This year of our Lord 2018 is coming to a close, and although we are approaching only the midway point of the 2018-19 NHL season, there is no reason we can't take a look at the best things that happened in the hockey world during the 2018 calendar year.
Everyone does top ten lists, but I say why limit yourself? Below are what I consider the top dozen things to happen in hockey this year, in chronological order because I don't mean to rank them first-best, second-best, etc. And please note, I'm focusing only on stuff that happened on the ice (no significant-other cyber bullying stories) and only on the good (even if your team lost one of the games I mention).
Surely the Humboldt Broncos tragedy was the biggest and most important hockey story of 2018, but it doesn't feel right putting it on a list that includes other stories, and it certainly doesn't belong on any list about "bests."
Anyway, here goes...
Surely the Humboldt Broncos tragedy was the biggest and most important hockey story of 2018, but it doesn't feel right putting it on a list that includes other stories, and it certainly doesn't belong on any list about "bests."
Anyway, here goes...
January 26-28: All-Star Weekend
The NHL All-Star 3-on-3 Tourney Game was staged right here in my fair city, and a grand time was had by all. Although he came as a member of the New Jersey Devils, recent cancer survivor Brian Boyle received the loudest ovation of the weekend because we Tampa Bay fans still love him from when he played for our Lightning.
In the skills competition, Connor McDavid edged out Brayden Point for fastest skater, the rookie Brock Boeser edged out the veteran Boyle for most accurate shooter, and Alex Ovechkin torched the field for hardest shot.
In thetourney game itself, Nikita Kucherov had the most memorable highlight when he scored by faking out Braden Holtby, juking with his stick blade as if he was going to shoot but then doing nothing, just letting the puck slide through Holtby's five hole on its own momentum. Seeing as how he's a Bolt, the Tampa crowd serenaded him by cheering "Kuuuuuuuuch!"
However, the Pacific Division wound up winning thetourney game and Boeser took home MVP honors. Interestingly, the locker to which he was assigned in the locker room was the same one he used when he led North Dakota to the NCAA title at the 2016 Frozen Four.
In the skills competition, Connor McDavid edged out Brayden Point for fastest skater, the rookie Brock Boeser edged out the veteran Boyle for most accurate shooter, and Alex Ovechkin torched the field for hardest shot.
In the
However, the Pacific Division wound up winning the
February 20: Kuch fools Holtby
Remember that Kucherov-beats-Holtby trickery I just described? Well, 23 days after the All-Star Game Kuch did it to him again, this time in a real game that the Lightning won 4-2.
February 22: Olympic women's gold medal game
Speaking of my fair city, did I mention that the U.S. women's national team trained for the 2018 Olympics at a rink less than 15 minutes from my house? I dunno if that's why they finally got over the Olympics hump, but they did get over it.
Where the women's game is concerned, the US-Canada rivalry has been interesting. Entering this year, the Americans had won the World Championships four years in a row and seven of the last eight, yet the Canadians had won gold in the last four Olympics. Needless to say, when the two national squads met in the gold medal game at this year's Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, it meant a lot to each.
Team Canada took a 2-1 lead into the third period despite being outshot, and with goaltender Shannon Szabados playing so well, it looked like they might make it five Olympic golds in a row -- until Team USA's Monique Lamoureux scored with six minutes left to force overtime.
Both goalies stood their ground in the extra session, so the game went to a shootout -- in which Monique's twin sister, Jocelyne Lamoureux, cemented her place in history by scoring this beauty to win gold for the stars and stripes.
February 24-25: Olympic men's gold medal game
February 22: Olympic women's gold medal game
Speaking of my fair city, did I mention that the U.S. women's national team trained for the 2018 Olympics at a rink less than 15 minutes from my house? I dunno if that's why they finally got over the Olympics hump, but they did get over it.
Where the women's game is concerned, the US-Canada rivalry has been interesting. Entering this year, the Americans had won the World Championships four years in a row and seven of the last eight, yet the Canadians had won gold in the last four Olympics. Needless to say, when the two national squads met in the gold medal game at this year's Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, it meant a lot to each.
Team Canada took a 2-1 lead into the third period despite being outshot, and with goaltender Shannon Szabados playing so well, it looked like they might make it five Olympic golds in a row -- until Team USA's Monique Lamoureux scored with six minutes left to force overtime.
Both goalies stood their ground in the extra session, so the game went to a shootout -- in which Monique's twin sister, Jocelyne Lamoureux, cemented her place in history by scoring this beauty to win gold for the stars and stripes.
February 24-25: Olympic men's gold medal game
Any doubt that I have a hockey problem was removed when I, a native Floridian who has never been to Europe, stayed up past 2:00 in the morning to watch Team Germany battle Team Russia the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
The NHL did not allow its players to participate in these Olympics, but the talent was still high-end as both teams included some former NHL players and current NHL prospects. Although the Russians included former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov and former Lightning "property" Nikita Guzev, my love-the-underdog mindset kicked in and had me cheering for Germany as the night/morning wore on.
