No offense to Maple Leafs fans, but it was good to finally get around to actual hockey games on Tuesday.
2015 NHL scores: Varlamov stifles Blackhawks while Patrik Elias sets milestones
Hockey got weird in a busy Tuesday around the league.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
When Randy Carlyle was fired as Toronto’s head coach early in the afternoon, the tone for the rest of the day was essentially set. Leafs fans (and anyone who follows analytic numbers closely) cheered and breathed sighs of relief. But the narrative eventually turned ugly.
The blogosphere attacked Carlyle. Players fought the media. Media fought the players. Media fought bloggers. Ron Wilson fought everyone. You get the picture.
So we must admit that we were relieved once the puck dropped and everyone could enjoy actual hockey again. Why fight each other when Patrik Elias is setting milestones, small hockey players are riding horses (more on that later) and people are making jokes about Pavel Datsyuk being Harry Potter?
You know, when you put all of the day’s news together it turns out Tuesday was one of the weirdest days of the season in the NHL. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
All the NHL Scores
Predators 3, Hurricanes 2
Blue Jackets 4, Stars 2
Avalanche 2, Blackhawks 0
Three things we learned
1. Semyon Varlamov stood on his head. Varlamov set an NHL record by pitching a 54-save shutout on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks. That's no small task; the 'Hawks had outscored opponents 12-10 in their last three games. Chicago might have been leaking goals, but they were putting them past opposing netminders enough to make up for it. Varlamov put an end to that routine with authority on Tuesday.
2. Pekka Rinne has eyes in the back of his head. Either that, or he has a camera in the back of his helmet. Or maybe he's a Jedi. Look, we're just having a tough time explaining how on Earth he managed to stop a goal while his back was turned.
3. Marc-Edouard Vlasic saves the Sharks again. On Monday, the Sharks defenseman scored in the dying seconds of regulation to beat the Winnipeg Jets. On Tuesday, Vlasic scored the overtime winner for San Jose in Minnesota. Vlasic sure knows how to get the Sharks out of a pickle.
Impact Moment
We could probably mention the delicious run-in between Phil Kessel and the Toronto media here, but we're going to keep this section focused on the ice. And the moment with the scariest impact had to be Brayden Schenn's run-in with a teammate's skate blade.
How Schenn didn’t bleed everywhere and didn’t get seriously injured is beyond us. Remember that this is the second skate blade incident for Philadelphia in the past few weeks. Hockey is dangerous, folks.
Stat Numbers of the Night
A New Jersey Devils legend continued to rack up the milestones.
Elias with his stick, the puck for his 600th assist and the puck for his 1,000th point. pic.twitter.com/kYRn7OQxRi
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) January 7, 2015 Oh, and he’s one goal away from 400 in his career. What a guy.
Post to Post
- The New York Rangers spent their free time on Tuesday riding merry-go-rounds.
- Hockey referees are just as tough as players.
- Sidney Crosby, Claude Giroux and a bunch of other NHL stars played a pickup game with sled hockey players. Pretty cool gesture!
- Finally, think good thoughts for Zach Parise and his family. Parise left the Wild to be with his ailing father, former North Stars great J.P. Parise.
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