Greatest Moments of NHL Season … So Far: second round, matchup 6

The 2019-20 NHL season had many incredible moments before it was 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 is down to 32 entries from the original bracket of 64 with the first round now complete. 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 third round.

In the matchup Wednesday, Marc-Andre Fleury's sprawling save for the Vegas Golden Knights defeated Leon Draisaitl scoring his 100th point for the Edmonton Oilers.

The matchup Thursday pits Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche joining fellow rookie defenseman Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks with 50 points against the Anaheim Ducks on March 11 honoring the first responders who treated St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester after he had a cardiac episode during the first period of a game at Honda Center four weeks earlier.

Shawn Roarke, Senior Director of Editorial

The significance of Makar reaching 50 points was discussed in detail in my argument for this moment in the first round, so this time let's just focus on the brilliance Makar showed in a three-assist game the day before the season was paused. He factored in each of the Avalanche goals in a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He set up the first Colorado goal, on the power play, when he made an unconventional backward pass on a breakout to alleviate pressure and allow Gabriel Landeskog an easier zone exit and the ability to set up Tyson Jost. On the second goal, Makar turned a face-off win into a power-play goal by twice walking the blue line and making incisive passes to open a shooting lane for Vladislav Namestnikov. He saved the best for last, using the open ice provided by 3-on-3 overtime to stick-handle past two defenders and snap a shot that was tipped by J.T. Compher for the winning goal. It was a tour de force of all the things that make Makar one of the favorites for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year.

Dan Rosen, Senior Writer

Makar is brilliant, and I certainly believe he'll be a regular in the 50-point club throughout what hopefully will be a long NHL career, but this is a slam-dunk win for the first responders. It was spectacular and emotional the way the Ducks honored the brave men and women who saved Bouwmeester's life. That Bouwmeester is alive and thriving, according to many teammates who have seen and spoken to him, is a tribute to the heroes who treated him at Honda Center on Feb. 11 and at UCI Medical Center in the following days. Thinking about that now, with what we're going through as a global community during the coronavirus crisis, it's yet another testament to the selflessness so many in health care have shown. There's not much more I can say about what they did for Bouwmeester. Every breath he takes for the rest of his life is a tribute to them. Honoring the first responders for what they did was the least the Ducks could do. Honoring everyone in the health care community in whatever special way we can is the least we all can do now.