The Germans battled hard and came improbably close, rallying from behind and taking a 3-2 lead when Jonas Muller scored with 3:16 remaining in regulation. When Russia the OAR took a high-sticking penalty inside the final two minutes, giving Germany a power play for the duration, it appeared that a gold medal upset for the ages was about to occur.
However, those crafty Russkies with their backs against the wall had other ideas. Coach Oleg Znarok pulled the goalie for an extra skater, thus re-evening things at 5-on-5. And with 45 seconds left and very little net to shoot at, Guzev forced the game to overtime with a precision shot that pinballed off a defender's stick and into the goal over the arm of goaltender Danny aus den Birken.
15 minutes into the extra session Russia the OAR was on a power play when Gusev sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Minnesota Wild prospect Kirill Kaprizov, who one-timed it home for the winner.
March 21: Crosby's redirect extraordinaire
Late in the second period of a game against Montreal, Sidney Crosby scored on this masterpiece that you have to see -- in slow motion -- to believe. He tapped a flying puck to himself from his forehand, and then backhanded it into the net with a baseball-like swing of the lumber, and did it so fast that you could never tell in real-time what exactly happened. Remember this bit of handiwork if you're feeling tempted to believe that the 31-year-old Crosby is no longer the best player in the game.
Aprill 11: The White-out returns
Sensing that their team had a chance to do something in the playoffs, not just get there, Winnipeg's faithful dressed all in white and packed Bell MTS Place from floor to rafters. They were loud and raucous, and added an extra layer of juice to what are already the most intense playoffs in all of sports, and they were rewarded with their Jets winning Game One over Minnesota by a score of 3-2. That victory was secured when unheralded Joe Morrow scored on a long-distance blast late in the third, and the game highlights are here.
Plus, the postscript was good: The Jets made a deep run to the Western Conference Final by eliminating Minnesota in five and then knocking off top-seeded Nashville in a seven-game barnburner. It marked the most playoff success by any Winnipeg hockey team since the Jets 1.0 were playing in the WHA and winning Avco Cups back in the 1970's.
Plus, the postscript was good: The Jets made a deep run to the Western Conference Final by eliminating Minnesota in five and then knocking off top-seeded Nashville in a seven-game barnburner. It marked the most playoff success by any Winnipeg hockey team since the Jets 1.0 were playing in the WHA and winning Avco Cups back in the 1970's.
May 6: Bolts oust Bruins
As Stanley Cup contenders go, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins were all-in and legit this spring. Although the two franchises had not met in the post-season since 2011, the Bruins seemed to be the Lightning's white whale because they had dominated the regular season series for several years, and therefore plenty of Tampa Bay observers, including yours truly, doubted whether our team would be able to get past the boys from Beantown. Fortunately for us, however, that's why they play the games.
Game Five faced off with the Lightning holding a 3-1 lead in the series. With less than seven minutes remaining in the second period, the game was tied at one and the Bolts were on a power play. That's when Kucherov and J.T. Miller began to cycle the puck between themselves in a circling, give-and-go sequence between the right face-off dot and the end boards. The sequence ended with Miller taking a feed from Kucherov and burying it into the net behind Tukka Rask for the game- and series-winning goal.
Since it was Boston that got eliminated, surely the rest of America (and maybe Canada too) was almost as happy as those of us in the Bay Area. Right?
May 7: Caps eliminate Pens
Any talk of the Bruins being the Lightning's nemesis sounds absurd compared to how big a nemesis the Pittsburgh Penguins have been for the Washington Capitals. Or maybe I should say had been, seeing as how the team from DC finally got that Western PA monkey off its back one day after the Lightning jettisoned the Bruins.
Much ink has been spent over the years writing about how big of an issue the Pens have been for the Caps. I'm not going to recount that here, but if you really want to read about it you can go to the fifth section of this post that I published in June. Suffice it to say that on May 7, 2018, the Caps flipped history on its head a little more than five minutes into overtime in Game Six.
Alex Ovechkin collected a turnover, sprung Evgeny Kuznetsov on a breakaway, and Kuznetsov ended the series and discarded the two-time defending champs by scoring cleanly through Matt Murray's five hole. Kuzy then commenced his flapping-bird celebration. The Caps had finally cleared the second-round hurdle that had haunted them for years, and they were halfway to hockey's promised land.
June 7: The Capitals win the Cup
One month to the day later, the Capitals reached that promised land by winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Game Five started with the Caps holding a 3-1 series lead over Vegas, but when the third period started they were trailing 3-2 and Vegas had the momentum. Then, midway through the frame, Devante Smith-Pelly tied the game up when he kicked the puck to his stick and fired it home while falling. A few minutes later, the Caps grabbed the lead when Lars Eller slid the puck in after it had trickled past Marc-Andre Fleury in the crease.
Washington made their newfound 4-3 lead hold up the rest of they way, and the Cup was theirs. They skated with it 'round the ice, celebrated in the locker room, and then carried it out of the arena and directly onto the Vegas Strip. One of the best-earned adventures in the history of intoxication got underway.
