The Islanders led 1-0 until the 28th minute when Charlie McAvoy equalized. Moments later, Boston rejoiced after the Czech action: Pastrňák found Zach between the circles and his shot was blocked in front of the goal by Krejčí and Derek Forbort, who was credited with the goal. At the beginning of the third period, Pastrňák signaled a shot on the power play and released Brad Marchand with a cross pass, who made it 3:1 into the open goal. After another good play, Trent Frederic sealed the win.
Boston has won 24 of 25 games on the season when leading after two periods. He did not finish only one match and lost after raids. “We have an experienced team. The older players know how to play in those situations,” Marchand explained. With an assist, Krejčí equaled Václav Prospal in fifth place in the historical productivity of Czech players. Both have 765 points. Only Milan Hejduk (805), Jakub Voráček (806), Patrik Eliáš (1025) and Jaromír Jágr (1921) have won more.
Faksa increased the lead of the Dallas hockey players in San Jose to 3:0 in the 27th minute, but the home team turned the game around and won 5:3 thanks to Tomáš Hertl’s assist. Faksa scored for the first time since November 23, with two assists in the next 25 games.
Faksa ended his goal fast with luck. The Czech striker first passed in front of the goal, but the home team blocked it and his second attempt was knocked into his own net by Timo Meier. But San Jose equalized in the middle period and Hertl scored the second assist on Meier’s goal to make it 3:3. The turnaround was completed in the 51st minute by Erik Karlsson, who collected four points (1+3), and with a shot into an empty net, Logan Couture secured the win.
“When you’re up 3-0, you should have won. It’s about us. We didn’t need to score another goal, but we should have played to not get one,” sighed Dallas coach Pete DeBoer. “I don’t even know if there was a turning point. We struggled a bit on power plays and they were more effective,” added Colin Miller.
The main architect of the turnaround Karlsson crossed the 60-point mark in the 46th game, only Paul Coffey has done it faster since the 1988/89 season among defenders. In terms of productivity this season, the Swedish quarterback is only one point behind Pastrňák, who is third.
In Calgary, which lost to Colorado 1:4 at home, there was no Czech goalkeeping duel. Home team Daniel Vladař and on the other side Pavel Francouz remained on the bench. The defending Stanley Cup champion laid the foundation for success between the 7th and 13th minutes, during which he scored the first three goals. The main architects of the win were Mikko Rantanen (2+1) and Artturi Lehkonen (2+0). Aleksandar Georgiev lost in the 43rd minute.
Steven Stamkos led Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win in Vancouver with a hat trick to become the 47th player in NHL history to surpass the 500-goal mark. The Lightning captain achieved this goal in one club, which was achieved by only 22 hockey players before him. The guests decided on the win already in the first period with four goals.
“It’s an individual statistic, but I’ve been playing for the club for 14 years and a lot of teammates helped me get to that number. I am grateful to them for that. Even for their reaction. They were as excited about the goal as I was on the ice, it makes the whole moment even more amazing.”
Stamkos scored his 500th goal in the fifth minute to open the scoring. “In the last matches, I threw away a few chances, so it was nice that I made a breakthrough at the beginning. I know that my teammates were looking for me in situations where they would have already shot in other circumstances. That’s why I’m glad that it’s over now, ” said the thirty-two-year-old Stamkos.
In Wednesday’s NHL program, Brady Tkachuk shone with four points. He assisted on three goals in regular time and scored in overtime in Ottawa’s 5-4 win over Pittsburgh. Jan Rutta was missing from the losers lineup, he didn’t even travel with the team to the match due to an upper body injury.
| Results of Wednesday’s NHL games: |
|---|
| Ottawa – Pittsburgh 5:4 in overtime. (2:2, 1:1, 1:1 – 1:0) |
| Goals: 8. DeBrincat, 10. Stützle, 30. Batherson, 51. Pinto, 61. B. Tkachuk – 7. Zucker, 16. Malkin, 24. Friedman, 53. Rakell. Shots on goal: 40:19. Spectators: 17,106. Stars of the match: 1. B. Tkachuk (Ottawa), 2. Crosby (Pittsburgh), 3. Batherson (Ottawa). |
| New York Islanders – Boston 1:4 (1:0, 0:2, 0:2) |
| Goals: 16. Parise – 28. McAvoy, 32. Forbort (KREJČÍ, ZACHA), 46. Marchand (PASTRŇÁK), 56. Frederic. Shots on goal: 26:24. Attendance: 17,255. Stars of the game: 1. McAvoy, 2. Forbort, 3. Marchand (all Boston). |
| Calgary – Colorado 1:4 (0:3, 0:0, 1:1) |
| Goals: 43. Toffoli – 7. and 60. Rantanen, 12. and 13. Lehkonen. Shots on goal: 35:30. Attendance: 17,768. Stars of the match: 1. Rantanen, 2. Lehkonen, 3. Georgiev (all Colorado). |
| Vancouver – Tampa Bay 2:5 (0:4, 0:0, 2:1) |
| Goals: 47. Kuzmenko, 50. Q. Hughes – 5., 15. and 59. Stamkos, 9. Kučerov, 14. Point. Shots on goal: 39:25. Spectators: 18,792. Stars of the match: 1. Stamkos (Tampa Bay), 2. Kuzmenko (Vancouver), 3. Elliott (Tampa Bay). |
| San Jose – Dallas 5:3 (0:1, 3:2, 2:0) |
| Goals: 30. Lorentz, 32. Bonino, 36. Meier (HERTL), 51. E. Karlsson, 60. Couture – 7. Dellandrea, 24. Robertson, 27. FAX. Shots on goal: 28:36. Attendance: 12,315. Stars of the match: 1. E. Karlsson, 2. Bonino (both San Jose), 3. Heiskanen (Dallas). |
