NHL News and Notes from Monday, October 18th, 2021
News
- The NHL Department of Player Safety has fined Dallas Stars forward Radek Faksa.
- Faksa was fined $5000 for slashing Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stützle on Sunday.
- The fine is the maximum allowed under the CBA for slashing.
- The NHL announced the Three Stars of the Week with Los Angeles King forward Anze Kopitar taking top honors.
- Kopitar would score four goals and three assists for seven point in two games.
- Alex Ovechkin (WAS) and Steven Stamkos (TB) would round out the rest of the Three Stars.
- TXHT Recap – NHL Stars of the Week – Scoring Their Way to the Top
- The Vancouver Canucks and defenseman Travis Hamonic have mutually agreed to have Hamonic take a Leave of Absence from the team for personal reasons.
- Hamonic did not report to the Canucks training camp.
- Hamonic did not report to the Abbottsford Canucks (AHL) either.
- The NHL has announced that they have concluded their investigation on San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane.
- The League has suspended Kane 21 games, without pay, for an established violation, and lack of compliance, of the NHL/NHLPA COVID-19 Protocol.
- Kane will be ineligible to play prior to San Jose’s game on November 30th at New Jersey.
- Regarding allegations of domestic abuse made against Kane by his estranged wife Deanna could “not be substantiated”.
- Kane is not expected to appeal his 21 game suspension.
Game Recaps
- New York Rangers v. Toronto Maple Leafs – 7p ET
- In Toronto the Maple Leafs would take on the New York Rangers. In the first period Mika Zibanejad would net his first goal of the season to give the Rangers the 1-0 lead. Then in the second period Michael Bunting would tie the game at one for the Leafs. After a scoreless third period Artemi Panarin would score his first of the season to win the game in overtime as the Rangers would take the 2-1 victory over the Maple Leafs.
- Seattle Kraken v. Philadelphia Flyers – 7p ET
- In Philadelphia the Flyers and Seattle Kraken would do battle as both teams look to bounce back from losses in their previous games. In the first period it would be an amazing desperation save by Carter Hart to give the Flyers all the momentum as Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, and Derick Brassard would all score to give the Flyers a commanding 3-0 lead. Then in the second period Ryan Ellis would net his first as a Flyer and Justin Braun would score to grow the Flyers lead to five, but late in the period Carson Soucy would score to get the Kraken on the board. In the third period Joel Farabee would score to seal the deal for the Flyers as they would route the Kraken 6-1.
- Anaheim Ducks v. Calgary Flames – 930p ET
- In Calgary the Flames look to shake off their season opening loss to the Edmonton Oilers as they host the Anaheim Ducks for their home opener. In the first period Blake Coleman, fresh off a one game suspension from the preseason, would score his first goal as a Flame to give them the 1-0 lead, but Cam Fowler would strike on the powerplay to tie the game at one. Then in the second period Elias Lindholm would strike to retake the lead for the Flames. As this contest moves to the third, Anaheim ties the game when Rickard Rakell scores his second on the season at 12:55. At 3:26 in the OT frame, Jamie Drysdale scores his first goal on the season to give the Ducks the 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
- St. Louis Blues v. Arizona Coyotes – 10p ET
- In Arizona the Coyotes would show off those fresh new White Kachina jerseys as they play host to the St. Louis Blues. In the first period Clayton Keller would strike on the powerplay to give the Coyotes the 1-0 lead, but Pavel Buchnevich would strike for his first as a Blue to tie the game at one. In the second period Lawson Crouse would score his first of the season to give the Coyotes their one goal lead back, but while on the powerplay the Blues would be swarming the Coyotes zone and Justin Faulk would rip a blast past Carter Hutton to tie the game at two and then Jordan Kyrou would score to give the Blues their first lead of the game. The Blues would not relent as Klim Kostin would score two goals and Kyrou would score his second of the game to give them the 6-2 lead. In the third, Christian Fischer scores his first on the year to bring the Coyotes within three. Arizona comes within two when Ilya Lyubushkin scores his first on the year at 8:23 in the period. At 12:25, Ivan Barbashev scores for the Blues to seal the victory for St. Louis as they down the Ducks 7-4.
- VAN v. BUF – 7p ET
- SJ v. MON – 7p ET
- FLA v. TB – 7p ET
- SEA v. NJ – 7p ET
- DAL v. PIT – 7p ET
- COL v. WAS – 7p ET – Kassie’s Game Preview
- CLB v. DET – 730p ET
- NYI v. CHI – 8p ET
- LA v. NAS – 8p ET
- WIN v. MIN – 8p ET
- ANA v. EDM – 9p ET
Noteworthy in Hockey
- Chris Johnston does his weekly look “Inside the NHL”. In his inaugural edition he talks about Frederik Andersen, Brady Tkachuk, answers fan questions, and more. (The Star – $)
- Mark Lazerus looks at the Chicago Blackhawks where head coach Jeremy Colliton still has the locker room despite losing the fans. (The Athletic – $)
- Mark Douglas looks at Jordan Samuels-Thomas who becomes the first black referee in the NHL in nearly two decades. (NHL – Color of Hockey)
- The new 32 Thoughts Podcast was released as Friedman and Marek discuss a variety of topics around the NHL. (SportsNet)
