NHL Weekly: Jesper Bratt Shines, Brandon Montour Makes History, & Jack Eichel Sets a New Record

The NHL had an extremely exciting week of record-breaking performances and entertaining finishes. Jesper Bratt dominated the scoreboard for the New Jersey Devils, recording an incredible nine-point mark, and maintaining rock-solid goaltending for the Los Angeles Kings Darcy Kuemper. Seattle Kraken's Brandon Montour made history with a record-equalling overtime goal, and now Jack Eichel has set a new single-season points record for the Vegas Golden Knights. Meanwhile, players had their safety issues brought back to life as reckless hits opened old wounds.

Joseph Bratt, though, came as close to what might reasonably be termed the most effective week for any NHL forward with a tally of three points in games against both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers. This was thereafter followed up with another 3-point, 3-assist night in a 7-3 defeat by the Pittsburgh Penguins and sealed him with a nine-point haul, making him the top scorer in the league for the week.

Meanwhile, it was a near-impenetrable defensive wall as he played three games, allowing only one goal, with a shutout victory against the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators for his 200th NHL career victory. The above also accounts for a top-notch contribution to the playoff push of the Kings with an unbelievable 98.7% save percentage. Florida Panthers' Sergey Bobrovsky also made a personal best when he got his 424th win in the NHL, placing him in the top 10 goaltenders of all time.

Brandon Montour's Lightning-Fast Goal & Record-Breaking Season For Jack Eichel: Only four seconds elapsed from the start of overtime when defenseman Brandon Montour of the Seattle Kraken provided one of the season's most electrifying moments with a game-winning goal. This all followed a perfectly executed faceoff play by Chandler Stephenson to set Montour up for a blistering finish past Jakub Dobes. With that, he recorded the fastest overtime goal, tying him with Claude Provost, Denis Savard, and James van Riemsdyk in the record books as tied for this league mark. Moreover, Montour broke a franchise record for goals in a season by a Kraken defenseman.

Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights eclipsed the franchise record of William Karlsson for points in a single season, finishing with 80 this season. He is also quite close to making it a potential 100-pointer, having left 16 games behind, which would boost his already impressive standing as an elite forward in the NHL. Unfortunately, the week resulted in even more than action: it was a week of unearthed bone-judging towards player safety. Bursting from the unfortunate collision, Buffalo Sabres' Jiri Kulich got a severe hit, while Vancouver Canucks' Filip Chytil, a concussion history patient, took an even more dangerous hit from Jason Dickinson of the Chicago Blackhawks. Many called for suspending Dickinson, but he somehow escaped. Ladislav Smid, former NHL defenseman, emphasized that players needed to show more respect for each other on the ice, thus needing stricter enforcement against reckless plays.
Also Read : Brandon Montour Makes NHL History with the Fastest OT Goal in the Seattle Kraken’s Comeback Win
From Jesper Bratt's show-stopping offensive play to Brandon Montour's monumental goal, the NHL has provided stellar entertainment. Jack Eichel's record-breaking season will be one to watch closely while growing concerns over dangerous hits draw attention to the importance of player safety. Each game, going into the playoffs, becomes that much more important, setting the stage for a mad dash to the finish line.