Elias Petterson gets back on track

Hockey fans, Merry Christmas!

The NHL may be on pause as the players head home for the holidays, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of action to keep tabs on over the last week. Here’s the very best, and worst, of everything in an (abbreviated) week of hockey action.

Goal for the week

Jordan Eberle scored this stunning goal against Winnipeg Jets to honor the World Juniors. David Rittich is beaten by the beautiful and often overlooked spin-o-rama backhand on an absolute snipe.

Don’t look now, but Eberle has come on in a big way this year with the Kraken. Eberle, a Regina native, is back after posting 44 points in just 79 contests last year. This season, he has posted 25 points in 32 contests.

The week in savings

The Capitals front office should be praised for insisting on Charlie Lindgren being signed in free agency this season. After Darcy Kuemper sustained an injury to his upper body, Lindgren has been a firebrand in December. He posted a perfect 8-1 record in December’s games, with a.927 Save percentage. Lindgren made a statement with his outstanding performance against the Winnipeg Jets in December’s final game. He made this spectacular shorthanded stop on Adam Lowry.

Player of Week

Despite a disappointing start to the Vancouver Canucks season, there have been some bright spots. However, Elias Pettersson’s emergence has been an absolute joy to see. On Thursday, Pettersson had a great night against Seattle Kraken. He scored two goals and assisted with three more. Pettersson was the shootout winner after neither team had won in a fast-paced 3-on-3OT. Canucks fans are sure to be delighted to have another emerging Swedish superstar as they embark on another long rebuild.

Gentlemanly conduct

Cale Makar made his Lady Byng chase even more bizarre by declining a penalty on Matthew Barzal, the New York Islanders, and in a strange turn of events. Makar eventually issued an apology. To his teammates for the gaffe if you can even consider it that. But this was just an extraordinarily wholesome and bizarre play that you must see to believe.

Controller unplugged

Juuse Saros gets full marks for this one. He refuses to allow Klim Kostin’s forechecking to stop him from creating one of hockey’s most memorable moments. Kostin, as a result, repeatedly lifts his stick over the statuesque Saros, and even checks the bench as if to make sure he’s not going crazy. It seems like Saros’ mind games worked as well, as the Predators eventually topped the Oilers 4-3 in overtime.

Hit of the Week

If NHL players weren’t keeping their heads up for Keegan Kolesar before this week, they probably should now. The Vegas Golden Knights forward made one of the biggest hits of the season. It sent all six-foot-2, 200-pounds Ilya Liubushkin soaring several feet high like something out of a videogame. Tumbling head over heels, Lyubushkin would ultimately be okay, though we’re sure he’s got a bruised ego to match his bruised backside following this one.

Quote of the Week

Max Domi, who had previously spent two seasons with Columbus, signed with Chicago Blackhawks in order to rebuild his value. The 27-year old has been doing exactly that through the first three months, scoring 23 points in 32 games and playing top-six minutes at the rebuilding club. Whether or not the change of scenery is the reason for the improved numbers may be up for debate, but it sure sounds like Domi’s pretty happy in ChiTown, at least based on this hilarious quote on the winger’s winter plans with his family.

Participate in the Savings Challenge

The goaltending position in today’s game has never been in a more dire state, as players are more skilled than ever, leaving goalies flailing and allowing more goals than we’ve seen . That’s made handing out big deals to netminders a particularly troubling proposition, evidenced nowhere better than in the NHL’s Pacific Division. Maybe it’s just Connor McDavid making these dudes look silly, but it might be worthwhile for every NHL GM to staple this tweet to their forehead the next time they want to drop a wad of cash on a goalie.

Mr. Mr.

Roman Josi has been a great blueliner in the music capital, a franchise known for producing highly skilled defensemen over the years. The Predators’ Swiss-native has passed David Legwand as the top scorer in franchise history. Josi is now the only defenseman in their franchise to score more points than Ray Bourque.

