After a pair of his defensemen were hurt after being hit from behind by Columbus Blue Jackets forwards, Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner was ready to take matters into his own hands.
With a scrum ensuing after Boone Jenner knocked blue-liner Zach Bogosian into the boards, the netminder quickly joined the festivities, dropping the gloves to fight Jack Johnson before officials intervened.
Robin Lehner wanted a big piece of Jack Johnson. Gotta love a goalie who isn't afraid to mix it up. #Sabres pic.twitter.com/h5zKVDWaVi
— Jake Cimperman (@jjcimp) February 20, 2016
The 24-year-old goalie picked up a pair of minor penalties - one for roughing and one for leaving the crease - but all would be forgotten as he made 38 saves on the way to his third career shoutout in a 4-0 win.
"It’s the first time I’ve had a goalie get four penalty minutes and a shutout." -- Sabres coach Dan Bylsma on Robin Lehner.
— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) February 20, 2016
Bogosian did not return to the game after the hit, which earned Jenner a game misconduct. Fellow Sabres defenseman Cody Franson was also forced out of the game with an injury after being hit from behind by Scott Hartnell - who received a five-minute major for boarding.
Lehner, meanwhile, is on fire of late, allowing just two goals in his last three starts. And being no stranger to fighting, opposing players likely won't want to mess with the Sabres and their Swedish netminder any time soon.
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While rumblings out of Montreal seem to have pitted head coach Michel Therrien and defenseman P.K. Subban against one another, the Canadiens faithful have made it clear where their allegiances lie.
Related: Subban-Therrien incident remains the talk of the town in Montreal
The Canadiens were in action Friday for the first time since Therrien called out his star defenseman for a miscue in Wednesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche that led to the game-winning goal. Fans appeared to take Subban's side, serenading the 26-year-old with cheers early in the first period.
Subban would pick up a pair of assists on goals by Dale Weise and Max Pacioretty to surpass the 40-assist mark, joining Ottawa Senators blue-liner Erik Karlsson as the only defensemen in the league to reach that territory (Karlsson has 54 helpers).
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New Jersey Devils forward Jordin Tootoo was ejected from Friday's game against the New York Islanders for a dangerous hit from behind.
Tootoo received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for sending defenseman Johnny Boychuk head first into the boards with a cross-check during the second period.
Here's the Boychuk hit. Think he cut his face on the boards. pic.twitter.com/iHGhpN03M1
— connor (@ConIsles) February 20, 2016
Boychuk left for the dressing room in obvious discomfort, but was back on the bench to start the final frame.
Boychuk and Jordin Tootoo (5:00 major) talked in the hall outside the dressing rooms after the game, so no lingering bad feelings.
— Rich Chere (@Ledger_NJDevils) February 20, 2016
The hit will be reviewed by the NHL Department of Player Safety. Tootoo has been suspended twice in his NHL career, including a five-game suspension in 2007 for punching then-Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas.
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Starting his 11th consecutive game Friday, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo will have a tough time blaming this goal on fatigue.
With the Blue Jackets on a power play, Buffalo Sabres forward David Legwand cleared the puck from his own end and watched as it bounced down the ice, and over the glove of Korpisalo from 150 feet away. The gaffe increased the Sabres' first-period lead to 2-0.
😱😱😱😱😱😱https://t.co/e7sCky0xoJ
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) February 20, 2016
Don't worry Joonas, Vesa Toskala knows exactly how you feel.
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Teemu Selanne continues to do retirement right.
The former Anaheim Ducks star showed off his latest post-hockey shenanigans Thursday when he pulled off a ridiculous golf trick shot while fooling around at the driving range.
Selanne, of course, already proved he has good hands with 684 career NHL goals.
- With h/t to BarDown
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After Tommy Wingels left Thursday's game against the Florida Panthers with an upper-body injury after crashing into the boards, San Jose Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer gave an update on the forward's condition Friday.
"He's been seen by everybody here," DeBoer said of Wingels, per Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News. "We don't think it's long term, but he's definitely out for the near future."
DeBoer added that the 27-year-old would remain with the team for the remaining three games of its five-game road trip which concludes Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Wingels has six goals and nine assists in 56 games this season.
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While forward Ryan Johansen has certainly lived up to expectations since being traded to the Nashville Predators, the team hasn't exactly set the league on fire since acquiring its new No. 1 center.
But with the team now hanging on to a wild-card position in the Western Conference, general manager David Poile isn't feeling any extra pressure to add more pieces ahead of the Feb. 29 trade deadline.
"If we don't make any trades this year, I'm comfortable," Poile said, per The Tennessean. "We've made a big trade. We've made a big trade that should have made our team better. And to this point, it hasn't, but I believe all the ingredients are there within our team to carry us into the playoffs and have success in the playoffs."
Since the Jan. 6 swap that sent defenseman Seth Jones to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Johansen has produced at near a point-per-game pace with four goals and 12 assists in 18 games.
While fellow forwards Filip Forsberg and James Neal have remained consistently productive, some secondary scoring would certainly help the team's playoff hopes as a number of Predators forwards are well below their scoring pace from a year ago.
| Name | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
|---|---|---|
| Craig Smith | .54 | .36 |
| Colin Wilson | .55 | .39 |
| Mike Fisher | .66 | .28 |
Poile admitted he is frustrated some players aren't playing at the level they are expected to, but is ultimately content with his team as it hopes to clinch a playoff berth for the second straight season.
"I am doing my job in terms of making calls, and if something is there that can improve our team, I will do that," he said. "But I'm comfortable with the makeup of our team. I'm just not totally happy with the production that we're getting on an individual basis and we just need to play a little bit better."
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