Yesterday, on this Friday evening, there were only four games in the National Hockey League.
Despite the small number of matches, there was plenty of action and highlights.
Here is a report.
1. Anthony Stolarz makes a magnificent bare-handed save
The Toronto Maple Leafs faced division rivals last night, while the Detroit Red Wings were in Toronto.
It was an important duel, as the Red Wings tried to get within one point of the Maple Leafs.
But in the end, Detroit failed to surprise Toronto, as the Leafs won 3-1, largely thanks to their goaltender, Anthony Stolarz.
Indeed, Stolarz was very solid once again in front of the Leafs cage, but what caught the most attention was his bare-handed save.
Yes, yes, Stolarz stopped the play by taking the puck with his bare hand.
Another look at Anthony Stolarz’s bare-handed save! 🫨 pic.twitter.com/UngiBeGdAL
— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2024
It’s a truly epic scene for the Leafs goaltender, who can be seen proudly showing everyone that he does indeed have the frozen puck in his right hand.
In short, it’s an impressive save from Stolarz, who has established himself as an excellent number one goalie for the Maple Leafs since the start of the season.
Have the Leafs finally found their goalie?
2. Kirill Kaprizov is simply too strong for the NHL
Since the start of the season, like last year, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov are at the top of the NHL in the points column.
They are among the best players in the NHL, and it is not for nothing that they fought until the very end for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the best scorer of the season.
However, currently, neither is at the top of the NHL, and it’s not Connor McDavid either, who is having an up-and-down start to the season.
Rather, it is Kirll Kaprizov who sits at the top of the NHL with his 27 points (nine goals and 18 assists) in 14 games.
The Russian winger from the Minnesota Wild is simply too strong for the NHL right now, while yesterday, in a 5-2 victory against the Anaheim Ducks, he already recorded a 6th three-point game this season.
Kirill Kaprizov is unstoppable this season. 💪
He’s up to 25 points in 14 games! pic.twitter.com/s8UGj3GUtp
— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2024
In just 14 games, Kaprizov has already had at least three points in a game SIX TIMES.
These are 18 points obtained in six matches. And so, in the other eight games, he got nine points, which is also impressive.
He scored two goals and an assist last night, and let’s just say that very quickly, Kaprizov is becoming the best player in Minnesota Wild history.
Yeah, Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Marian Gaborik, and Mikko Koivu are some of the best in #mnwild history.
Kirill Kaprizov is on pace to be the GOAT Wild player in short order.
He is so dynamic and smart with the puck. Elite talent.
2-1-3 tonight for 97pic.twitter.com/AA08U4UOcF
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) November 9, 2024
The Russian is a true star player, and let’s hope Ivan Demidov can follow in his footsteps and do the same with the Montreal Canadiens.
3. Sidney Crosby’s gang has the upper hand over Alex Ovechkin’s
We were treated to a classic duel last night, as the Pittsburgh Penguins visited the Washington Capitals.
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin faced each other for the umpteenth time in their careers, and this time, it was Crosby’s gang who had the upper hand.
The Penguins won 4-2 with an empty-net goal.
Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet, while Crosby had an assist on Erik Karlsson’s first goal of the game.
Karlsson ripped this one home from right between the circles 💪 pic.twitter.com/R3pirJei2F
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 9, 2024
4. Jared McCann gives the Kraken the victory in overtime
Finally, in the latest game of the evening, we were treated to a duel between the last two expansion teams, while the Vegas Golden Knights were in Seattle to face the Kraken.
It was a very close match, which required overtime to decide between the two teams.
It was ultimately Jared McCann who gave the Kraken the 4-3 victory with a nice breakaway feint.
THAT’S KRAKEN HOCKEY, BABY!
Jared McCann ices this one for the @SeattleKraken with an @Energizer OT winner. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/7m0cVzBWUX
— NHL (@NHL) November 9, 2024
In the defeat, Jack Eichel scored three assists, which allowed him to reach the 20-point plateau this season, while he now has 22 in 14 games.
I would also like to note the incredible start to the season from a certain Pavel Dorofeyev, who already has eight goals and 11 points in 14 games.
Tic-tac-toe, V-G-K 🤝
Pavel Dorofeyev nets his fifth goal in the last six games and now leads Vegas in scoring on the season pic.twitter.com/hKpQXgMiuS
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 9, 2024
The 24-year-old Russian winger is just five goals away from matching his career high of 13 goals last season.
In Burst
– Here are the four results from the day before.
Friday concluded with Kirill Kaprizov posting his sixth three-point night of the season to overtake Nathan MacKinnon (6-19—25 in 14 GP) for the League-lead in points.#NHLStats: pic.twitter.com/OMYRNdkEXB
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 9, 2024
– Here are the best scorers of the evening.
(Credit: NHL.com)
– On the program today in the NHL: 12 games.
(Credit: Google/NHL)
(Credit: Google/NHL)
