The most productive player
He sat out eight games due to injury, but once he returned to the ice, he immediately showed that he would be a threat and that any opponent should be wary of Edmonton. Forward Connor McDavid contributed to the Oilers' three wins with three, four and two assists, respectively, and was the best in the entire NHL with a +8 rating.
Goaltender of the Week
The leading candidate for the Vezina Trophy, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck continued to shine at the end of the regular season. The Winnipeg mainstay conceded only one goal against St Louis, who are fighting for the playoffs, and none against a strong Dallas team. At the time, it was his 45th win of the season, something only seven goalies had done before him.
Moreover, the seventh shutout of the season meant that the American has more than 27 NHL sides. On Saturday, although he shipped four goals against Chicago, he still maintained a 93.1% save percentage during the three games. And he should be a clear candidate for the Hart Trophy.
Highlight of the week
He waited a long time and many people didn't believe in him anymore. It's not that Gabriel Landeskog wasn't determined, but the health issues that have plagued him since June 2022, when he celebrated the Stanley Cup with Colorado, have nearly ended his career. But the Swedish warrior didn't give up, and the two-time world champion played a sharp game again after 1,020 games. For the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
"Physically, I felt great. Of course it was the first game in a long time, so there are a lot of things to work on and things to improve, but I enjoyed it," said the 2011 second-round draft pick after the game in which the Eagles defeated the Henderson Golden Knights 2-0.
A number of his former (and probably soon-to-be current) teammates watched the game, including Nathan MacKinnon, Josh Manson, Cale Makar, Andrew Cogliano and Milan Hejduk. The man who handed him the captain's C years ago.
Landeskog managed a total of 15 substitutions and wasn't afraid to get into a crossfire with some of the opposing players. So he still played the way he was used to before. And on Saturday he was even better, in the next game against Henderson he had a goal and an assist in the 4:3 shootout win. He scored on a point in the 56th minute to tie the game at 3-3.
He failed in the shootout, as did Czech forwards Ivan Ivan, Jakub Brabenec and Matyas Sapovaliv and Slovak forward Jakub Demek.
Stat of the week
The traditional clubs are not having an easy time this season, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers all missing out on the Stanley Cup. Those three teams out of the knockout stages? That's never happened before in history...
From social media
This time, two Russian forwards are starring. First, the talented Ivan Demidov, the fifth overall pick in the last draft, who left the KHL just before the end of the regular season, signed with Montreal and immediately headed overseas. Canadiens fans were very excited to see him, as evidenced by the fact that his flight from Istanbul was at one point the most-watched flight in the world, according to the expert website flightradar.com.
The other player is Columbus forward Dmitry Voronkov, who received a 10-minute personal foul penalty from the referees during Saturday's 7-0 demolition of Washington.
He just didn't understand the referees, so he stayed on the ice and even jumped on the power play until the men in stripes registered the whole situation. The confusion on the ice then caused a lot of smiles, especially on the Blue Jackets' bench.
Photo of the week
Pittsburgh won 4-2 against New Jersey, but cashed in after just 15 seconds of play. It was the 15th time in the season that a goal was scored from the very first shot on their own goal, just one goal away from the sad record set by Colorado in 2000-01. Tristan Jarry was in the cage on eight occasions, setting a club record.
Ladislav Smid's view
"Last year's regular season winner, New York Rangers, are out of the playoffs and here in Canada it's quite a theme. On paper, the team looks really strong.
"But this year's team is not the best, leaders like Zibanejad, Panarin and Fox don't stand out that much, even goalie Igor Shestorkin is not having the best year, even though he is still among the NHL's elite.
"It seems like there's some problem inside the locker room - or maybe even in management - after all, it's been a season with some drama for the club. Take the departure of captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim.
"But I don't want to blame it on the players, the locker room is strong, but the chemistry of the unit is so strange on the outside. Maybe it's also time for head coach Peter Laviolette. Maybe they are waiting for the offseason and then there will be some momentum.
"Either way, it looks like there are more issues on the team that will need to be addressed, including some players that didn't quite fit in the locker room.
"Something needs to be done about that. It certainly didn't help that some key faces on the team were still hearing rumors that they were about to be traded. Trouba's departure didn't go well either, it made the papers how the club was negotiating with him and now it's coming up again with Calvin de Haan. It may be small things, but this is definitely not doing any good in the camp."
