Slovakian hockey player Šimon Nemec decided with a goal in overtime for the victory of New Jersey on the ice of Calgary 2:1 in the night game of the overseas NHL.
He returned to the “devils” line-up after not appearing in it twice in the past three matches. It was his eighth goal of the season. At the age of 21 years and 338 days, he became the youngest defenseman to score three overtime goals in one season.
In the 62nd minute, after an offensive action by the guests, he found himself uncovered in front of the goal and when Jack Hughes found him with a pass, he beat Devin Cooley from close range.
“Let’s call it a scorer’s goal. A lot of players would have just shot the puck at the goalie in that situation, but he showed composure under pressure. It was a big goal,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe was quoted as saying by the nhl.com website.
The German scored his first goal since December 10, and after 35 games he has a record of 8+11.
VIDEO: Šimon Nemec’s goal against Calgary
He was one of the Devils’ busiest players in the match, playing 23:14 minutes. He presented himself with two shots and one blocked shot. The Devils improved their appetite after losing to Carolina (1:4) and won the third game out of the last four.
They lose five points for the second free playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The duel was not completed by New Jersey defender Luke Hughes, who will most likely miss the remaining three games of the trip due to an injury.
He caught Regenda’s attention with an exchange of fists
German compatriots forward Pavol Regenda from San Jose and defender Martin Fehérváry from Washington were also in action, but they did not register in the Canadian scoring. Regenda scored two plus points in a 4-1 victory on Florida ice.
He also impressed with his fist exchange with Uvis Balinskis when he responded to the Latvian defender’s hit on young San Jose forward Michael Misa.
VIDEO: Battle of Regendu
The battle between goalkeepers Sergej Bobrovský and Alex Nedeljkovic was also interesting in the match. By winning on the ice of the Stanley Cup winner, the Sharks increased their chances of participating in the playoffs.
“We’re learning how to play. We’ve got to push the offense and show we’re a good team. We showed that from the first minute today,” San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
VIDEO: Battle of the goalkeepers
One of the highlights of the night’s games was the return of forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida lineup. It was his first game since the final series against Edmonton. “I felt a lot of relief. It was nice to be back in the game, there’s no substitute for it,” Tkachuk told nhl.com.
The Capitals were scoreless for the third straight game
The Colorado players were in danger of losing three games in a row for the first time of the season, but they dismissed that notion with a convincing victory over Washington 5-2. The Capitals did not score in the third meeting in a row and have won only three of the past ten.
“For the first 40 minutes our game was fine, we held our own. But when we evaluate this game, we have to look at the fact that we were up against the best team in the NHL.
It is obvious that such a team will give you problems in different ways. They have some world-class players,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said.
Martin Fehérváry played 20:29 minutes, during which he presented himself with one hit and two blocked shots.
With the triumph, the Avalanche consolidated their position as the leader of the entire competition. In the inflated Eastern Conference, Washington has a three-point deficit on Buffalo, which is in the position of the second wild card for the playoffs.
With three Canadian points, Nathan MacKinnon (2+1) participated in the triumph of the home team, and with his 85th point in the season, he equaled the Canadian scoring leader Connor McDavid. At the same time, he rounded his total number of points in the NHL regular season to 1,100.
“I want to feel good every game and help the team. It can turn around at any time, so you have to keep working on yourself and looking ahead,” MacKinnon said.
VIDEO: MacKinnon scores his second goal to reach his 1100th point
Carolina leads the Eastern Conference with 66 points, while their biggest rival Tampa Bay is only two points behind with three games to go. The Hurricanes won their third straight, defeating Buffalo 2-1 on home ice. The Sabers have lost two straight games for the first time since Dec. 9.
Finnish forward Konsta Helenius, who was drafted by the Sabers as the 14th overall pick in 2024, played his first game in the NHL. Buffalo has been waiting for a victory on the ice of Carolina since March 2016, since then it has lost 12 games in a row.
The players of Pittsburgh started the four-game trip with a victory on the ice of Seattle 6:3. It was the fourth straight loss for the Kraken. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby played his 1,400th game in the NHL regular season.
Both teams’ streaks ended in the Vegas-Philadelphia game. The home Golden Knights lost for the first time after seven wins, the Flyers stopped the losing streak at number six. 17 shots were enough for the guests to win, and both of their goals were scored by striker Travis Konecny.
“It’s great to have him on the team. He takes on a lot, but he can handle it. He’s able to score an important goal or do anything else for the team’s success,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said of Konecny.
The home team’s only goal was assisted by forward Mark Stone, who scored in 12 consecutive games. Vegas continues to lead the Pacific Division, Philadelphia reduced the deficit for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference to three points.
Foligno scored his first hat trick in the NHL
Forward Marcus Foligno from Minnesota scored his first hat trick in the NHL on the ice of Toronto. He scored on the power play, during five-on-five play and into an empty net. He contributed to the Wild’s 6:3 triumph. After 36 games of the ongoing season, he had one goal on his account, but he scored five times in the last four.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. I just had to overcome some health issues and get back to my game. I feel a lot better now,” Foligno noted. Minnesota also won the second game of the three-game trip.
VIDEO: Foligno scored the first hat trick
Toronto lost the third game out of the past four and is just below the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Goalkeeper Spencer Knight flashed with 32 saves and a third clean sheet to lead the Chicago players to a 2-0 victory over Winnipeg. Winnipeg forward Jonathan Toews experienced a special game, for whom it was the first game on the ice of the United Center in an opponent’s jersey.
Before coming to Winnipeg in the summer, he played his entire career in the colors of the Blackhawks, with whom he won the Stanley Cup three times.
