The San Jose Sharks have slayed the dragon.
The NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning were handed their first regulation loss since Nov. 27, ending a 15-0-1 run, courtesy of the Sharks by a score of 5-2 on Saturday night.
More to come.
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Fresh off snapping their six-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers were handed a glorious opportunity to start a winning streak of their own with a matchup against the cellar-dwelling Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Instead, the Oilers came out flat, and the Kings made them pay, scoring three first-period goals en route to a 4-0 victory. Afterwards, head coach Ken Hitchcock called out the entire team, except for one player.
"We had one player show up to play, Darnell Nurse," Hitchcock said, according to Sportsnet's Gene Principe. "This is on everybody. When you have one player competing it can't be accepted."
Nurse logged a team-high 23:24 in the ugly defeat, tallying three shots, three hits, and a blocked shot. He's been asked to play a bigger role for Edmonton with several regulars on the blue line dealing with injuries.
While Nurse's growth this season has been encouraging, Hitchcock continued to echo his complaints about the rest of the group.
"You and I can bark and bitch and complain but it has to come from within the locker room," he said. "This is not acceptable."
Edmonton won't have to wait long for its shot at redemption, as the club will square off against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
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Draft-eligible forward Kaapo Kakko scored with just over one minute remaining in the game to lead Finland to the gold medal Saturday at the World Junior Hockey Championship with a 3-2 win over the United States.
The victory marks the third gold in the last six years for Finland.
Many project Kakko, 17, to be chosen second overall in the 2019 NHL Draft behind American Jack Hughes, who picked up an assist in the United States' silver-medal winning effort.
While Kakko may go down as the hero, goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen deserves a lion's share of the credit for the Finns' victory. The Buffalo Sabres prospect was a brick wall between the pipes, stopping 25 of 27 shots he faced.
The back-and-fourth matchup easily could've gone in a different direction had an early call went USA's way. In the first period, the United States had the potential first goal of the game waved off due to goaltender interference.
Following a scoreless first period, Jesse Ylonen's power-play marker gave the Finns the lead midway through the second frame. It wasn't until the third period that the game began to open up, though.
Otto Latvala's long-range wrister gave Finland an insurance marker six minutes into the third. However, USA quickly responded with goals less than two minutes apart from Alexander Chmelevski and Josh Norris. The game remained even until Kakko's game-winner with less than two minutes to go in regulation.
Victorious in both 2014 and 2016, Finland's three world junior golds are the most of any nation since 2011.
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Vancouver Canucks phenom Elias Pettersson has a slight MCL sprain, head coach Travis Green told reporters after a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
"It's not too bad. Probably as good news as we could have hoped for," Green said.
Pettersson sat out Saturday's game after hurting his right knee Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens. In that contest, he went down awkwardly after getting tangled up with fellow rookie and Canadiens forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
Pettersson leads all first-year NHLers with 22 goals and 42 points. He was named to the Pacific Division All-Star team on Wednesday.
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International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Rene Fasel would like to see future events held on the smaller ice surface typically used in North America.
"Our goal would be that in Beijing in 2022, if ice hockey's there, we will play on the small ice ... and in Finland in 2022, we will play on small ice (at) our World Championship," Fasel told the assembled media, including TSN, at a news conference in Vancouver on Saturday.
"That should be our goal, that in the future we have the same size as they play here in North America," he added.
The 2019 World Junior Championship in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, is being played in NHL-sized facilities, and Fasel believes they're ideal for this tournament.
"What I like here (is that) the small ice in North America for the juniors is just perfect," he said, adding that he wasn't originally in favor of it but was convinced when he watched the 2010 Olympics, which were also held in Vancouver.
IIHF events hosted outside North America are typically played on ice surfaces measuring 200-feet long and 100-feet wide. NHL regulation size is 200 by 85.
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Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers will be out until mid-February with an upper-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice told The Athletic's Murat Ates on Saturday.
Ehlers was injured in Friday's contest versus the Pittsburgh Penguins after only two shifts.
The Jets' next game comes Sunday against the Dallas Stars. Here's how they lined up at practice with Ehlers unavailable:
#NHLJets practice forward line rushes
— Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) January 5, 2019
Connor - Scheifele - Wheeler
Laine - Little - Roslovic
Perreault - Lowry - Tanev
Lemieux - Copp - Appleton
Petan as extra, skating with a mix of forwards and D
The 22-year-old speedster hasn't produced at his usual rate so far this season, amassing 27 points in 40 games.
