Ottawa Senators defenseman Dion Phaneuf drew the ire of the Buffalo Sabres with a hit to the head of Sam Reinhart on Friday night.
Phaneuf caught Reinhart as the rookie was receiving a pass in the neutral zone in the third period.
The Senators blue-liner was given a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head and also received a roughing minor, while Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian got a four-minute roughing penalty for going after Phaneuf.
Reinhart stayed on his feet and remained in the game, but the league is expected to take a look at the incident.
Too early to say how Dept of Safety will handle Phaneuf illegal head checking penalty, however no doubt there will be a review.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 19, 2016
Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma hadn't seen a replay of the hit, but said he was disappointed Phaneuf didn't get a more severe penalty.
Earlier in the game, Reinhart scored his 20th goal of the season, joining Jack Eichel as the Sabres' first rookies to reach the mark in the same season since 1974-75.
(Courtesy: MSG)
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After receiving a video tribute and saluting the MTS Centre in his first return to Manitoba since being dealt by the Winnipeg Jets, it was back to business for Andrew Ladd.
The Chicago Blackhawks forward found the back of the net in his first game against his former team, burying a feed from captain Jonathan Toews to give his team a 3-0 lead.
Ladd's goal was the second of the night from a newly-formed line with Toews and Patrick Kane. It also helped the former Jets captain reach the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in the past six seasons.
(Video courtesy: NHL.com)
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That's an emphatic way to break a scoreless tie.
Patrick Kane cruised in and flipped a backhand shot over Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to open the scoring Friday night.
Kane's 39th goal of the season moved him to within three of Alex Ovechkin's league-leading total, and Kane's 91st point gave him an 11-point cushion on Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn for the NHL lead.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
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Alex Ovechkin's goal-scoring and Braden Holtby's goaltending are often seen as the major factors in the Washington Capitals' success, but it can't be ignored that the team also possesses two of the best playmakers in the NHL.
One is forward Nicklas Backstrom, who ranks fifth in the league with 45 assists, while the other moved into the top three in NHL scoring after an incredible performance Friday.
Evgeny Kuznetsov now leads the league with 41 primary assists after setting up three Capitals goals as his team downed the Nashville Predators 4-1.
Tonight marks #Caps Evgeny Kuznetsov's fourth three-assist game of the season and his eighth three-point game.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 19, 2016
The 23-year-old has seven assists during his five-game point streak, and now has 53 total helpers on the season, trailing only Erik Karlsson.
"I knew he was a good center, but I didn’t know he was this good," said forward Daniel Winnik, according to Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press. The trade-deadline acquisition had his first of two goals Friday set up by Kuznetsov.
His second assist came on what has become a trademark play for the Russian - a behind-the-back pass from behind the net - to set up T.J. Oshie's eventual game-winner.
"That’s kind of the stuff you have to expect," Oshie said of the beautiful feed. "He sees things that maybe only a handful of players in the league can see."
The Capitals have been one of the most consistent teams this season, and it's hard to find a player who has embodied that consistency like Kuznetsov, who has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace before and after his first All-Star Game in January.
| Kuznetsov | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre All-Star | 47 | 15 | 34 | 49 |
| Post All-Star | 22 | 5 | 16 | 21 |
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