November 24: Patrik Laine's five-goal game
The 20-year-old Finn had scored six goals in the three games heading into the NHL's Thanksgiving break. In the first game after the break, he took five shots on net and every one of 'em went in, leading Winnipeg to an 8-4 victory over St. Louis. Laine's performance marked the first time in seven years that any player had scored five goals in a single NHL game -- and it made Winnipeg fan Christopher Haley very happy, as it means he will now be getting $50,000 per year over the next twenty years thanks to this contest.
December 4: The 9-6 game
Coaches hate games like this and refer to them as "pond hockey," but there are quite a few fans -- and probably quite a few players -- who love them while also referring to them as "pond hockey." The Columbus Blue Jackets jumped out to a 4-1 lead, and then the Calgary Flames scored five times in the second period to take a 6-4 lead, and when all was said and done Calgary prevailed 9-6. Johnny Gaudreau led the way with a pair of goals and pair of assists, and the goaltenders might still be having nightmares.
November 29 to December 27: Stammer on a tear
Just in case anyone was thinking Steven Stamkos is no longer one of the world's elite forwards, the Tampa Bay captain went on a tear in which he scored 15 goals in 13 games. Most of those goals were highlight-reel howitzers, and the Bolts' record across the 13 games was 12-0-1. Stamkos has potted 14 goals so far in December, which is a franchise record for goals by a single player in a single month, and there is still one more December game remaining before the calendar flips to 2019.
Game Five faced off with the Lightning holding a 3-1 lead in the series. With less than seven minutes remaining in the second period, the game was tied at one and the Bolts were on a power play. That's when Kucherov and J.T. Miller began to cycle the puck between themselves in a circling, give-and-go sequence between the right face-off dot and the end boards. The sequence ended with Miller taking a feed from Kucherov and burying it into the net behind Tukka Rask for the game- and series-winning goal.
Since it was Boston that got eliminated, surely the rest of America (and maybe Canada too) was almost as happy as those of us in the Bay Area. Right?
May 7: Caps eliminate Pens
Any talk of the Bruins being the Lightning's nemesis sounds absurd compared to how big a nemesis the Pittsburgh Penguins have been for the Washington Capitals. Or maybe I should say had been, seeing as how the team from DC finally got that Western PA monkey off its back one day after the Lightning jettisoned the Bruins.
Much ink has been spent over the years writing about how big of an issue the Pens have been for the Caps. I'm not going to recount that here, but if you really want to read about it you can go to the fifth section of this post that I published in June. Suffice it to say that on May 7, 2018, the Caps flipped history on its head a little more than five minutes into overtime in Game Six.
Alex Ovechkin collected a turnover, sprung Evgeny Kuznetsov on a breakaway, and Kuznetsov ended the series and discarded the two-time defending champs by scoring cleanly through Matt Murray's five hole. Kuzy then commenced his flapping-bird celebration. The Caps had finally cleared the second-round hurdle that had haunted them for years, and they were halfway to hockey's promised land.
June 7: The Capitals win the Cup
One month to the day later, the Capitals reached that promised land by winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Game Five started with the Caps holding a 3-1 series lead over Vegas, but when the third period started they were trailing 3-2 and Vegas had the momentum. Then, midway through the frame, Devante Smith-Pelly tied the game up when he kicked the puck to his stick and fired it home while falling. A few minutes later, the Caps grabbed the lead when Lars Eller slid the puck in after it had trickled past Marc-Andre Fleury in the crease.
Washington made their newfound 4-3 lead hold up the rest of they way, and the Cup was theirs. They skated with it 'round the ice, celebrated in the locker room, and then carried it out of the arena and directly onto the Vegas Strip. One of the best-earned adventures in the history of intoxication got underway.
November 24: Patrik Laine's five-goal game
The 20-year-old Finn had scored six goals in the three games heading into the NHL's Thanksgiving break. In the first game after the break, he took five shots on net and every one of 'em went in, leading Winnipeg to an 8-4 victory over St. Louis. Laine's performance marked the first time in seven years that any player had scored five goals in a single NHL game -- and it made Winnipeg fan Christopher Haley very happy, as it means he will now be getting $50,000 per year over the next twenty years thanks to this contest.
December 4: The 9-6 game
Coaches hate games like this and refer to them as "pond hockey," but there are quite a few fans -- and probably quite a few players -- who love them while also referring to them as "pond hockey." The Columbus Blue Jackets jumped out to a 4-1 lead, and then the Calgary Flames scored five times in the second period to take a 6-4 lead, and when all was said and done Calgary prevailed 9-6. Johnny Gaudreau led the way with a pair of goals and pair of assists, and the goaltenders might still be having nightmares.
November 29 to December 27: Stammer on a tear
Just in case anyone was thinking Steven Stamkos is no longer one of the world's elite forwards, the Tampa Bay captain went on a tear in which he scored 15 goals in 13 games. Most of those goals were highlight-reel howitzers, and the Bolts' record across the 13 games was 12-0-1. Stamkos has potted 14 goals so far in December, which is a franchise record for goals by a single player in a single month, and there is still one more December game remaining before the calendar flips to 2019.
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