is more important to their team’s success than the Senators’ Norris Trophy winner, so this was quite the gut punch last night:
It was a cringe-worthy injury and a devastating one for Ottawa, as Karlsson suffered a lacerated Achilles and will require surgery. Who knows when he'll be back. Suddenly the Senators are without Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Erik Karlsson. It's a nightmare scenario for that organization.
Stat of the Night
Sidney Crosby tallied his 400th career assist.
Post to Post
- Travis Hughes argues that Matt Cooke did not intentionally injure Karlsson.
- Alex Goligoski is not improving, according to Defending Big D.
- Finally, the moment in this Silver Seven game thread when Karlsson is injured is just sad and makes me want to hug a Senators fan immediately.
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