NHL roundup: Blues beat Stars, Ducks edge Wings, Rangers Gallant on COVID list, and Kings hire Bergevin
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL had just two games slated for Sunday as the Blues took on the Stars and the Ducks played their rescheduled contest against the Red Wings.
Also, New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant was placed on COVID protocol and the Los Angeles Kings hired Marc Bergevin.
Let’s recap.
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Blues 2, Stars 1
Jordan Kyrou scored a power-play goal with 28 seconds left to lift the St. Louis Blues over the visiting Dallas Stars 2-1 Sunday.
Blues center Ryan O’Reilly tied the game with 46 seconds left on a 6-on-4 power play with goaltender Jordan Binnington pulled for an extra attacker. The Stars took a penalty on that scoring play, giving Kyrou the chance to win the game with another man advantage.
It was a little bit chaotic,” O’Reilly said. “But I thought we had a good third period. We had some good chances, and it took us right down to the wire to tie the game up, but yeah, there was pucks and bodies everywhere and obviously, we get a good bounce and in the back of the net to tie it up. Yeah, it was good.”
Binnington made 26 saves for the Blues, who extended their home-ice point streak to 12 games at 11-0-1.
Jason Robertston scored and Braden Holtby made 29 saves for the Stars, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
Robertson extended his point streak to seven games. He has four goals and six assists during that span.
Ducks 4, Red Wings (SO)
Trevor Zegras and Rickard Rakell scored in the shootout Sunday night as the host Anaheim Ducks edged the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3.
Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal was a winner in his first NHL start, stopping 33 of 36 shots. Dostal collected three saves in overtime as Detroit kept the puck for most of five minutes. Anaheim caught a break when Pius Suter rang a goalpost less than two minutes in.
“It was unreal after the game, I just started crying because there was so much pressure at the end,” Dostal said. “I just wanted to win it for the guys.”
Thomas Griess made 24 saves for the Red Wings, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from dropping their fourth game in five outings. Detroit did not score during the shootout.
The game was rescheduled from Thursday night, when it was postponed due to COVID-19 issues among the Ducks’ roster.
Rangers Gallant enters COVID protocol
The New York Rangers have announced that Head Coach Gerard Gallant has entered COVID protocol. In his absence, Wolf Pack bench boss Kris Knoblauch will take over temporarily.
Igor Shesterkin, Ryan Reaves, and Julien Gauthier are also in COVID-19 protocol, and Dryden Hunt sustained an upper-body injury in the opener of the five-game road trip on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights and was placed on injured reserve.
Assistant coach Mike Kelly is also on protocol. He was placed on the list on January 2 and should be eligible to return soon.
Gallant, 58, is 23-9-4 this season in his first year with the Rangers.
Kris Knoblauch was named the Head Coach of Wolf Pack in 2019. This season, the 42 year-old is 15-9-2-2 and has the Rangers AHL affiliate in a prime position to make the playoffs.
This is nothing new for Knoblauch as he spelled David Quinn last season for six games due to COVID. The team went 4-2 during that span, all wins and losses were credited to Quinn.
Kings hire Marc Bergevin
On Sunday night, the Kings announced the hiring of former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. He will act as a senior adviser to the GM Rob Blake.
The Habs fired Bergevin on November 28 as the team’s injuries and losses mounted.
“I’ve enjoyed my time away, but I’m excited to join the LA Kings and become an active part of helping the team reach its objectives,” Bergevin said via NHL.com. “I have a great amount of respect for (president) Luc (Robitaille), Rob, and the staff they have in place and it’s an honor to provide my input to this highly regarded group.”
“Marc brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our hockey operations staff and will be a valuable addition to our group,” Blake said. “We look forward to his contributions.”