Winter Wonderland

The Coyotes are a desert team that knows how to celebrate holidays. This is the amazing sweater that the Desert Dogs wore to warm ups last week. It even has the Kachina snowman, which looks way too angry to be celebrating Christmas. Maybe he’s just seen one too many Coyotes games.

Magic Messier

One of the NHL’s greatest leaders has an interesting origin story. While on the That’s Hockey Talk Podcast with Mike Rupp, ex-NHLer and Mark Messier. The magic of the universe He learned the skills necessary to be one of the most influential NHL captains.

Ovechkin makes history

Alex Ovechkin’s On Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets beat Gordie Howe to become NHL history. He now holds the record for most goals (802) in NHL history. The best sniper his generation was able to celebrate with the home fans and even took the time for a moment to enjoy the moment with his rivals, shaking hands with them. . The greatest moment of the night was however pos-game when a reporter asked Great 8 about his plans to celebrate this important milestone. NHL players, they’re just like you and me!

Ayy, Vinny!

Nothing quite beats a home-cooked meal at this time of the year, especially when it’s nonna’s cooking. Vincent Trochek was clearly on the right track. The Rangers forward brought the entire Rangers team home to enjoy delicious Italian food the night before they played against the Penguins. Molto bene!

Statistically, it is impossible

Rasmus Ristolainen is a controversial figure. While hockey analytics geeks view him as a defensive liability and traditional fans and general mangers value his hard-nosed play, hockey managers and general managers see him more as a safety risk. Where you stand on the Ristolainen discourse is ultimately up to you, however, there’s no denying what he’s accomplished this year is simply remarkable. Even though he played a lot for the Flyers, the right-handed defenceman didn’t record a single point. The streak was broken by a third-period assist on a Nick Seeler goal that gave the Finnish blueliner their first point of the season.

He sees you when you’re sleeping

Santa is always checking in this time of year, making his lists and checking them twice to see who’s naughty (and nice). Clayton Keller, despite his great play on the ice on Wednesday, nearly got into trouble after he was penalized against the Vegas Golden Knights. Thankfully, one of Santa’s wonderful little helpers, NHL referee Garrett Rank, got Keller all straightened out with an important warning during a crucial time of the year.

Scrap of Week

We’ve got a good old-fashioned rock ‘em, sock ‘em tilly here, as Jonah Gadjovich and Dennis Gilbert drop the mitts in a spirited scrap on Tuesday. Gadjovich takes the lead early, but there was plenty to go around as division foes got their fans and teams riled up after one the best fights this season.

Trending Up: Carolina Hurricanes

It’s hard to feel much better than the Carolina Hurricanes are right now heading into the break. Carolina has won eight straight and nine of their last ten. Combining their success with the slumping New Jersey Devils team, the Canes are on a roll and have risen to the top in the Metropolitan Division. They look ready to make some noise again in the back half the NHL season. The Canes’ streak is due to a number of factors. However, the most significant one has been their significantly better scoring luck. After an abysmal 6.8 shooting percentage at 5v5 to start the year — ranked second last league-wide — the club has found their stroke, and sit top-10 by the metric since December 1st.

Trending Down: Columbus Blue Jackets

Things have gone from bad to worse in Columbus, as Johnny Gaudreau alone hasn’t been able to salvage what has become a pathetic showing for a Columbus team that hoped to take a leap this season. Johnny Hockey has done all he can to keep the Blue Jackets relevant. His 34 points are the first team scorer by a healthy margin. Additionally, his solid underlying metrics have mostly remained the same as last year in Calgary. Unfortunately, the team is lacking a support cast. It is abysmal Blue Jackets’ goaltending has led to them falling to the basement of Metropolitan Division. Losers of their last six games and eight of ten overall, Connor Bedard, who would be a great partner for Johnny Gaudreau’s finishing passes next season, is a bright spot.

More on Sports