The two-game sweep of the NHL starts in Edmonton where the Florida Panthers used goals from Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau to defeat the Oilers, 2-1, and extend their win streak to 12 games.
The big statistic of the night was the 66 hits in the game.
“It got aggressive,” said Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson. “That’s hockey for you; that’s what makes it fun, I guess, at the end of the day. With the exception of a 
couple of hits, that’s what hockey’s supposed to be about. It’s a tough game. It’s kind of nice as a group to get into one of those the odd time. You don’t want the game to end up in bad hits and guys getting hurt, but as a group, you fight through something like that and it certainly lifts your spirits in the dressing room.”
Al Montoya made 24 saves for the Panthers who are on their longest win streak in franchise history.
The Panthers managed only 14 shots on the night and Cam Talbot stopped 12 in the loss.
“It wasn’t very hard in the first period, then we finally decided that we were going to at least engage a little bit, and then it became hard, which was good for us to play,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought we were aggressive; we kept the team that has 12 wins in a row now to 14 shots. We lost the game, we’re not happy about it, but we attempted 68 shots at their net, and I thought we answered the physical bell.”
On a night of streaks, the Chicago Blackhawks won their seventh straight in doubling up the Colorado Avalanche, 6-3.
Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa scored two goals each and Brandon Mashinter and Jonathan Toews added single markers.
“It seems like we’re trending in the right direction,” Kane said. “[Let’s] keep building off this level we’re at right now. It’s a good room to be around. I think everyone’s happy with the way we’re playing, but we know there’s still another level to get to. We’re trying to reach that level, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction.”
Semyon Varlamov had been a Chicago nemesis but Sunday he yielded four goals on 20 shots and was pulled after Kane scored his second.
“They were the better team tonight,” Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. “They were skating well. Their best players had a great night and that’s what it is. We had five wins in a row here [in Chicago]. Our record on the road is good. We’ve been playing good hockey on the road. Tonight, we just played against a team that played really well.”
Matt Duchene scored twice and Nathan MacKinnon also had a goal for the Avs.
“That’s why they’ve won three Cups in the last six years,” Duchene said. “They have so many weapons that can hurt you every night. When they’re all going, it’s really scary. Obviously, you have Kane and Hossa have two goals, and then [Toews] has a goal and two assists, so big game from those guys. They were the better team all around tonight.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.