The NHL had another big week, and so did I. This week I focused on my trip to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to see the Red Wings, and a few big goal scorers.
1. The Bruins Like Dirty Work
One of the best parts about going to a live game is being able to watch the action from another perspective and see everyone on the ice, especially when you sit as high up as I did. Two things struck me as I watched the action. The first is that David Pastrnak is one of the most skilled players in the league. I haven’t watched the Bruins a ton so I was blown away with the moves he made. The second is the Bruins are REALLY good at doing dirty work. They were especially good at blocking shots or at least forcing difficult ones. They only blocked six shots during the game, but they were in crucial situations. They were able to prevent the Wings from scoring on wide open nets a few times in the first period. Boston is definitely one of the teams I would be scared to play in the playoffs with their potent offense and willingness to do the dirty work.
2. LCA Mac and Cheese
Another one of my favorite parts of going to games is the food! Yes, it’s almost always overpriced, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great. The BBQ mac and cheese you can buy in the upper level concourse at Little Caesar’s Arena is quickly becoming my favorite arena food. You can order it with pulled pork or brisket, both of which are slathered in BBQ sauce. I’m a big fan of the brisket but to each their own. If you do make it over to LCA this year, I can’t recommend the BBQ mac and cheese enough.
3. Patrik Laine Deserves More Attention
I’m not trying to discredit anything Matthews has done. I would argue that he is a better player and a much better facilitator than Laine, and can score just as well. But, Laine deserves more credit for his success. No, he didn’t score four goals in his first career game, but he did score five goals in Saturday night’s game, which is one more than Matthews has ever scored in a single game. I am excited about the potential rivalry that could be created between the two players. It could be the next edition of the Crosby/Ovechkin debate.
4. Great 8’s Quest to Catch The Great One
Ovechkin has a REAL shot to pass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time leader in goals. He is 33-years-old right now. If he can keep up his current pace and score 50 goals this season and for the next two seasons, he will have scored 757 goals and rank behind Hull, as I mentioned before. That means he would only be 137 goals from tying Wayne Gretzky for the all-time lead, and he would only be 35-years-old. If he plays until he’s 40, he would have to average 27.4 goals over five seasons to tie Gretzky. That doesn’t seem impossible. And after last year’s Stanley Cup run, Ovechkin looks just as spry as ever to pursue the Great One’s goal-scoring record.
5. Standings Surprises

It’s not uncommon for teams overperform or underperform in the NHL. There are always surprises, like the Las Vegas Golden Knights last year. This year, there seems to be more surprises than usual. I’ll split them into categories, the overperforming and the underperforming.
Overperforming
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Islanders
Underperforming
Las Vegas Golden Knights
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
These are the most obvious cases. Each of this year’s overperforming teams did not make the playoffs last year. And each of this year’s underperforming teams did make the playoffs last year. As I’ve said before, there is a ton of parity in the NHL, but it’s uncommon to see almost one-third of the teams in the league have such drastic turnarounds. ■
Blake Isaacs is a die-hard Red Wings fan that doesn’t go to as many games as he should. He is also a big fan of 7-Eleven Slurpeees, Chipotle, and all things Michigan State. Follow him on Twitter @bisaacs1995.
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