Winnipeg Jets rookie forward Nikolaj Ehlers is expected to be fine after he was struck in the face with a shot in Thursday's overtime frame versus the New York Islanders, head coach Paul Maurice said.
Frans Nielsen's deflected shot appeared to hit Ehlers near the eye before haplessly rebounding onto the stick of Kyle Okposo, who quickly chopped it into the net for the extra point.
The puck takes an unfortunate bounce off Ehlers' face and Islanders' Okposo jumps on it for a @SUBWAYCanada OT goalhttps://t.co/Gj7rRZOo25
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 4, 2016
To the Islanders' credit, they were more concerned with the fallen opponent than celebrating the overtime winner.
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The New Jersey Devils were on their way to a regulation loss in Nashville until Adam Henrique happened.
With his team down 4-3 late in the third, the center scored with 40 seconds remaining to force overtime.
Then, Henrique ended the game at the 1:54 mark of the extra period, securing a big two points.
The win improved New Jersey's record to 31-27-9, good for 69 points on the season. They now sit five points back of Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien knows he almost didn't make it this far.
With a win over Chicago on Thursday, Julien tied Art Ross for the most regular-season wins as Bruins head coach with 387.
But despite winning a Stanley Cup in 2011, his job was believed to have been in jeopardy as recently as this past summer when general manager Don Sweeney took over from predecessor Peter Chiarelli.
And it wasn't the first time.
"The fact that I've avoided being fired for the last nine years here has helped me get that many wins," he said, according to Chris Mason of the Boston Herald.
One win away from setting the club record, Julien knows he's in rare air.
Julien on tying Art Ross: "The thing that comes to mind is 'humbling.' He's an icon, he's a legend."
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 4, 2016
Julien has posted a record of 387-215-85 as head coach of the Bruins, with an additional 57 playoff wins to his credit.
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Mike Babcock believes in the rebuild, but he hates losing. And the Toronto Maple Leafs are losing often.
The Minnesota Wild left Toronto with a 2-1 victory Thursday, and Babcock was infuriated with the officiating. The Wild had four power-play opportunities to Toronto's none, and both Minnesota goals were scored with the man advantage.
"I don't get it," Babcock said after the game, when asked about the disparity in power plays. "Makes no sense to me.
"I was disappointed. I thought we got ripped off big time. People didn't pay to watch (the referees) play. They pay to watch the players."
Babcock was especially upset about an interference penalty to Leo Komarov that resulted in the Wild's game-winning, power-play goal:
Asked about Komarov interference penalty Babcock scowled, waved his hand & said, "What's next. (Pause) It's a joke."
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 4, 2016
Toronto's lost four straight, eight of nine, and 11 of 13. This was the pain Babcock was talking about. He clearly doesn't need the officiating adding to it.
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