Around the NHL: October 7 scores and results
Welcome back ladies and gentlemen. As I said earlier, we have just two games that were on the schedule tonight in the National Hockey League.
Let’s take a look at how these games played out.
Game 1: New Jersey Devils vs. Edmonton Oilers
| New Jersey Devils | 4 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 5 |
The New Jersey Devils travelled to Rexall Place in Canada tonight to go head-to-head with the Edmonton Oilers.
To say that this game started out badly for the Oilers would be an understatement. The Devils kicked off the scoring early with a snap shot from right wing Jaromir Jagr at 2:59 in the first. The assist on the goal would come from defenseman Marek Zidlicky.
The next goal for the Devils would come just under 5 minutes later while on the Power Play. As Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle sat in the box for 2 minutes for Hooking Devils left wing Patrik Elias, Devils right wing Damien Brunner would fire a wrist shot past Oilers goaltender Jason LaBarbera with the assists from center Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique.
The score at this point is 2-0 Devils.
The second period was much of the same, with the lone goal of the period coming at the hands of Devils right wing Michael Ryder with an unassisted snap shot at 4:34 in the second.
At the end of the 40 minutes of play, the score would be 3-0 Devils.
I don’t know what was said to them in the locker room, but a change was definitely apparent. The third period was all about the Edmonton Oilers.
The action started at 5:43 in the third. While Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador sat in the box for 2 minutes for Delay of Game, returning Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins let go a wrist show that would find the back of the net with the assists to left wind David Perron and center Boyd Gordon.
Just under 4 minutes later, former Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference nailed a slap shot past Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur with the assists from defenseman Justin Schultz and Jordan Eberle.
The Oilers’ firestorm continued just over 2 minutes later when Perron scored his second point for the night with a snap shot. The assist on the Perron goal went to center Mark Arcobello.
Again, 2 minutes later (I am sensing a pattern here,) Oiler left wing Taylor Hall let loose a wrist shot with the assist from right wing Ales Hemsky. This goal would put the Oilers on top for the first time tonight.
Unfortunately, with just one minute left until the final buzzer, while the Oilers were on the Power Play, Patrik Elias is able to fire a backhanded shot that easily found the back of the net with the assists from Brunner and Zidlicky. This would ultimately tie up the score, and when the final buzzer sounded, these two teams would be headed to overtime.
The overtime period was unable to produce a goal, so the Oilers and the Devils would head to a Shootout.
In case you missed it, here is a look at the shootout between the Devils and the Oilers.
First up for the Oilers in the shootout would be Eberle. His shot easily flew past Brodeur giving Edmonton the early advantage. Then, there was Brunner for the Devils, who was shut down by LaBarbera. Next up for the Oilers would be Perron, who would also easily get past Brodeur. Next up for the Devils would be right wing Ryan Clowe. Fortunately for the Oilers, LaBarbera was able to ward off this shot and backstop the Oilers to their first victory.
To make it all that much sweeter, they were able to do it in front of their home crowd.
Three Stars of the Game:
Game 2: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings
| New York Rangers | 3 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 |
In the last game on tonight’s NHL schedule, the New York Rangers would travel to the Staples Center in LA to go face-to-face with the Los Angeles Kings.
Unlike the game that came before this, the battle between the Rangers and the Kings was more of a back and forth between the two teams.
First blood wasn’t scored until over the halfway point in the first period. At 13:32 in the first period, Rangers center Brad Richards would fire off a wrist shot that would find its way between the pipes with the assists from left wing Rick Nash and center Derek Stepan.
At the end of the first 20 minutes of play, the New York Rangers would be up 1-0 on the Los Angeles Kings.
It would take about halfway through the second period before the scoring would start up again. At 10:46 in the second, Brad Richards would net his second goal of the evening with a backhand shot. The assist on the goal would go to Nash.
Just under 2 minutes later, the Kings would attempt to battle back. At 12:11, defenseman Jake Muzzin would unleash a slapshot that would find its way past Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The assist on that goal would go to center Mike Richards.
If there was anything that was abundant in the second period, it was penalties. At 3:28, Kings left wing Kyle Clifford and Rangers right wing Arron Asham would both receive fighting majors. J
ust over a minute later, Kings Defenseman Drew Doughty would be sent to the box for 2 minutes for Cross Checking Rangers right wing Derek Dorsett.
At 8:18, Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman would serve 2 minutes in the box for Holding.
At 11:01, the real fun started as Rangers center Derick Brassard was sent to the sin bin for 2 minutes for Interference against Drew Doughty. On the flip side, Doughty was sent to the box for 2 minutes for Slashing Brassard. Somehow unable to stay out of the box tonight, Doughty would get another penalty at 17:46 for Hooking Stepan.
Despite all the action in the penalty box during the second period, the thing that people are going to be talking about for weeks to come is what transpired in the third period.
At 4:39 in the third period, while on the Penalty Kill of all things, Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh would score a shorthanded goal with an assist from center Brian Boyle.
This was not just any old shorthanded goal, oh no. I think this is one of those things that is better seen than read.
Here is a look at that shorthanded goal.
It is going to be quite some time before Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick is going to hear the end of this one. Something like this could happen to anyone. I’m just glad it wasn’t my favorite team.
Ultimately, when the final buzzer sounded on the game, The Rangers would defeat the Kings with a score of 3-1, earning them their first win of the season.
Three Stars of the Game: