The Vancouver Canucks may have been hosting the winningest team in the Eastern Conference, but it seemed like a walk in the park for their stars in a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on Monday.
The Blueshirts scored the first goal and Alexis Lafrenière had two assists, only for the Madison Square Garden crowd to quickly fall silent. Elias Pettersson led the visitors with four points, Brock Boeser had three and Nils Hoglander scored two goals.
• Also read: Daniel Brière tried everything to convince editor Gauthier
• Also read: Jakob Pelletier will be deployed soon
Quinn Hughes reached the 50-point plateau with one assist. He became just the ninth defenseman in history to do so in 40 games or fewer. Among active players, only Erik Karlsson and John Carlson made it.
It was a hard night's work for Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. The Russian gave up five times out of 25 throws. At the other end of the ice, Thatcher Demko was in a class of her own with 39 saves.
Pennsylvania penguins
In Philadelphia, the Pittsburgh Penguins are also entitled to a great performance from their goaltender, defeating their long-time rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1.
Alex Nedeljkovic has been an excellent replacement for Tristan Jarry this season and he proved it again, frustrating his opponents 36 times in a spirited clash on both sides. His opponent Carter Hart limited the damage, but the Pens found gaps.
Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson, Chad Ruhwedel and Evgeni Malkin scored the victory. The tone was set very quickly in this match when the first one broke the ice in the 45th second.
The Flyers will be the Montreal Canadiens' next opponent on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center.