NHL Storylines: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly! (A Brand New Puck Prose Series Dedicated to Weekly Individual/Team Performances) – Patrik Laine Tallies His First Career Hat-Trick, Vancouver Canucks Off to a Surprising Start, Anaheim Ducks Struggling Without Hampus Lindholm, and More!
In this column, we will be reviewing some of the hottest NHL storylines from around the league, including an “individual performance of the week” award.
So, which stories have made the cut over the last seven days? Let’s find out!
Individual Performance of the Week: Laine pots a hat-trick in 5-4 OT victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs
What. A. Game. Down 4-0 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the middle of the second period, the Winnipeg Jets went on to stage a memorable comeback in overtime to win 5-4. As exciting as this was, it took a backseat to the notion this would be the first NHL game played between the No. 1 and No. 2 picks from June’s draft, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine.
Laine will and has been under an extraordinary amount of pressure to live up to Matthews, who scored four goals in his NHL debut. But boy, did the Finland-native respond in front of a home crowd in Winnipeg, scoring three goals in the final two periods, including the game-tying and game-winning tallies. Take that, Auston!
But Laine, unlike Matthews, wasn’t afraid to bask in the glory of his victory:
Patrik Laine on the "Laine's better!" chant at MTS Centre: "Yeah I heard something and that sounds pretty good.”
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 20, 2016
What’s next for the ‘Finnish Flash 2.0’ and the Jets?
The Good: Canucks a (very) surprising 4-0-1 to start the season
Who would have thought? A team picked to finish dead last in the NHL by many pundits is among the best! Forget that it’s only five games into the season, the Canucks have defeated the Blues, Sabres, Hurricanes, and Flames!
But, there is one stat that leads me to believe this run might not last very long: the Canucks have only led once this whole time, and that was against Buffalo, arguably the weakest of all the teams the ‘Nucks have faced.
The Canucks are 4-0-1, but by no means are they dominating. They are fighting to stay in each and every game, it just seems they are getting a little bit of luck to start the season.
The Bad: Ducks off to 1-3-1 start with key RFA Lindholm still holding out
Things are not looking up for the Anaheim Ducks as RFA Hampus Lindholm still remains unsigned. Sunday doesn’t get any easier either as they match-up against the undefeated (in regulation) Vancouver Canucks.
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The Ducks got their first win of the season Thursday in a tight 3-2 match against the Philadelphia Flyers, but have gone 0-3-1 in the first four games. What has gone wrong this October? Last year the Ducks also got off to a slow start, and the reason was the weren’t scoring enough goals. And that appears to be the reason this season as well.
The Ducks three tallies Thursday were the most they have scored in a game all season. Not having Lindholm is having a big impact on the defensive side of things, as the normally elite defense corps is ranked 15th in the NHL.
However, we shouldn’t take this early season slide too seriously. The Ducks have a new coach in Randy Carlyle, and it will take players some time to get used to his system. And when Lindholm does come back (Lindholm’s camp and the Ducks are reportedly an estimated $250,000 apart per year in talks), he will have a huge presence. The 22-year-old is one of , if not the best possession player in the NHL.
The Ugly: Blue Jackets register first win, but not without a ridiculous quote from ‘Torts’
“I am not a good enough coach and we are not a good enough team to look ahead”. Those were the exact words that came out of Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella’s mouth when asked about Saturday’s game against the Dallas Stars. Talk about encouragement!
The Blue Jackets went on to squeak by the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Friday night, but you wonder how long Tortorella can defy the Vegas odds before becoming the first coach fired this season.
Next: 6 Inevitable Moves That Could Happen Soon
First of all, that quote was completely unnecessary and does no good to either Tortorella or his team. Second, the Blue Jackets face a harsh schedule for the rest of the month, playing Dallas, Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, and Dallas again in their next 5 games.