Anaheim players got back on a winning streak after a nine-game losing streak. On home ice, they defeated the weakest team of the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers, 5:3, and achieved their fourth consecutive victory.
Forward Cutter Gauthier, who had his 22nd birthday on the day of the match, contributed two goals. “It’s pretty funny. I always dream of scoring a goal on my birthday, and it’s nice to be able to do it tonight,” nhl.com quoted Gauthier as saying.
Rangers lost the sixth game out of the previous seven. “I think we got off to a really good start, we skated well in the first period. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep it up throughout the game, especially in the five-on-five game.
“Our power play was good, but we didn’t play the way we needed to during the even game,” said NY Rangers coach Mike Sullivan.
Vancouver’s players also extended the deep result crisis. On home ice, the New York Islanders lost 3:4 and recorded their 11th loss in a row. They haven’t won on home ice since December 7, then lost eight games in a row. With 37 points, the Canucks are by far the weakest team in the competition.
The second-worst team in the league, the NY Rangers, has 11 more points. With the victory, the Islanders secured 2nd place in the Metropolitan Division and increased their chances of advancing to the playoffs.
NHL – results (January 20):
Carolina Hurricanes – Buffalo Sabres 2:1 (1:1, 0:0, 1:0)
Goals: 8. Svechnikov (Aho, Walker) – 2. Dahlin (Quinn, Zucker), 43. Jarvis (Svechnikov, Aho).
Goalkeepers: Bussi – Luukkonen, shots on goal: 28:18.
Colorado Avalanche – Washington Capitals 5:2 (1:1, 2:1, 2:0)
Goals: 6. Kelly (Makar, Barre-Boulet), 28. MacKinnon (Nečas, Olofsson), 36. Olofsson (Manson, Nečas), 53. Lehkonen (MacKinnon), 57. MacKinnon (Nečas) – 8. Chychrun (Strome, Frank), 37. Frank (Ovechkin, Dowd).
Goalkeepers: Wedgewood – Lindgren, shots on goal: 44:24.
Seattle Kraken – Pittsburgh Penguins 3:6 (1:2, 1:1, 1:3)
Goals: 17. Meyers (Schwartz, Winterton), 34. Lindgren (Winterton, Meyers), 48. Tolvanen (Montour, Wright) – 6. Wotherspoon (Lizotte, Mantha), 8. Dewar, 35. Kulak (Crosby), 43. Brazeau (Mantha, Clifton), 57. Rakell (Crosby), 60. Dewar (Lizotte).
Goalkeepers: Daccord – Skinner, shots on goal: 23:32.
Florida Panthers – San Jose Sharks 1:4 (0:0, 0:3, 1:1)
Goals: 41. Luostarinen (Ekblad) – 21. Smith (Liljegren, Wennberg), 23. Desharnais (Černyšev, Misa), 27. Ferraro (Černyšev, Misa), 58. Goodrow.
Goalkeepers: Bobrovskij – Nedeljkovic, shots on goal: 36:28.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Minnesota Wild 3:6 (1:2, 0:3, 2:1)
Goals: 19. Tavares (Knies, Matthews), 47. Robertson (Roy, Cowan), 56. Matthews (Domi) – 5. Tarasenko (Hartman, Kaprizov), 11. Hartman (Zuccarello, Kaprizov), 27. Foligno (Faber, Hughes), 29. Tarasenko (Hughes), 40. Foligno (Faber, Jurov), 58. Foligno (Tarasenko, Sturm).
Goalkeepers: Woll (41. Hildeby) – Gustavsson, shots on goal: 30:39.
Vegas Golden Knights – Philadelphia Flyers 1:2 (0:1, 1:0, 0:1)
Goals: 40. Hertl (Eichel, Stone) – 4. Final, 48. Final.
Goalkeepers: Hill – Ersson, shots on goal: 25:17.
Chicago Blackhawks – Winnipeg Jets 2:0 (0:0, 1:0, 1:0)
Goals: 34. Dickinson (Donato, Vlasic), 59. Bedard (Michejev, Vlasic).
Goalkeepers: Knight – Hellebuyck, shots on goal: 24:32.
Calgary Flames – New Jersey Devils 1:2 pp (0:0, 1:1, 0:0 – 0:1)
Goals: 30. Kadri (Bahl, Gridin) – 28. Mercer (Hamilton, Siegenthaler), 62. Germany (J. Hughes, Bratt).
Goalkeepers: Cooley – Markström, shots on goal: 22:31
Anaheim Ducks – New York Rangers 5:3 (1:1, 2:1, 2:1)
Goals: 12. McTavish (Miňtucho, 29. Truchon-Viel (Phoheln), 39. Killorn (Trouba), 42. Gauthier (Helleson), 42. Gauthier (LaCombe) – 60. Robert (LaCombe) – 4. Robert (Debean, Miller (Malbean, Miller (Zibbean, Miller (Zabbean, Miller), 48. Gavrikov (Panariin, Troche).
Goalkeepers: Dostál – Martin, shots on goal: 26:22.
Vancouver Canucks – New York Islanders 3:4 (2:1, 0:2, 1:1)
Goals: 3. Sasson (Karlsson, Höglander), 15. Kane (Pettersson, Kämpf), 59. O’Connor (Hronek) – 11. Duclair (DeAngelo, Schaefer), 35. Duclair (Ritchie, Barzal), 36. Pulock (Schaefer, Pageau), 51. DeAngelo (Lee, Barzal).
Goalkeepers: Lankinen – Sorokin, shots on goal: 32:32.
NHL tables
Western Conference:
