We wrote yesterday morning about how Saturday was one of the most backwards nights of the season so far. Little did we know that weird hockey was the theme of the entire weekend.
NHL scores: Hurricanes, Sabres surprise as league’s worst defeat NHL’s best
The NHL’s dogs had their day.
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Consider the following: Buffalo beat Detroit, Carolina beat defending champion Los Angeles, Calgary walloped Montreal, Arizona destroyed the Caps, and Winnipeg beat Chicago with one goal. It doesn’t get much weirder than that.
If we're being honest, it is somewhat refreshing to watch these teams find success this weekend. After all, those teams (not including Buffalo) carry enough talented players that we expect them to be somewhat more competitive than they have been. And those players did manage to shine on Sunday. Elias Lindholm scored his first goal, Johnny Gaudreau and T.J. Brodie lit it up, Shane Doan dominated and Evander Kane showed signs of life. Heck, even some of the Sabres' kids looked crisper than they have all year.
Will the weirdness last? Absolutely not. But even the cellar dwellers have to win a few games in style every once and awhile, right? This weekend belonged to them.
All the NHL scores
Hurricanes 3, Kings 2
Sabres 3, Red Wings 2 (SO)
Jets 1, Blackhawks 0
3 Things We Learned
1. The NHL's basement dwellers are showing signs of life. Up until this weekend, Buffalo, Carolina and Winnipeg were in a dogfight for who could tank hardest for Connor McDavid. Now all three are riding pretty strong winning streaks after huge wins against legitimate playoff contenders. Buffalo eked out their first home win in a shootout with Detroit. Winnipeg somehow took down the Rangers and Blackhawks by scoring just two goals. And the lowly Hurricanes made the NHL's defending champions look silly. We don't know what to think anymore.
2. Dwayne Roloson is the goalie coach for the Anaheim Ducks. We learned that when John Gibson got hurt in warmups and Roloson had to suit up as Anaheim's backup netminder for the evening. Oh, if only the Avalanche had chased Jason Labarbera out of the net ...
Sup, Dwayne RT @ACcoryrosas: LOOK AT IT!!!!! pic.twitter.com/jHPA9bQFGH
— SB Nation NHL (@SBNationNHL) November 3, 2014
3. The Washington Capitals need a wakeup call. By all accounts, it appears coach Barry Trotz gave them one after their 6-5 loss at home against Arizona. It was an embarrassing effort against a struggling team that had just dropped games against two of the league’s worst clubs. Washington has now lost five of six after a 3-0-2 start. Trotz sounds like he’s pretty fed up with his team’s attitude:
“I’m not going to comment on it,” he said. “You guys have lived it more than I have. But I will say this: That behavior has to change or we have to change people. Plain and simple. To me it’s absolutely unacceptable. They have to fix it. It’s my job to fix the behavior. If they’re not going to fix it internally, then I’ll make sure I fix it.”
Impact Moment
Three impactful moments occurred off the ice on Sunday as the NHL Department of Player Safety cracked down on a few dangerous plays. Nashville's Anton Volchenkov was suspended four games for an illegal check to the head of Flames forward Michael Ferland. Kings bruiser Jordan Nolan will sit two games for boarding Red Wings forward Darren Helm. And Oilers captain Andrew Ference will face a disciplinary hearing (and a long suspension) for an illegal hit on Zack Kassian.
Individually, these suspensions might not seem too important. But collectively they represent a positive sign that the NHL is continuing to come down hard on reckless plays.
Stat of the Night
Does this count as a stat?:
If you bet $100 on a 4-team parlay on the Sabres, Hurricanes, Flames and Coyotes to win today, you would have won $5,755
— Andrew DeWitt (@AndrewRDeWitt) November 3, 2014 Post to Post
Yes, the Sabres won. But the Red Wings had a controversial game-winner waved off in overtime.
The Blackhawks got so frustrated they started audibly cussing.
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