The Edmonton Oilers won their home game against the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 after 40 minutes despite being 2-1 down on Tuesday. Leon Draisaitl initiated the turning point in the game with his 34th goal of the season in minute 47 in the majority to make it 2:2. A late brace from NHL top scorer Connor McDavid (53rd/58th) sealed the Canadians’ home win. In addition to his goal, Draisaitl also had two assists (to make it 1-1 and 3-2) and thus broke the 700-point mark (main round without playoffs, see video below) in his young career. McDavid is 101 points ahead of him and passed the 800 main round point mark on Tuesday – the fifth fastest player in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny.
Moritz Seider and his Detroit Red Wings also had a reason to celebrate after the 3-1 victory in Washington. The top German defender was once again the man with the most ice time in his team. While Seider remained without a point, his defensive colleague Robert Hägg and Switzerland’s Pius Suter ensured an early 2-0 lead. After Tom Wilson quickly made the connection, it was Suter again in the final third (eleventh goal of the season) who, with his goal to make it 3-1, put the lid on the Seider team’s away win, which also overtook Washington in the table and the first win celebrated there since October 29, 2014. For the Capitals, who are still waiting for superstar Alex Ovechkin to return in the near future, it was the fifth loss in a row.
JJ Peterka went without a point in his Buffalo Sabers’ 6-3 home loss to Toronto. Veteran Ryan O’Reilly, recently acquired by the Leafs, recorded a hat trick! In a row with John Tavares (one goal, three assists) and Mitch Marner (five assists), he was unstoppable. Meanwhile, the Carolina Hurricanes continued to extend their lead at the top of the Metropolitan Division. In the 4-1 home win over St. Louis (without Thomas Greiss), the formation around Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, who was responsible for all four Canes goals, stood out. In the Western Conference, Minnesota (2-1 over Los Angeles) and Chicago (3-2 after a shoot-out against Vegas) each celebrated their third win in a row.
Sebastian Gross
The games at a glance:
Carolina – St. Louis 4:1 (2:0, 1:1, 1:0)
New Jersey – Montreal 2:5 (1:1, 0:2, 1:2)
Tampa Bay – Anaheim 6:1 (0:0, 4:0, 2:1)
Washington – Detroit 1:3 (1:2, 0:0, 0:1)
Buffalo – Toronto 3:6 (0:4, 0:1 3:1)
Minnesota – Los Angeles 2:1
Nashville – Vancouver 5:4 nP (1:0, 2:2, 1:2, 0:0, 1:0)
Chicago – Las Vegas 3:2 nP (1:1, 0:1, 1:0, 0:0, 1:0)
Edmonton – Philadelphia 4:2 (1:1, 0:1, 3:0)
