Vítěk Vaněček, the Czech goalkeeper in the service of New Jersey, in the duel with Colorado conceded five of 19 shots and was replaced in the 42nd minute after the goal at 5:6. Martin Nečas from Carolina scored one goal in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights, but the visitors left empty-handed after losing 2:3. Thanks to the assistance of Radek Faksa, Dallas beat Arizona at home 4:2.
Palat drove from the right side with the puck in front of the goal and opened the scoring after 67 seconds of play. The Czech forward did not score at all in the previous six games and scored a goal for the first time since February 6. New Jersey already led 3:0 in the 13th minute and even 5:1 at 25:53. Colorado did not give up and beat Vaněček three times between the 28th and 30th minutes. At the end of the second period, Dawson Mercer made it 6-4, who collected four points (1+3) in the game and was named the first star of the game.
“We knew that in the last matches they scored in the opening two minutes, so we emphasized that we had to start well,” commented Tomáš Tatar, one of the seven scorers of the team, who made it 3-0. “We made some mistakes, but I didn’t get nervous even when they scored three quick goals. I liked the way we played overall and the guys showed how resilient they are and they got through a tough third period,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said.
At the beginning of the third period, Valerij Ničuškin forced Vaněček to the substitute from the stop. Substitute goalkeeper Akira Schmid missed 12 shots, and Nico Hischier sealed the victory on the home team’s power play. Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals on the losing side.
Palát scored his seventh goal of the season, as did Kämpf, who equalized in Edmonton with a shot from the circle in the 13th minute to make it 1:1. But the home team bounced back quickly, leading 3:1 after the first period and 5:1 in the 38th minute. Connor McDavid scored three points (2+1) and became the fifth player in NHL history to score at least two goals in the fifth game in a row.
“I was playing well before this series, I just didn’t feel like it. Now I’m getting rebounds and everything seems to be working out for me. Sometimes it is,” McDavid said of his current shooting form. He tied Alexander Mogilny and Mario Lemieux. A streak of six games with at least two goals was only achieved a century ago by Punch Broadbent and Joe Malone.
Carolina lost 0-1 and 1-2 after Jack Eichel’s goals, but each time equalized. In the first case, after the Nečase event. The Czech attacker received the puck in the defensive zone, broke into the attacking third on the left side, guided the puck between the circles and scored his 24th goal of the season. The Hurricanes tied the score for the second time in the 53rd minute with a goal by Jordan Staal, but Reilly Smith sealed the win for Vegas moments later.
Vladimir Tarasenko was involved in all three Rangers goals. He assisted on Mika Zibanejad’s first goal of the game in regulation time and assisted on Chris Kreider’s equalizer in the 51st minute to make it 2-2. The Russian striker then decided on the win in overtime of individual events, when he took the puck from Chytil in the middle zone and made his way with a shot from the left circle.
“We discuss individual situations with our teammates. I now understand better what they will do, where they will go. We play together,” said Tarasenko, who came to New York in February from St. Louis. Another Rangers signing Patrick Kane should make his debut in the next game.
Dallas turned the match against Arizona, whose substitute Karel Vejmelka remained, from 0:2. Tyler Seguin contributed to the turnaround with three points (2+1) and in the 57th minute sealed a 4:2 win in a weakened state after the Faksy action. The Czech attacker won the puck after a faulty pass, got rid of the defender with a puller and finished it himself. The puck wobbled inches from the goal line after his shot, and Seguin tapped it into the empty net.
| Results of Wednesday’s NHL games: |
|---|
| Philadelphia – New York Rangers 2:3 in overtime. (1:1, 1:0, 0:1 – 0:1) |
| Goals: 16. Tippett, 32. Laughton – 3. Zibanejad, 51. Kreider, 63. Tarasenko (CATCH). Shots on goal: 28:25. Spectators: 19,534. Stars of the match: 1. Tarasenko, 2. Sheštorkin (both NY Rangers), 3. Tippett (Philadelphia). |
| Edmonton – Toronto 5:2 (3:1, 2:0, 0:1) |
| Goals: 4. and 14. McDavid, 19. Hyman, 29. Yamamoto, 38. Kostin – 13. KÄMPF, 42. Marner. Shots on goal: 32:28. Attendance: 18,347. All-Stars: 1. McDavid, 2. Kostin, 3. Nugent-Hopkins (all Edmonton). |
| Dallas – Arizona 4:2 (1:2, 1:0, 2:0) |
| Goals: 22nd and 57th Seguin (second FAX), 19th Hintz, 45th Heiskanen – 11th Hayton, 14th Keller. Shots on goal: 41:20. Attendance: 18,045. Stars of the game: 1. Seguin, 2. Hintz (both Dallas), 3. Välimäki (Arizona). |
| Colorado – New Jersey 5:7 (1:3, 3:3, 1:1) |
| Goals: 20. and 29. MacKinnon, 28. Rantanen, 30. Compher, 42. Nichushkin – 2. PALÁT, 8. Bastian, 12. Tatar, 24. Hamilton, 26. Wood, 37. Mercer, 59. Hischier. Shots on goal: 31:29. VÍTEK VANĚČEK caught 41:26 minutes for New Jersey, conceded five goals from 19 shots and had a success rate of 73.7 percent. Spectators: 18,131. Stars of the match: 1. Mercer (New Jersey), 2. Lehkonen, 3. MacKinnon (both Colorado). |
| Anaheim – Washington 2:3 in overtime. (1:1, 0:0, 1:1 – 0:1) |
| Goals: 14. Terry, 45. Zegras – 41. and 62. Wilson, 9. Fehérváry. Shots on goal: 23:39. Attendance: 14,279. Stars of the game: 1. Wilson (Washington), 2. Terry, 3. Gibson (both Anaheim). |
| Vegas – Carolina 3:2 (0:0, 2:1, 1:1) |
| Goals: 26. and 39. Eichel, 57. R. Smith – 34. NEČAS, 53. J. Staal. Shots on goal: 20:26. Attendance: 17,669. All-Stars: 1. Eichel, 2. Theodore, 3. R. Smith (all Vegas). |
