Look, I’m not suggesting Henrik Sedin was purposely holding himself back just to set up the perfect moment on Friday. I’m implying that if he did, we would all love him anyway.
NHL scores 2017: Henrik Sedin times his milestone perfectly for a special moment
The 1,000th point was truly the sweetest.
Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Because it was a great moment.
The captain of the Vancouver Canucks became the 85th NHL player to ever reach 1,000 career points on Friday. For context: Markus Naslund, long regarded as the best Canuck of all time until the Sedin twins came along, plateaued at 869 points (756 with Vancouver). Henrik will go down as Vancouver’s gold standard, even more so than his brother.
And as gold standards go, his 1,000th-point moment was perfect:
To recap:
- It was a beautifully designed play. Tic-tac-toe. Just like all of the best Sedin goals.
- The primary assist was from Daniel. C’mon.
- And the goal was against Roberto Luongo. The guy Henrik inherited the captaincy from, and the third part of the Canucks leadership triumvirate on all of those playoff teams.
Henrik and Daniel will always occupy a uniquely special place in NHL history. It’s fitting that Henrik’s latest milestone felt that way too.
Scores
Sabres 3, Red Wings 2
Penguins 7, Hurricanes 1
Blackhawks 1, Bruins 0
Canadiens 3, Devils 1
Predators 3, Oilers 2 (SO)
Canucks 2, Panthers 1
Three Things We Learned
1. The Oilers and Predators can throw the body around
Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
By the time all was said and done in Edmonton on Friday, over 40 penalty minutes had been doled out between the two teams. The whole affair was one of the heaviest games of the season, ranging from general roughhousing ...
... to massive hits ...
... to subtly unsubtle elbows to the head ...
... to more fights. Most of this was a tone set by Milan Lucic, as you can tell. It was one heck of a game, though. Except for the final minutes. We’ll get to that in a bit.
2. Cam Ward is still capable of awful outings
Cam Ward is enjoying a renaissance season, but it hit a brick wall and exploded on Friday. Pittsburgh quickly rattled off five straight goals and never looked back. By the end, the Hurricanes were behind 7-1 and Ward had violently flown off the rails.
3. That might be it for Claude Julien
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Julien’s Bruins keep sputtering, and his hot seat is melting whatever is left of his pants into ashes.
Boston only needed one goal to make it a competitive game against Chicago, but it couldn’t even manage that.
That’s six losses in the Bruins’ last nine games. The caveat here is that Boston still sits in a playoff spot, two points ahead of the Maple Leafs. But seven Eastern teams are within striking distance (five points or less). An extended slump could doom Boston’s season.
It’s unlikely Julien gets fired this weekend, but this crucial stretch of the season just grew more crucial.
Impact Moment
How about this?
WHY, McLELLAN. WHY.
Stat of the Night I
Stat of the Night II
See More:
