NHL Scores: Rangers kids beat grizzly Islanders; Ovechkin and Crosby still going strong; and Blues go Wild
Anthony Scultore
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The New York Rangers are the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 25.8. Last night four players 21 and younger took it to a veteran Islanders team for a 4-1 victory. It wasn’t all about the kids yesterday as two future Hall of Famers continue to dominate the game in Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Alexis Lafrenière and fellow Rangers kids beat grizzly Islanders
Youth was served for the Blueshirts as they beat their cross town rivals at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders are the fourth oldest team in the NHL at 29.1 and it showed against a younger and faster team last night. Alexis Lafrenière, all of 19, scored the opening goal assisted by Kaapo Kakko (20) and Filip Chytil (21). The “kids line” as they’ve been dubbed out hustled the Islanders all game and finally broke through their tight defense as the first overall pick in the 2020 draft cashed in a rebound. Then in the third period with the Islanders down by just one; Kakko won a loose puck battle and got it to Artemi Panarin who moved it to Jacob Trouba at the point. He dished it to his defense partner, 21 year-old K’Andre Miller who blasted it by Semyon Varlamov for the back breaking goal.
“The puck just bounced on my stick, so I just had to put it in,” Lafreniere said. “They did really good work and I was in the right spot at the right time and lucky it went in.”
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Meanwhile, the ageless Alex Ovechkin scored career goal 727 and is now just four behind Marcel Dionne for 5th on the all-time goals list. The Caps beat the Sabres 4-3 to tie the Islanders for first place. Sidney Crosby picked up three points (1G, 2A) for the Penguins as they dropped the Devils 6-4.
The playoff race in the East is one of the best in the NHL as six teams are vying for the four playoff spots and first place is up for grabs as well.
Blues blast Wild for 9 goals; Avalanche back on track
Maybe the rumblings that some players are being shopped have sparked the Blues. They won their second in a row and did so by blasting the Wild out of the building 9-1. Ryan O’Reilly notched a hat-trick and added an assist to lead the way. Newly rumored to be traded Jaden Schwartz also came back to life with two goals in the blowout.
“I think it’s nice to help our goaltenders out and score some goals,” O’Reilly said. “We think putting the puck in the net is a good feeling, something we want to continue, that’s for sure.”
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The win gets the Blues back to within a point of the Coyotes for the last playoff spot. Arizona dropped their second straight as the Vegas Golden Knights beat them 7-4 with Max Pacioretty scoring his 19th of the season. The Sharks beat the Kings 5-2 and are just three points behind the Coyotes as well.
Finally, the Colorado Avalanche got back to winning with a 2-0 defeat of the Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Johaansson picked up the 28 save shutout with Mikko Rantanen scoring his 23rd of the year. Colorado remains atop the West by four points over Vegas.