5 things we learned in the NHL last week: Great saves inspire bad haikus
Another week of the NHL season has come and gone, but not without teaching us a few lessons along the way.
Here's a look back at some of the most exciting and/or strange events that caught the attention of hockey fans over the last seven days and what we learned from them.
Filip Forsberg is good for chapeau sales
It was a banner week for Nashville Predators sniper Filip Forsberg — and, by extension, hat sales in Tennessee.
Forsberg scored three times in a 6-5 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, and followed that up with another hat trick on Thursday against Colorado.
Forsberg is the first NHL player to record hat tricks in back-to-back games since Alex Burrows did it with the Canucks in 2010.
His hot streak continued through Sunday night when he scored a goal for the fourth straight game in a 5-4 win over Edmonton.
There is no such thing as a 'for-sure' goal
Pass across the slot
Goalie out of position
Goal light stays unlit
Not only is that a disappointing haiku, it was a disappointing result for the New York Rangers in back-to-back games this past week. On Tuesday, Carey Price shut the door on J.T. Miller in overtime.
On Thursday, Michael Grabner was robbed by the Leafs' Fredrik Andersen in much the same fashion.
New York still earned points
They split shootouts with both teams
My haiku needs work
I'm not crying, you're crying
The Islanders' Anthony Beauvillier played his first game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday.
While the night started with the standard rookie prank, the local boy later gave his family something to get emotional about:
14 is greater than 30
Auston Matthews scored his 30th goal on Saturday night against Montreal, putting him within striking distance of Toronto's franchise record for goals by a rookie. That mark is held by Wendel Clark and his 34 scored in the 1985-86 season.
However, the Canadiens took some of the lustre out of that milestone tally. Andrew Shaw's OT goal handed the Habs a 14th straight win over the Maple Leafs.
Jamie Benn and David Backes are not friends
Well, that escalated quickly.
It only took two seconds of game time to elapse before the Bruins' David Backes and Stars' Jamie Benn dropped the gloves on Sunday.
The confrontation wasn't much more than a grapple-fest, but it's the third career tilt between them — the last coming in December of 2015.