The Chicago Blackhawks absolutely dominated the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday in a 6-2 win, but there was a significant injury loss.
The good news is that the early word is that Artem Anisimov is only considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. At least for now.
Former Blackhawks forward Antoine Vermette received a game misconduct for that check on Anisimov. For whatever it’s worth, Vermette apologized about the hit.
Jonathan Toews was mostly diplomatic:
The hit:
1) Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
Cirelli recorded his first NHL hat trick as the Lightning steamrolled the Winnipeg Jets Friday evening. The 22-year-old scored twice in the opening period as the Bolts jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back. Cirelli hammered a feed from Ondrej Palat 9:27 into the game and then converted a nifty forehand-backhand maneuver to close out the first 20 minutes. Cirelli would complete the hat trick midway through the third period.
2) Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Malkin recorded two power-play assists to set up Pittsburgh’s two goals in its 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Sidney Crosby has received a lot of attention since returning from a 28-game absence earlier this week and added the game-winning goal Friday. However, it was Malkin who looked off the defender and delivered a perfect pass to set up the Penguins captain. Malkin has recorded 10 points in the previous six games.
3) Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
The 26-year-old winger scored twice in Tampa Bay’s 7-1 win. Cirelli and Kucherov alternated goals as Tampa Bay jumped out to a 4-0 lead, including three in the opening period. Kucherov buried two tap-in opportunities to record goals 21 and 22 on the season. The Russian winger has five goals in his previous three games and the Lightning improved to 12-2-0 in the previous 14 games.
Crosby extended his goal-scoring streak to three games when he buried a pretty feed from Malkin to propel the Penguins in overtime.
Sam Steel fired the OT winner after Andrei Svechnikov‘s costly turnover.
Andrei Vasilevskiy of the @TBLightning improved to 10-0-0 in his last 10 appearances and matched his career high for longest win streak, a mark set from Feb. 9 – March 5, 2019. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/SDztL5d5m0
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 18, 2020
With his goal tonight, the @penguins' Sidney Crosby has now scored an OT goal in each of the last 7 seasons.
Since regular-season OT was re-instituted in 1983-84, only 2 others have scored an OT goal in 7+ straight seasons: Mats Sundin (8) & Brendan Morrison (7).#LetsGoPens
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) January 18, 2020
Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Detroit Red Wings 1 (OT)
Anaheim Ducks 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1 (OT)
Tampa Bay Lightning 7, Winnipeg Jets 1
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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nashville Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson has been fined $2,000 by the NHL under the league’s rules regarding diving and embellishment.
NHL Rule 64 was designed to penalize players who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties. A player gets a warning for a first citation and a $2,000 fine for the second citation.
League officials said Arvidsson received a warning following an incident Dec. 27 against Pittsburgh. His second citation occurred during an incident in the first period of a Jan. 7 game with Boston that resulted in coincidental minor penalties on Arvidsson and Bruins forward Brad Marchand.
Fine proceeds go to the players’ emergency assistance fund.
Matthew Tkachuk‘s trolling made a great impact, and not just by earning the Flames a power play. Thanks to enterprising Flames and Oilers fans, a drive to put up a Tkachuk billboard in Edmonton morphed into something much more, raising a ton of money – more than $50K overall, it seems – for charitable causes.
It’s the sort of thing that might even make Zack Kassian smile.
[Catch up on the feud: Kassian threatens Tkachuk after suspension; witness the carnage]
The ball really got (t)rolling when Mohamed Elsaghir (self-proclaimed “second most-hated man in Edmonton after Matthew Tkachuk) started a GoFundMe drive to put up Tkachuk billboards to torment Oilers fans.
😂😂😂😂 FLAMES FANS LETS MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!
I'm raising money for Matthew Tkachuk Billboards.
