Around the glass
Florida Panthers forwards Brady and Matthew Tkachuk share some more family history.
Masked mayhem
His licence plate may say Friendly Manitoba, but Winnipeg’s Joel Hofer is making some enemies these days. The St. Louis Blues netminder found himself in the middle of a firestorm on Thursday night when he delivered a hellacious hit to an unsuspecting Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild.
Hofer was coming out of his net to play a rimmed puck but took an interesting — and obviously deliberate — route which included quite the bodycheck on the star forward. He was rightfully given a two-minute interference penalty, and it sounds like we nearly had a goalie scrap as a result.
I think it’s a dirty play, said Wild puck-stopper Jesper Wallstedt, who told reporters he was thinking of skating the length of the ice to drop his glove and blocker.
You may recall Hofer came under fire in his hometown two years ago when, during that epic first round playoff series with the Jets, he was repeatedly shooting pucks towards Winnipeg players during the pre-game warm-up. The NHL eventually stepped in and told him to cut it out.
Who’s to blame for all of this? How about Hofer’s also-share partner Jordan Binnington, who is no stranger to various antics and seems to relish being public enemy No. 1.
Jets players might want to keep their heads up for Hofer — who is off to a great start with a 2.43 goals-against average and .906 save percentage through five games — next Tuesday when they head to St. Louis to face the Blues.
Oh, brother
We realize most Manitobans aren’t big fans of the Tkachuk brothers, despite the fact their father, Keith, was a big star for the U.S. Jets.
But how can you not admire the bit of hockey history they made the other day when Brady scored three times in a 7-3 Florida Panthers victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets — and Matthew assisted on all three.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer takes an interference penalty for laying out Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov behind the net.
There’s been plenty of brothers on the same team over the years, but one setting up the other for a hat trick had never happened until now.
How did Brady follow up his big night? By lighting the lamp three more times the very next game, a 3-2 overtime win over Vancouver. Matthew, however, only set up one of them.
The Jets will get their first look at the Tkachuks this season on Oct. 27 when the Panthers come to town, which will be followed by the rematch down in Sunrise three nights later.
Sizzling Sens
It hasn’t been a great start for the folks predicting the Ottawa Senators would be heading for a doomsday scenario since Brady Tkachuk — the club’s former captain — was traded to Florida during the off-season.
Instead, the Sens are off to a 6-2-0 start and sitting atop the Atlantic Division, despite dealing with some early injury woes.
Elite goaltending has certainly been a factor as Linus Ullmark is 6-0 with a 1.20 goals-against average and .940 save percentage, allowing just seven goals in those six starts.
The Sens have been led offensively by Tim Stutzle (five goals, 11 points in eight games) but are getting contributions throughout the lineup, including a pair of game-winning goals from fourth-liner Stephen Halliday.
Shutdown D-man Artem Zub returned on Thursday, which helped bolster the blue line. However, on the offensive side, winger William Eklund underwent ankle surgery earlier this week and will miss 10-to-12 weeks.