Three things we learned in week 6 of the 2021-22 NHL season
Stephen Brashear-USA Sports TODAY
The league’s strongest teams are stepping up and the biggest names are making their mark on the season. Here’s a look back at a few stories from the past week:
Connor Murphy and Caleb Jones have seen all of Edmonton
Saturday night saw the Oilers improve to 13-4 with a dominant 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. That game showed just how much Edmonton could dominate a game, as demonstrated by the tidbit below:
Amazingly, in this passage, the Oilers were able to change all four lines and somehow fail to score in this passage. Holding Edmonton off the scoresheet with two defenders stuck on the ice for nearly five minutes would guarantee a point of sympathy for the Hawks.
Note to the teams: don’t let Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl run the show. But even if you don’t, the depth of the team is on display this season.
Competitive Pacific
Most people scrapped the division in the first place, with Edmonton and Vegas looking like the only real contenders there. But for now, the Calgary Flames are standing on top with the Oilers at their point of return. Anaheim and Vegas are five points off the lead, making for an intense battle that could play out any way for the lead.
As the year goes on, it will be interesting to see if the young Ducks can continue to lead the accelerated rebuilding, and what impact Jack Eichel will have on the Golden Knights when he finally… are also allowed to play.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the battle for the final three places in the league only took place in the final few days of the season.
Nothing slows Alex Ovechkin
The Great 8 may have been held to a goalless draw in three consecutive opening games over the weekend, but he made up for that against San Jose and Seattle. Ovechkin scored three goals to bring him 745 goals.
Ovechkin ranks 4th all-time on his own in career NHL goals. It didn’t take long for Ovi to overtake Jaromir Jagr in third place with 766 goals.
A motivated Ovechkin is an unstoppable one, and it won’t be long before we’re talking about his capture of Gordie Howe – and eventually the Great One.
https://thehockeynews.com/news/three-things-we-learned-in-week-6-of-the-2021-22-nhl-season Three things we learned in week 6 of the 2021-22 NHL season
