New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant was full of praise for Filip Chytil's performance after his side's 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in their series opener on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old scored twice and was one of six Rangers players with two points on the way to defeating the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
Chytil made it 3-2 at a critical juncture, at 10:09 of the second period, scoring from the left circle off a pass from Kaapo Kakko, who was behind the net.
The Czech center broke the game open and scored his second from the right circle to make it 4-2, handing the Rangers their first series lead in these playoffs, and their head coach was evidently impressed.
"He's growing up to be a man," Gallant said post-game. "Every time he goes out there, he's more confident. He's stronger. He's growing up."
"A lot of sharpness. Our team just kept going. We got a day off and kept playing. Obviously, they [the Lightning] looked rusty."
Chytil has scored eight goals in his previous two regular seasons for the Rangers, but has now contributed seven goals for the team in 15 games over the 2022 playoffs, trailing only Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
Zibanejad, however, only trails the free-scoring Edmonton Oilers duo of Connor McDavid (29) and Leon Draisatl (28) for points over the playoffs with 21.
The Eastern Conference final stays in New York for Game 2, with the two teams facing off at Madison Square Garden on Friday.
NHL: Kings rally to match NHL record with 10th straight road win
The Los Angeles Kings rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period for a 4-3 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday to match the NHL record with their 10th straight road win.
Drew Doughty scored 33 seconds into overtime after Phillip Danault scored twice in the third period. Arthur Kaliyev scored the equalizer just 90 seconds after Danault drew the Kings within one.
Los Angeles has won seven of eight and matched the road win record of the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.
Kirill Marchenko, Johnny Gaudreau and Mathieu Olivier scored for the Blue Jackets, who have lost eight games this season after holding a lead in the final 20 minutes.
Bratt’s late goal rescues Devils in Hughes brothers’ reunion
Jesper Bratt scored his second goal of the night with 34 seconds remaining and the New Jersey Devils recovered for a wild 6-5 win over the Vancouver Canucks in a game featuring three Hughes brothers.
Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists, while younger brother and teammate Luke Hughes added a power-play goal for the Devils.
Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes had an assist on Sam Lafferty’s third-period goal and Nils Hoglander’s tally with 3:26 remaining forged a 5-5 tie.
Hertl, Sharks stun Islanders with OT win
William Eklund completed the San Jose Sharks’ comeback from a three-goal deficit in the third period with a late overtime goal in a stunning 5-4 win over the New York Islanders.
Tomas Hertl had a hat trick, scoring twice in the final 3 ½ minutes after Kevin Labanc’s goal ignited San Jose’s rally.
Julien Gauthier, Brock Nelson, Mike Reilly and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who have at least a point in nine of 10 (5-1-4).
Coyotes rout Capitals for historic win
The Arizona Coyotes erupted for five first-period goals en route to accomplishing an unprecedented NHL feat with Monday's 6-0 rout of the Washington Capitals.
Arizona rolled to its fifth consecutive victory, with each of those wins coming against the last five franchises to win the Stanley Cup. The Coyotes are the first team in NHL history with such an achievement.
The Coyotes began the streak with a 2-0 win over the reigning champion Vegas Golden Knights before defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues and Capitals in succession.
After Logan Cooley and Michael Carcone began Arizona's first-period scoring barrage, Nick Schmaltz recorded goals less than three minutes apart before Jason Zucker extended the lead to 5-0 with 1:21 left in the opening stanza.
Nick Bjugstad scored short-handed in the second period, while Clayton Keller and Alex Kerfoot each recorded three assists to support Connor Ingram's 26-save shutout.
Former Arizona goaltender Darcy Kuemper stopped just 2 of 3 shots before being pulled just over 14 minutes into the contest. Charlie Lindgren turned back 19 of 22 shots in relief as Washington was handed a second straight defeat.
Vasilevskiy stars as Lightning get revenge on Stars
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves to deliver his first shutout since returning from back surgery, and the Tampa Bay Lightning earned a measure of revenge on the Dallas Stars with a 4-0 victory.
Anthony Cirelli scored a pair of goals to help Tampa Bay stop a four-game losing streak that included an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Stars in Dallas on Saturday.
Vasilevskiy, the 2018-19 Vezina Trophy winner, was making his fifth start of the season after missing the Lightning's first 20 games recovering from a microdiscectomy procedure performed in late September.
Nikita Kucherov got Tampa Bay on the board 7:47 into the first period, then got an assist when Cirelli made it 2-0 with 1:39 remaining in the opening session.
After Vasilevskiy made 10 saves in the second period to maintain the two-goal edge, Luke Glendening and Cirelli each added goals in the third.
Jake Oettinger finished with 19 saves for Dallas, which had a three-game point streak (2-0-1) come to an end.
Buchnevich’s overtime goal lifts Blues over Golden Knights
Pavel Buchnevich scored 38 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the opener of a home-and-home series between the teams.
Jordan Binnington recorded 33 saves, including 12 in the third period, before Buchnevich fired a feed from Robert Thomas past Vegas goaltender Logan Thompson in the early stages of overtime.
Binnington was working on a shutout before the Golden Knights finally broke through on Jack Eichel’s power-play goal with 7:02 remaining in regulation that tied the contest at 1-1.
Alexey Toropchenko put St. Louis ahead with 21 seconds left in the first period, and the Blues maintained the one-goal advantage before Eichel capitalized shortly after Buchnevich was called for a tripping penalty in the third.
Thompson finished with 25 saves to help Vegas extend its point streak to five games, though it’s gone 2-0-3 over that stretch.
The two teams will meet again in St. Louis on Wednesday.
Neck guards to become compulsory in ice hockey, governing body announces
Neck guards will become compulsory at all International Ice Hockey Federation events including the Olympics and the men’s and women’s world championships, the sport’s governing body has announced.
The move follows the death of Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson, who died on October 28 after being hit in the neck by an opposition player’s skate during a match at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
The English Ice Hockey Association announced within days of Johnson’s accident at the end of October that neck guards will become compulsory during “all on-ice activities” from the start of 2024.
Neck guards are not yet compulsory in professional leagues including the NHL, while the IIHF is yet to announce a start date for its new ruling, given delays in procuring the required equipment.
An IIHF statement read: “The IIHF Council, on recommendation from its Medical Committee, has decided to mandate the use of a neck laceration protector, specifically designed for this purpose, at all levels of IIHF competitions.
“The exact date this mandate will go into effect for the senior categories will be determined by the supply situation. The IIHF remains in close contact with its suppliers to ensure they are able to respond to the current high demand.
“Until the rule officially goes into effect, the IIHF continues to strongly recommend that neck laceration protectors are worn by all players performing in an IIHF competition.”
A man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following Johnson’s death and has been released on bail to a date in the new year pending further inquiries.
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