The final meeting of the regular season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals proved to be well worth watching, with a handful of the game's 15 goals scored in spectacular fashion.
Here's a look the best five, in chronological order:
The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Capitals 8-7 in overtime Monday, ending Washington's nine-game winning streak in what can only be described as a throwback game to a bygone era.
Here's what you need to know about a game that saw the teams score a combined 13 goals in the final 40 minutes and 34 seconds:
Evgeni Malkin registered his 11th career hat trick, all three of his goals coming in the zany second period.
Sidney Crosby finished with a goal and two assists, reaching the half-century mark in points and tying Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead (though McDavid's in action Monday night as well).
Last time the Capitals scored 7 goals, didn't win was against Penguins on Oct. 11, 1988. They lost to the Penguins, 8-7 (Lemieux hat trick)
Conor Sheary scored the overtime winner on Pittsburgh's 36th shot of the night. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin finished with three points, Malkin recording a hat trick in a crazy second period that saw the teams score a combined nine goals.
Evgeni Malkin continues to prove he belongs in the "best player in hockey" conversation.
The Pittsburgh Penguins center recorded the 11th hat trick of his career in Monday's game against Washington, putting himself in sole possession of second in points among all NHL players this season behind only Connor McDavid.
The second goal in particular - at the 30-second mark in the video below - displayed the kind of skill he possesses, and resulted in the end of Braden Holtby's night.
All three goals were scored in a frenetic second period against Pittsburgh, and in short order at that.
3 goals for Malkin in a 10:51 span. This is simply incredible -SK
Crosby helped create Conor Sheary's goal Monday night against the Washington Capitals, faking a shot and feathering a sublime dish through defenseman Karl Alzner's legs to Sheary, who deflected it in for the second of five straight Penguins goals in the middle stanza.
The Lightning began a very crucial stretch of their schedule Monday, defeating the Kings 2-1 in Los Angeles, the first of six games on the road that will take them through California, Arizona, to Chicago, and back to Florida to face the Panthers. And Bishop was stellar, ensuring the trip began on a high note, even though All-Star Victor Hedman was forced to miss the game with an illness.
Playing in his second game since returning from a lower-body injury, Bishop stopped 31 of 32 shots. He's 2-0 in the new year and has stopped 55 of 58 shots, good for a .948 save percentage. The strong games have Bishop back at .910 on the season.
Tampa Bay went into Monday's game ranked 25th in the league with a .903 team save percentage. The Lightning's goaltending must be better for Tampa Bay to get back into the playoffs.
Last year's Eastern Conference finalists are 21-20-4, and their 46 points trail the Toronto Maple Leafs' 48 for third place in the Atlantic Division. Problem is, Toronto has four games in hand.
With the Metropolitan Division on another level, and both wild-card teams likely to come from the division, Tampa Bay must catch Toronto or the Boston Bruins, who have 51 points but have played a conference-high 47 games.
That appears to be Shane Doan's stance in advance of the NHL's upcoming trade deadline, and in response to a recent report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman suggesting the longtime Arizona Coyotes captain would be open to being moved to a Stanley Cup contender.
Doan was made aware of the report and has validated it, but with major caveats.
"People have texted and talked to me about it," he told Tim Campbell of NHL.com. "I never said I wouldn't go anywhere. I've always wanted to stay here. If there was ever an opportunity, the Coyotes have always been incredible to me and respectful to me in every way.
"I'd talk about (possible trade) with my family and make a decision on that if it was to come up but it would have to be so perfect and so right that it's pretty hard for it to all line up perfectly. It would have to be exactly perfect and that just doesn't happen too often in our sport."
Doan, who recently turned 40 and who's on a one-year deal with the Coyotes, has a no-move clause built into his contract, meaning he'd have to approve any trade attempted by John Chayka, and a move likely wouldn't even be considered by the Coyotes without Doan's knowledge and permission.
For his part, Doan let it be known the report didn't originate from his side of things, even with the Coyotes languishing near the bottom of the standings.
"It wasn't me saying it," he said. "I've been frustrated with the year, with us not winning and stuff, that's always tough. I haven't said it to them, to management, or said anything to them, but I've also never said I wouldn't (agree to be traded)
"If it comes to that point, we'll sit down and talk about it. It's happened in the past, it's just that no one's ever heard about it. We've had the discussion and said yes or no and for the most part it's been no."
