Greatest Moments of NHL Season … So Far: first round, matchup 26

The 2019-20 NHL season had many incredible moments before it paused on March 12 due to 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 bracket of 64 entries, 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 matchup on Friday, Ryan Strome's mom reading the lineup for the New York Rangers defeated Sebastian Aho's five-point game for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The matchup Saturday pits Detroit Red Wings fans stepping up to help sing the national anthem on Jan. 7 against Florida Panthers forward Noel Acciari scoring his second straight hat trick on Dec. 20.

Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

In a true show of character, Red Wings fans came through when needed the most by assisting longtime Detroit anthem singer Karen Newman in singing the Canadian national anthem when technical difficulties caused her microphone to cut out at Little Caesars Arena. Social media users reacted positively to the news and offered the fans a show of support, with one calling the move a "class act." The Red Wings rewarded their fans in dramatic fashion too, with Filip Zadina scored the game-winning goal with 3:52 remaining in the third period for a 4-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens.

Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

It's hard to vote against such a cool moment in Detroit, but I'm going with the unexpected. I covered Acciari for four seasons when he was with the Bruins and really enjoyed my time talking to him. But I cannot say I thought that Acciari was capable of what he did this season, scoring 20 goals, and especially what he did against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 16 and again against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 20. Acciari has blossomed with the Panthers this season after signing with them as a free agent, and that was never more evident than in those consecutive games, capped by the three goals he scored in a span of 3:59 in the second period against the Stars. He completed his second straight hat trick on his first career penalty shot that had him celebrating, the bench erupting, and the hats flying.