LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi TV) – Halfway into the NHL season the Chicago Blackhawks had yet to lose a game in regulation. That would finally change this week however. The Penguins had one of their star players return only to watch him leave again several days later, and one surprise team has now won five games in a row. Which team pulled off this feat? Read ahead to find out!
Chicago Blackhawks finally lose a game in regulation
It seemed like “the streak” that would just never end, however the Chicago Blackhawks string of wins without a regulation loss finally came to an close with a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, the Blackhawks allowed the Avalanche to score five unanswered goals before finally stopping the bleeding and cutting the deficit to 5-2 before ultimately losing 6-2.
Evgeni Malkin returns from concussion, but ends up leaving again with an injury
The star forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins returned to the ice for game action this week as he played in three games (all victories) before having to be shut down again due to an undisclosed injury. Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma would not reveal what was ailing his star player, however he said he expects him to miss one to two weeks of action.
Columbus Blue Jackets go streaking
Entering the season it was clearly a rebuilding year for the Blue Jackets as they had traded away their star player Rick Nash to the New York Rangers and didn’t have any star caliber players on their roster. After a rough start to the season the Blue Jackets have won five straight games and are no longer in last place and sit four points back of the final playoff spot in the West.
Anaheim Ducks re-sign captain Ryan Getzlaf to eight-year deal
The Anaheim Ducks made sure to keep one of their best players away from free agency as they locked up first line center and team captain Ryan Getzlaf to an eight year contract worth $66 Million. Getzlaf has 499 points in 534 career games with Anaheim and is third all time in Ducks history in scoring.
3 Stars of the week (3/4 – 3/10)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) – For the second straight week Sid The Kid takes the top spot as the superstar scored two goals and recorded nine assists as his Pittsburgh Penguins went 4-0 on the week.
P.K. Subban (Montreal Canadiens) – The young blue-liner was an absolute stud for the Habs this week as the defenseman racked up two goals and six assists while helping the Canadiens to a 3-1 record on the week.
Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus Blue Jackets) – The Blue Jackets may have finally found an answer in net as Bobrovsky had an impressive week earning four wins, a GAA of 0.77, a save percentage of .972 and a shutout in his week of action.
League Leaders
Goals – Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) – 19
Assists – Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) – 28
+/- – Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) – +19
Wins – Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens), Ilya Bryzgalov (Philadelphia Flyers), Tuuka Rask (Boston Bruins) – 11
GAA – Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) – 1.49
Save Percentage – Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators) – .952
Shutouts – Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) – 4
Brazil Player Watch
Robyn Regehr
Regehr had a tough week as his Buffalo Sabres went 0-3 on the week. Robyn didn’t record any goals or assists this week and earned a +/- rating of even on the week and had two penalty minutes.