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For many players, the World Junior Championship is the first time they’ll play in front of an international audience. The stakes are undeniably high. While one tournament shouldn’t be enough to completely tank or skyrocket a player’s stock, it is a great opportunity for them to showcase the work they’ve put in and the growth they’ve achieved.
Here are some players we feel really showed off their skill at this year’s WJHC.
Madden, a 2018 third-rounder (68th overall) of the Vancouver Canucks, has certainly made an impression during his first games in front of his potential future team's fans. He’s been one of the United States' most aggressive players offensively, driving the net and pushing play forward. Madden has great hockey sense, but he's a pretty small guy in his draft year - listed at 5-foot-11 and 152 pounds - so it makes sense that he was lower on some of the more traditional scouting lists. Still, this tournament has made it clear that, at least against his peers, Madden has what it takes.
In the quarterfinal, he had the most ice time among American forwards with 18:17. He was named player of the game in the USA’s round-robin win over Finland. It took time for his efforts to show up on the scoresheet, but anyone paying attention could see that Madden was continually making life difficult for opponents. He makes great plays and he’s starting to adjust his game to a faster pace. While he’s still got some work to do, signs point toward a future as a solid middle-six NHL forward.
Romanov, the 2018 Montreal Canadiens second-round pick (38th overall) impressed everyone from the word go at this year’s tournament. On a team that doesn’t have a lot going for it defensively, he’s consistently impressed. And he’s not just doing his best to shut down opponents - he’s been contributing at the other end as well.
Going into the medal games, Romanov is behind only Grigori Denisenko for the team lead in points with seven in six games, including one goal. He’s been playing heavy minutes for Russia, taking on difficult competition, and while it took the team a while to get clicking, Romanov was playing well from the start.
People wondered how the USA would replace Brady Tkachuk offensively. Poehling seems to have taken that as a personal challenge. With eight points, including five goals, going into the gold-medal game, the Canadiens' 2017 first-rounder is tied for the tournament lead in points with Morgan Frost (CAN) and Artur Gatiyatov (KAZ), both of whom are no longer playing.
While the U.S. eventually fell 5-4 to Sweden, Poehling’s natural hat trick in the round-robin game drove the Americans' comeback to force overtime. He’s been an offensive force, driving the pace of play and searching for opportunities every time he takes the ice. He has shown significant growth as a player over the past year and has made a great case for himself as a tournament MVP candidate.
Kurashev has, perhaps, made the biggest impression at the world juniors. He leads the tournament in goal-scoring with six goals going into the bronze-medal game and was the engine behind Switzerland’s offense for the majority of the competition. His seven points should see him finish inside the top 10 in scoring.
Kurashev was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (120th overall) in 2018 and is producing in the QMJHL regular season as well, with 18 goals and 25 assists in 33 games. During this tournament, he’s shown that his club numbers aren't just a product of playing in the Q. His offensive instincts have been on full display as he's played big minutes and scored in big moments, including a hat trick to lead Switzerland over Denmark and the only Swiss goal against Finland in the semifinals. His overall game is more solid than it was last season, and that has to have the Blackhawks feeling good.
Eggenberger, who captained the underdog Swiss team to almost unbelievable heights in this year’s tournament, has used the world juniors to show exactly why he should’ve been drafted - not passed over - in 2018. Going into the bronze-medal game against Russia, Eggenberger has four points in six games in his third WJHC appearance. It’s a solid addition to his performances with the OHL's Oshawa Generals so far this season.
Along with Kurashev, Eggenberger has been a critical part of Switzerland's attack, consistently pushing the pace. He’s a good skater, is deceptively speedy, and has a great release and solid hockey sense; he clearly came into the tournament with a drive to put all of those skills to work.
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If you're seeking some nostalgia on a busy night in the NHL, look no further than the Los Angeles Kings-Edmonton Oilers broadcast Saturday night.
The Kings will be hosting '90s night at Staples Center, and FOX Sports West is bringing back the 'Glow Puck' as a part of the festivities, the team announced.
What's that, you may ask? Take a look at it in action from the 1996 All-Star Game:
"We won't be able to give the speed of the shot," FOX Sports producer Steven Dorfman said, according to Kevin Allen of USA Today. "But we can simulate the glow of the puck, and we can simulate the tracking of the puck."
The 'Glow Puck' was introduced in 1995 as a tactic to help newcomers to the sport follow the action a little bit easier.
"It was brand new back then, and it was polarizing," Dorfman said. "Hockey purists thought it was insulting, the idea that you would need an effect on the puck to see it. Other people drew to it because it was new."
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