Despite the Canadian's defeat, hockey fans got their money's worth at the Bell Center on Wednesday evening. During the shootout period, it felt like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals as there was a wild atmosphere in the stands. The fans were screaming at the top of their lungs! As Mario Lemieux would say: It was something.
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As is often the case with tiebreakers, an unknown player named Jansen Harkins, sent onto the ice as the 24th player, ended the tension by deceiving the alertness of Samuel Montembeault. Harkins, 26, is a fourth-line player who has never scored more than seven goals in a season.
It was with the Winnipeg Jets in the 2021-2022 season.
The forty-seventh pick in the 2015 draft, he scored just 15 goals in 168 games in the National League. I don't think I'm wrong when I say his game-winning goal was one of, if not the most, important he scored in the NHL.
Unfortunately, this goal will not be included in his tally as goals scored in the shootout are not included in the official statistics.
Photo Getty Images via AFP
Best player on the ice
But it wasn't him who attracted the most attention in this spectacular match. It was one of the oldest players on both sides, Sidney Crosby, who was the best of them all.
The Penguins captain may have passed the torch to Connor McDavid for some time. But it's still worth its weight in gold.
We don't call him the kid anymore because he's 36 years old, but he's still a kid at heart. It was he who brought his team back into the game after the Canadians took a 2-0 lead in the first period. With his 16th goal of the season, he put the Penguins on the top scorers list.
Sean Monahan restored the Canadian's lead with two goals, but Crosby had not yet said his final word. In the second period, he set up Jake Guentzel's second goal for his team before leveling the score himself with his second goal of the night, a successful net with his second shot of the game.
Sherbrooke native Luc Gauthier, who spent 22 years as an amateur recruiter in the NHL, including the last 16 years with the Penguins, confirms that Crosby is driven by the same inner flame that defined him when he was in the NHL Big League 19 started years ago. years ago.
“When I talk to the young players in our organization, I tell them to watch out for Sidney,” he told me after the second half.
“Not just on the ice, but also in the gym,” the friendly man added. Sid has all the qualities you would expect from a hockey player. He is a professional through and through, both on a human and sporting level.
“It's not like we know each other well, he and I, but every time I enter the team locker room he takes the time to greet me and have a little chat. His assets are invaluable to a team. »
Crosby came back in the shootout to keep the Penguins in the game in the third.
As expected, he received the game's first star. But then he made his only mistake of the night by not appearing on the ice. He deserved a nice ovation because the audience was waiting for him.
Hopefully it will be next time.