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NHL Best of the Week: Bobby Ryan, Ovechkin Jr. and Leon Draisaitl

Ailish Forfar
NHL Editor
·6 min read

In case you missed out on any of the action, here’s your weekly roundup of what’s hot around the NHL.

Best goal

Let the silky Slovakian mitts of Tomas Tatar ease you into the work week. This is some major trickery on poor Alexandar Georgiev, who is rumoured to still be searching for his jock strap.

Tatar has 22 goals and 61 points on the season.

Best comeback

They say a 3-1 lead is the hardest to protect, right Golden State?

(Don’t worry Maple Leafs fans, your 4-1 collapse still takes the cake).

The injury-ravaged Columbus Blue Jackets stormed back on Sunday night, scoring four times in the final 7:21 to overcome a 3-1 deficit against the Vancouver Canucks.

It was an important night for Columbus on all fronts.

The win was just the Blue Jackets’ second in 12 games, and moved them three points ahead of Carolina for the final wild card spot in the East. Zach Werenski buried his 20th goal of the season, leading all NHL defensemen, and marking the first time a Blue Jackets d-man has ever reached the mark in a season.

And, they poked fun at the haters on social with this little adorable nugget.

Best triumph

In November, Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan entered the NHL’s player assistance program to receive help with addiction and substance abuse. After missing over 100 days of action, the veteran forward returned to the lineup for a game we’d never forget.

In an all-Canadian matchup against the Canucks, Ryan scored in the first period to give the Senators a 2-0 lead on home ice. The reception was incredible.

It only gets better.

Ryan scored again in the third period to give the team a 4-2 lead. And, as a perfect storybook ending would predict, he scored in an empty net to secure a hat trick in the final moments.

An emotional night in Ottawa to say the least.

Ryan was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude post game.

"I knew Ottawa being the community that it is that the reception would be good," Bobby Ryan told CBC Sports. "It just got harder to keep the emotions down throughout the game. It was incredible. They supported me and I got to contribute. You can't write that, the way that went. It was just an incredible evening, so thank you to all of them."

Best Dad moment

It’s been a Gr8 few weeks for Alexander Ovechkin. He hit the prestigious 700-goal mark and was honoured with an on-ice ceremony from the Capitals.

His son, Sergei Ovechkin stole the show.

The projected future first-rounder was blowing kisses, hugging his Dad, and being simply adorable. Even Ovi knew that his son was the highlight of the night.

And, this week the couple announced they are expecting their second child.

Here’s hoping there will be double the Ovi Dad moments when he breaks Gretzky’s record.

Best dog

Let me introduce you to Benny, the world’s first and only ice skating pup. Of course, he lives and preforms in Vegas like all the best performers do.

Benny wears real skates on his front paws, and can probably skate better than most of you in the comments section.

This good boy made a cameo during an intermission in the Vegas-L.A. matchup over the weekend, stealing sticks, and hearts.

Best tweet

Longtime San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau was traded away to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline in hopes of hoisting his first Stanley Cup after 22 seasons in the league. Only a few days later, he returned to the west coast to face his old team, this time sporting a different colour scheme.

His wife, Christina Marleau, posted a fun and heartwarming tweet to celebrate the reunion.

Very relatable.

Best overreaction

NHL trade deadline day is a swamp full of rumours and speculation, and nothing fires up the Twitter troops more than a player leaving the ice mid-practice. Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau was caught in the crossfires of a viral social moment when he left the ice suddenly during practice just hours before the deadline.

His name was trending on Twitter for a while as fans speculated where the 26-year-old might be headed.

Turns out, he was headed to the bathroom.

The only one calling, was nature.

Best milestone

Last week we saw Ovechkin finally hit the 700-goal mark, but this week the award goes to another elite goalscorer in Leon Draisaitl. On the weekend he became the first player this season to hit 100 points (reaching it before March, by the way), having scored 39 goals with 63 assists in 65 games played.

The closest competitors for the Art Ross Trophy are currently David Pastrnak (91 points) and Artemi Panarin (90).

What a month it was for Draisaitl, earning the NHL’s First Star award for his 10-goal, 23-point showing in February. It’s worth noting that he accomplished this feat while Connor McDavid was sidelined for six games.

Is that the Hart Trophy calling?

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