Greatest Moments of NHL Season … So Far: first round, matchup 2

The 2019-20 NHL season had many incredible moments before it paused March 12 because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and now fans can decide which one was the best.

The Greatest Moments of the NHL Season … So Far
have been placed into a 64-field bracket, and fans will vote on one matchup per day, ultimately deciding the greatest moment up until this point.
Fans can vote on Twitter and Instagram each day from noon until 10 a.m. ET the next day. Each day, the winner of that matchup will be revealed, and a new set of moments will go head-to-head.
Though fans will have the ultimate say, two NHL.com staffers will weigh in on the matchup each day to give his or her opinion on which one should advance to the next round.
In the first matchup Monday, the Colorado Avalanche scoring six goals in eight minutes against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 7 defeated Anaheim Ducks goalie Ryan Miller trading a puck for a box of Thin Mints cookies on Feb. 13.
The matchup Tuesday pits a
six-point night from Connor McDavid
of the Edmonton Oilers against the Avalanche in a 6-2 win at Rogers Place on Nov. 14 against the
through-the-legs goal from Matthew Tkachuk
of the Calgary Flames with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime that gave the visitors a 6-5 overtime win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 31.

Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

How great is it that one of the best tricks of the 2019-20 season came on Halloween? In fact, Tkachuk's through-the-legs goal might be the greatest trick shot of the season when you consider timing, degree of difficulty and outcome associated with it. Let's recap. The Flames were on the road and down 4-1 to a Predators team considered, at the time, to be among the Western Conference's elite. Calgary scored four third-period goals, including the tying goal by Tkachuk with 39 seconds remaining in the third period. How does one top that? Well how about pouncing on a rebound and putting your stick between your legs and taking a shot short-side past goalie Pekka Rinne with 1.6 seconds left in OT? "Where the puck was, I couldn't get my feet or my body around to keep it on my forehand," Tkachuk said. "I didn't think I'd have the time to do that and I didn't want to go ahead of it to try and backhand smack it, so that was kind of the last resort. And it went in, which was nice." Nice? You can say that again, with emphasis!

Dan Rosen, senior writer

Love the Tkachuk goal. I was watching that game and I remember being pulled off the couch when he scored it. It was tremendous. But it was a one-off, one play, an important one at that, but just one. It doesn't compare to a six-point night by the most exciting player in the NHL. This wasn't a pad-the-stats six-point performance either. McDavid scored two goals in the first period and completed the hat trick with a power-play goal at 8:32 of the second period, his third power-play goal and fifth point. He got his sixth point at 18:15 of the second with an assist on a power-play goal by forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. "You have nights when you feel good, and then not so good," McDavid said after the game. "Tonight, I definitely felt good." No kidding. There was no scoring in the third period, but I wonder had the Oilers not taken their foot off the gas would McDavid have done more damage and potentially approached Darryl Sittler's single-game NHL record of 10 points from Feb. 7, 1976? It's not inconceivable considering the way he was going and the way the Oilers power play was clicking.