Click to Donate https://t.co/8xbKnetGaQ— -M (@Moe_Saghir) January 13, 2020
CTV’s Glenn Campbell chronicles how that amusing idea morphed into something much bigger. Not only are Tkachuk billboards going up, but the process looks like it will raise at least $20K for ALS research.
The viral sensation drew the attention of Calgary radio station CJAY 92, which is owned by Bell Media. That connection made the billboards happen, and oh are the designs ever glorious:
Look for these in Edmonton SOON!
The battle of Alberta is on!
– @jessemodz and @JDfromCJAY #JesseAndJD #CJAY92 #ChuckyBillboard
CC: @Moe_Saghir pic.twitter.com/DqB7MxBKLs
— CJAY 92 (@CJAY92) January 17, 2020
With the billboards taken care of by CJAY 92/Bell Media, Elsaghir instead shifted the focus of that $10K donation drive to combating ALS. Elsaghir noted that proceeds will be donated to Snowy Strong for ALS in honor of Flames assistant GM Chris Snow’s battle with the disease. To make it even better, entrepreneur W. Brett Wilson pledged to match that $10K, pushing the money raised to $20K and counting.
Oh, and even that doesn’t cover the extent of the money raised by the raised ire between Tkachuk and Kassian.
Edmonton resident Samantha Costa made about a $25 donation to Calgary charity Brown Bagging It “in honor of Kassian.” That charity seeks to serve needy children with lunches. With that in mind, Costa ended her tweet with a nice barb: “I chose @BrownBaggingIt so that kids can get a proper meal and grow up to be tougher than Tkachuk.”
Well, Costa’s tweet went viral, too.
To make this all more delightful, Brown Bagging It has been sharing updates that indicate this side of “The Charitable Battle of Alberta” will be competitive, too.
What a journey so far – 556 donations, and we’ve raised a total of $37,069!!!! This includes the amounts from @atbfinancial and @WBrettWilson and, most importantly, every single dollar that has been donated by people just like you (yes, you).
Thank you 😭🙏🙌. @SamInYEG
— BB4CK-Brown Bagging (@BrownBaggingIt) January 17, 2020
Wow.
Other NHL trash-talkers need to step their games up now, to be frank. Brad Marchand needs to lick this one now, is what I’m saying.
The Tkachuk billboard notes that the Flames – Oilers “the friendship tour” continues in Edmonton on Jan. 29. After that, the two teams meet in Calgary on Feb. 1. They also close out the regular season in Calgary on April 4.
Kassian vs. Tkachuk Part II already ranked as must-watch hockey, and a potential mess for the NHL. Following this inspiring charitable drive, it’s even more exciting. Honestly, “The Battle of Alberta” just keeps piling on reasons to cross our fingers for a playoff series.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.
One day after the Colorado Avalanche showed off their jerseys for next month’s Stadium Series game, the Los Angeles Kings revealed what they will wear when they hit the ice at at Falcon Stadium on Feb. 15 (8 p.m. ET; NBC).
As is tradition for Stadium Series games, the design is very unique and out there. The black, white, and silver is there along with the LA from their regular jerseys “taking flight” since the game will take place on the campus of the Air Force Academy.
Now while you’re maybe distracted by the black and white of the jerseys and the sweet white gloves, do not overlook one neat feature: the shiny silver helmets.
Some additional notes from adidas:
• Crest: A new L.A. crest takes flight on diagonal bisected blocking, inspired by aircraft battle stripes.
• Design: The architecture of the venue’s Air Force Academy, coupled with a pilot’s ambition to push to the edge, inspired the oblique angles used to shape the jersey’s typography and numbering. A checkerboard design graphic is implemented along the neckline.
What do you think? The black, white, and silver against the burgundy, blue, and white will be an interesting look on the ice.
MORE: Avalanche reveal 2020 Stadium Series jersey
The 2020 Stadium Series game between the Avalanche and Kings will take place Feb. 15 at Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo.. The game will air on NBC at 8 p.m. ET.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.