The 2016-17 season hasn't been a great one for Sam Bennett, but the young pivot proved Friday night that he still has plenty to offer the surging Calgary Flames.
Bennett linked up with Johnny Gaudreau for an exceptional tally during the pair's tilt with the San Jose Sharks, with the latter drawing in the Sharks' defense and dropping the puck off for Bennett before deflecting home the first tally of the night.
The assist was Bennett's 13th of the season, while the goal was Gaudreau's 18th of the year.
Great news from the Dallas Stars on Friday evening.
The club announced that forward Curtis McKenzie appears to have dodged any permanent eye damage after taking a high stick Thursday.
"He has a deep gash around his eye, but right now it doesn't look like there is any permanent eye damage," general manager Jim Nill said. "But (doctors) will know more once the swelling goes down.
"He'll get checked every day by the doctors, but so far they see no damage to the eye. It's as good news as you can have."
McKenzie wears a visor, but Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller's stick got behind it, leading to some tense moments as McKenzie was escorted off the ice while bleeding from his eye.
With only five games left on Dallas' schedule, it's likely McKenzie's season is over, though Nill said that'll be determined over the coming days. For five days, he won't take part in any hockey-related activities.
The 26-year-old has six goals and 16 points in 56 games.
Even when he's below the goal line, giving No. 87 even an inch of open space is a terrible idea - a hard lesson learned by New York Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who has become the latest victim of Crosby's wizardry.
The goal was Crosby's second point of the night, and his 43rd tally of the season.
It's fair to assume life in the NHL is much easier if you have Sidney Crosby running the on-ice show.
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel certainly seems to be benefiting from Crosby's presence on the regular. The young winger did so again Friday night, making an immediate impact in his first game back from injury by finishing off a few expertly placed dishes from Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel early in the second period.
The tally was Guentzel's 12th of the season, while the assist took Crosby's career total to 641, moving him past Jaromir Jagr on the Penguins' all-time helpers list.
Everyone loves a good old fashioned scoring race, and the 2016-17 campaign has gifted fans a fantastic one: young phenom Connor McDavid leading the pack, trailed closely by the league's current king, Sidney Crosby, and last year's scoring champ, Patrick Kane.
But the scoring race doesn't necessarily illustrate who exactly the best pure scorers in the game are. Injury and general misfortune play a role, of course, taking certain potential front-runners out of the conversation, but there's also the matter of what exactly gets counted in the standard point totals.
Should secondary assists be included in that bunch?
The value of counting secondary helpers varies from play to play, with some marking a key aspect of a goal's playmaking origin, and some representing far less impressive contributions.
Taking them out of the mix entirely may be a bit drastic, but if we're looking to pin down the top offensive talents in the game, pointing to primary scoring - counting goals plus primary assists only - might be a better route.
That said, let's take a look at how this season's top 10 overall scorers stack up against the top 10 primary scorers:
Player
Overall Points
Player
Primary Points
1. Connor McDavid
91
1. Sidney Crosby
68
2. Patrick Kane
84
2. Connor McDavid
67
3. Brad Marchand
83
3. Nikita Kucherov
64
4. Sidney Crosby
82
4. Patrick Kane
64
5. Nicklas Backstrom
82
5. Brad Marchand
60
6. Nikita Kucherov
80
6. Evgeni Malkin
60
7. Mark Scheifele
78
7. Auston Matthews
55
8. Brent Burns
73
8. Leon Draisaitl
55
9. Evgeni Malkin
72
9. Mikael Granlund
55
10. Leon Draisaitl
72
10. Brent Burns
54
Among the top two names in the game, not much changes - Crosby and McDavid remain roughly level, each having a chance at claiming No.1 honors before the season is through.
A few notable names jump slightly higher - Nikita Kucherov moves up to tie Kane at third and Evgeni Malkin climbs to sixth despite playing far fewer games than the rest of the top 10 - but the biggest surprise is in the latter half of the primary scorers list.
Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews, who's already setting records for his new club, rises significantly. Ranking as low as 27th in the league on the traditional scoring list, Matthews reigns as the seventh-best in the league thus far in terms of goals and primary setups.
Minnesota Wild pivot Mikael Granlund is a similar story, ranking 16th in overall scoring but moving up to tie Matthews and Leon Draisaitl at seventh if secondary assists are taken out of the equation.
We can't entirely discount secondary helpers, as there are certainly cases in which the success of a particular play hinges on that less direct assist.
But boiling it down to what undeniably counts - goals and the immediate setup passes that precede them - seems to paint a much clearer picture of who's carrying the offensive mail for their clubs.
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Remember all the hoopla surrounding where Jimmy Vesey would sign last summer?
The former Harvard star and Hobey Baker winner drew rampant speculation ad nauseam with every move he made, before ultimately picking the New York Rangers in August.
Vesey racked up 46 points in 33 games a senior with the Crimson and was expected to add offensive depth to an already-potent Rangers attack. So, how has that all played out?
Lately, not so great, as the rookie was deemed a healthy scratch for Friday's contest with the Penguins after what head coach Alain Vigneault called an "off night" for the forward on Tuesday in San Jose.
Vigneault made it clear Vesey is a part of New York's playoff plans, and perhaps a brief rest is what's best for the rookie at this point.
In his last 20 games, Vesey's recorded just one goal and three assists, averaging 12:55 of ice time. It's entirely possible the 23-year-old has hit the so-called "rookie wall," having never played such a high amount of games in one season, but is there cause for concern with his dwindling numbers?
Among all freshman skaters this season, Vesey ranks 21st with 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists), but beyond point-production, his on-ice impact with the Rangers is underwhelming.