Doan added it's difficult to assess a clear-cut contender in the NHL this year, meaning there's no guarantee a trade would pay off with a championship.
The No. 7 pick at the 1995 NHL Draft when the team was known as the Winnipeg Jets, Doan has played his entire career with the organization, and he's the team's all-time leader games played, goals, assists, and total points.
Following weekend contests against the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals in which the Flyers allowed a combined 11 goals, Philadelphia is once again the league's weakest between the pipes.
The Flyers own an awful .892 save percentage as the team enters its bye week. Meanwhile, those same Capitals, a team the Flyers are chasing in the Metropolitan Division, sit atop the rankings, coming in at .931.
Rank
Team
Goalies
Save %
26
WPG
Hellebuyck & Hutchinson
.901
27
DAL
Lehtonen & Niemi
.899
28
COL
Varlamov & Pickard
.898
29
STL
Allen & Hutton
.895
30
PHI
Mason & Neuvirth
.892
But concerns in the crease are nothing new to the Philadelphia faithful.
Beyond Mason and Neuvirth, the Flyers have shuffled through six other netminders (minimum 10 games played) since the team advanced to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
That list includes Ray Emery, Rob Zepp, Ilya Bryzgalov, Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher, and Michael Leighton. That's eight goaltenders in eight seasons.
All but Bobrovsky are gone from the league. Bobrovsky, of course, is a 28-year-old Vezina Trophy winner who is putting up another stellar campaign this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and is once again in the mix as the NHL's best netminder. But he wasn't good enough for Philadelphia, sent off to Columbus for a package of three draft picks.
By comparison, and with the same 10-game standard, the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins have used six netminders since 2010, though Marc-Andre Fleury has held down the majority the games - playing 445 - while the other five have primarily taken the backup role.
Goalie
GP
Record
GAA
SV%
Shutouts
Mason
37
14-15-6
2.95
.897
0
Neuvirth
13
6-3-0
3.30
.877
0
Here's the good news: both Mason and Neuvirth are unrestricted free agents at season's end, and given their play, neither has shown why a new contract should be in the works.
That means Philadelphia will have a clean slate to enter the offseason and repair its goaltending position once and for all.
Of course, the last time that happened, the Flyers bungled the situation, when it acquired Bryzgalov from the Arizona Coyotes, only to hand the 31-year-old a nine-year contract extension.
Bryzgalov accumulated 130 victories over four seasons in the desert, but lasted only two years in Philadelphia before he was delivered a compliance buyout. Two years, $51 million, five playoff wins. Not what the Flyers had in mind.
In all, the Flyers have been guilty of instilling goaltending half-measures, with no defined or legitimate No. 1 since the days of Ron Hextall, who has since left the crease for the general manager's seat.
Young netminder Anthony Stolarz got a preview of the big leagues this year when he made his NHL debut, winning both of his starts, but it's unlikely that the 22-year-old is ready for prime time just yet.
Of note, there are slim pickings available in free agency - unless the Flyers want to bring in another question mark - and save for a Bizarro World where the Flyers can acquire Fleury from their arch rival, the best option could be Ben Bishop, as the Tampa Bay Lightning netminder headlines the best names available this summer. Bishop is the one free agent worth the price.
It will take a big contract to land the 31-year-old, but the good news is that Bishop has a far better track record than that of Bryzgalov, so the Flyers wouldn't be repeating their history of past mistakes.
Bishop has been a key figure for the Lightning since arriving in Tampa Bay in 2012, a resume that includes a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and last year's run to the conference finals
But perhaps the bigger question is can the Flyers afford to wait to fix their goaltending concerns?
After rattling off a 10-game win streak through mid-December, the Flyers' fortunes have since veered in the opposite direction. The team has gone 3-8-3 since Dec. 17, grabbing just nine of a possible 28 points. That's left the Flyers barely holding down the final playoff spot in the East.
Then again, it's been years of iffy goaltending, so what's one more?
Jonathan Drouin made the Los Angeles Kings look like the Washington Generals in one play on Monday afternoon, losing Tanner Pearson with a nasty fake along the boards, then threading an unbelievable pass through traffic to Tyler Johnson for the tying goal.
They're playing at the Staples Center in L.A., so unfortunately we won't likely be hearing "Sweet Georgia Brown" there any time soon.
