In a meeting of the top picks from the 2015 NHL Draft, number two came out on top.
Jack Eichel - selected second overall that year - and the Buffalo Sabres hosted Connor McDavid - the first pick - and the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, with both teams entering the game near the bottom of the league's standings.
In the end, Eichel held an advantage over McDavid in the personal stats, while the Sabres (30th) jumped to within two points of the Oilers (29th) in the standings.
Player
Ice Time
Goals
Assists
Shots
Corsi (5v5)
Faceoff %
Eichel
17:10
1
0
3
54.84
80
McDavid
22:13
0
0
3
44.74
0
These two teams will face off in Edmonton on Jan. 23.
One could not have scripted this moment any better.
As the New Jersey Devils hosted 'Hockey Fights Cancer' night at the Prudential Center on Friday, center Brian Boyle notched his second goal of the season off a brilliant rush by rookie defenseman Will Butcher.
The Los Angeles Kings have announced the veteran forward has been activated from the injury reserve. He is expected to make his season debut against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.
Gaborik missed the first 22 games of the season as he rehabbed from offseason knee surgery. He tallied 21 points in 56 games with the Kings last season.
The 35-year-old is signed through the 2020-21 season at a $4.875-million cap hit, as per CapFriendly.
Gaborik won the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2014.
It's not always a good day when you're trending on Twitter.
That's the case for Philadelphia Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, whose name took form in the aptly titled #FireHakstol hashtag following his team's latest loss.
Friday's overtime defeat to the New York Islanders marked seven straight losses for the Flyers, who have collected just four points over that time for an 0-3-4 showing.
Philadelphia entered the stretch with an 8-6-2 record, but has since fallen to 8-9-3 and is three points removed from a playoff position.
That's left Flyers faithful calling for a change behind the bench:
Hakstol joined the Flyers in 2015 following an 11-year run as head coach at the University of North Dakota. He owns an 88-69-30 record over part of three seasons in Philadelphia.
Should the Flyers opt to make a coaching change, it will come at a price, as Hakstol is signed through the 2019-20 season, as per CapFriendly.
Hakstol is the lone hire by general manager Ron Hextall, who inherited former bench boss Craig Berube upon his 2014 appointment.
The man behind Los Angeles Kings mascot "Bailey" is being sued for allegedly groping the buttocks of a former Staples Center dishwasher in 2016, according to ABC News.
The club acknowledged the suit Friday, denying its merits.
Plaintiff Maso Griffin claims the incident involving Tim Smith - the man behind the Bailey costume - took place in an elevator and that he was fired from his job two days later after complaining to human resources director Melissa Smith, wife of the defendant.
Griffin says Smith put one hand on his shoulder and squeezed his buttocks with the other.
The suit also alleges Griffin's coworkers poked fun of him after the incident, asking, "Was his hand furry?"
Also named in the suit are Kings' owner Anschutz Entertainment Group Inc., as well as Levy Restaurants Inc. and Compass Group USA, which both provide food services to Staples Center.
For the the second time in three seasons, Price suffered an injury during pregame warmup, but opted to play through the pain instead of pulling himself immediately following the injury.
Ahead of his first start in nearly a month, Price admitted that playing through the injury wasn't the smartest decision.
"It was right at the end of warmup, and I didn't want to throw Monty (backup goalie Al Montoya) under the bus," Price told Sportsnet's Eric Engels. "Felt like I was good enough to go, but looking back it probably wasn't the greatest idea. Nothing I can do about it now."
Luckily for Price and the Canadiens, he only missed 10 games with the lower-body injury. In 2015-16, he was limited to just 12 games all season after suffering an injury under similar circumstances.
Price missed the last 10 games with an injury the club both initially and subsequently deemed "minor."
Much like the team itself, Price struggled before sitting out with the ailment, going 3-7-1 with an .877 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.77.
Seven months removed from finishing second last in the NHL with a frustrating 69 points, the Vancouver Canucks find themselves in a position few around the league expected them to be in through a quarter of the season: holding down the first Western Conference wild-card spot.
Sure, there's still plenty of puck left to be played, but the fact remains, the Canucks are one of the biggest pleasant surprises so far, and a lot of that has to do with the seamless meshing of old and new regimes.
The combination of established veteran Canucks and players new to the team is plain to see when you take a look at Vancouver's forward lines, with a nice mix of youth and experience sprinkled throughout the lineup:
Although, let's not get it twisted, as much as the Canucks have been a feel-good story, a lot of that success has to do with the top line of Sven Baertschi, Bo Horvat, and Brock Boeser.
The "Killer Bs" have been nothing short of sensational for head coach Travis Green and Co., combining to lead the offensive charge for Vancouver.
Through 22 games, Boeser (11), Baertschi (8), and Horvat (8) have posted impressive numbers, combining for 44 percent of the Canucks' total goal output (61).
While Boeser continues to dominate Calder Trophy chatter (sorry, Clayton Keller), some of Vancouver's offseason additions are being somewhat overlooked despite playing some excellent hockey.
When the Canucks added veterans Thomas Vanek, Michael Del Zotto, and Sam Gagner this past summer, hockey fans in B.C. couldn't help but feel a sense of nervousness. Nervous about the potential results that would stem from adding three guys with their better days likely behind them.
However, so far, general manager Jim Benning's risky moves are paying off, as the combination of seasoned vets and talented young guns is currently powering the team to a playoff position.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Also, don't forget, another big reason for Vancouver's .500 record of 11-8-3 has been the play of another offseason veteran addition in netminder Anders Nilsson, who is serving as a superb second option to No. 1 'tender Jacob Markstrom.
Across his seven starts, Nilsson has been rock-solid, going 5-1-1 while posting a .934 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average in relief of Markstrom.
Stellar performances from their young stars, unexpectedly strong starts from the supporting cast, and consistency in net have the old and new regimes combining quite nicely for the Canucks.
But who's to thank for this harmonious combination?
Look no further than first-year bench boss and former 16-year NHLer Travis Green, who already has his name being mentioned in early Jack Adams Award discussions.
Green was taking heat from fans and media just over a month ago for sitting Boeser for the first three games, choosing not to rush the 20-year-old into any regular-season action this campaign.
Funny how winning can change things.
That move, along with others, is another major reason Vancouver is currently proving the haters wrong.
Green's four years spent grooming the Canucks' future NHL talent in Utica with the AHL's Comets has allowed him to watch some of his current players with a keen eye, leading the club to taste success in a season that most expected them to be bottom feeders.
Again, there is still lots of hockey left on the schedule, and Vancouver could end up finding itself in the basement come April. But for now, meshing of the old and the new have the Canucks forcing people to take notice.