Of all New York forwards with similar minutes, Vesey ranks second last with a corsi-for per 60 rate of 49.45% while playing five-on-five, and has a less-than-desirable corsi-against per 60 of 59.81%. (Corsica-hockey)
In each of his four seasons at Harvard, Vesey's goal totals exceeded his assist numbers, and with decreased production at the NHL level, an improvement in playmaking may be a necessity in order for him to offer true offensive value.
Vesey's 0.64 assists per 60 is the worst among all Rangers forwards in all situations, and while seven of his 11 assists are primary helpers, creating offense hasn't been his strong suit in the pro ranks.
It's far too soon to declare Vesey the latest NCAA free-agent bust, but it's easy to suggest he's underachieved in his debut season.
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Matthew Tkachuk may have answered the bell during his club's Wednesday night tilt with the Los Angeles Kings, but it seems the Doughty drama hasn't yet fully subsided.
The 19-year-old rookie drew the ire of the Kings after escalating a war of words with Los Angeles defender Drew Doughty earlier this week. Those extracurriculars spilled into the teams' game Wednesday - a 4-1 win for the Kings - leaving some of Tkachuk's teammates unhappy with the distraction.
"We got caught up a little bit too much in some of the nonsense out there,” Johnny Gaudreau said after the loss, according to the Calgary Sun's Eric Francis. "It took away from our game and it's ultimately why we lost."
After head coach Glen Gulutzan said Tkachuk has been spoken to about the incident, assistant general manager Craig Conroy provided some insight into the team's displeasure with Tkachuk's off-ice decisions.
"When I heard it, it caught me off guard because we always talk about bulletin board stuff," Conroy said, according to Francis. "You never want to give anybody anything. And (Kings coach) Darryl (Sutter) loves that stuff. He doesn't miss much. It probably gave them a little life last night."
After ruffling a few of his teammates' feathers and potentially firing up the opposition, Tkachuk might be more careful in regards to crossing that line in the future, Conroy suggested.
"He probably didn't know (the consequences) and wanted to see how it played out, but now he realizes it probably wasn't the best thing. He did it and now he sees the repercussions and I don't think it will ever happen again."
It's a particularly useful lesson with the postseason looming.
"The best thing about the whole thing is that it wasn't the playoffs," Conroy said. "Because in a seven-game series you never want to give anything like that."
A touching moment occurred Friday in Arizona, as Tuscon Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham laced up his skates for the first time since collapsing on the ice Nov. 19.
Cunningham, 26, had part of his leg amputated after suffering an acute cardiac arrest ventricular fibrillation which nearly ended his life, and has openly shared his positive recovery process.
Since the incident, the hockey community has sent an outpouring of support Cunningham's way, and the Roadrunners will honor their captain April 8 with a pregame ceremony.
It's hard to believe the Stanley Cup playoffs are less than two weeks away, but here we are.
Ten teams have already clinched postseason berths, but several races remain as the 2016-17 campaign hits the home stretch.
Between now and Sunday night, there could be significant movement among those jockeying for divisional supremacy and teams trying to snag the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
Here's a handful of can't-miss contests in what should be a wild weekend of NHL action:
San Jose Sharks @ Calgary Flames
The Flames have a chance to punch their playoff tickets when they host the Sharks on Friday night.
Calgary can secure its berth by defeating San Jose in any fashion. The Flames can also get in with a single point against the Sharks and a Los Angeles Kings defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks in any fashion, or simply if the Kings lose to the Canucks in regulation.
So, it could be a big night for the Flames, who are looking to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
The Sharks have already clinched a spot, but they're stumbling into the postseason with only three wins in their last 10 games. Still, the matchup carries weight for them as well.
San Jose can - at least temporarily - overtake the Edmonton Oilers for second place in the Pacific Division with a victory.
Minnesota Wild @ Nashville Predators
A Saturday matinee could also serve as a first-round playoff preview.
The Wild are pretty firmly entrenched as the second-place holders in the Central Division, but a single point separates the Predators from the third-place Blues, although St. Louis has that game in hand, along with the edge in regulation or overtime wins.
If Nashville can beat St. Louis on Saturday, it would help the Predators greatly in their quest to occupy third place at season's end, and that would pit them against the second-place Wild in the opening round.
Anaheim Ducks @ Edmonton Oilers
Both the Ducks and Oilers have assured themselves of playoff positions, but that doesn't mean Saturday's tilt will be free of drama.
Even if the Sharks overtake them for second place in the division Friday, the Oilers can reclaim top spot one night later.
That's how tight the Pacific is, and it should make for quite the nightcap.
Nashville Predators @ St. Louis Blues
The Predators have a firm grip on the second Western Conference wild-card spot, but Sunday's game against the Blues is a big one regardless of what happens between St. Louis and Colorado, and between Nashville and the Wild on Saturday.
If Nashville has any hope of stealing the third spot and sending St. Louis into wild-card territory, this game could be their chance to do it.
Washington Capitals @ Columbus Blue Jackets
The Capitals have gained a bit of breathing room over the Blue Jackets in the Presidents' Trophy race, but Columbus can get back in the hunt for the hardware and the Metropolitan Division crown with a win Sunday.
It's the final regulation meeting between the two clubs, and while they've both booked playoff spots, neither wants to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
The Blue Jackets would do just that if the postseason began Friday, but it doesn't. If they can beat Washington on Sunday, they could have a shot at taking first place and handing the Capitals the tougher first-round opponent, depending on what happens earlier in the weekend.
