Wednesday Commentary – By The Way

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It’s Random Thoughts Wednesday! Today, an all-hockey edition.

#1 – What a fun night in the NHL! (Depending which side of the puck you’re on). Winnipeg Jets fans are dizzied today, whatwith their team coming back from a 4-0 deficit in Montreal to beat the Canadiens 5-4 in overtime. They did it with inside 3:00 to go in the third period. Of course, Habs fans are calling it the greatest collapse in franchise history. It’s always special when two Canadian teams collide and even more special when it’s a game like that.

The Jets snapped their 9-game losing skid and coach Scott Arniel lived to coach another day.

#2 – Even US hockey fans were buzzing about the national broadcast featuring the Edmonton Oilers at New Jersey Devils. The game’s best forward (Connor McDavid) against the game’s best goalie (Connor Hellebuyck). In this case, the goalie won, 4-3 in a shootout.

#3 – Earlier in the day Matthew Tkachuk met with the media here in South Florida and discussed his father Keith going into the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday night. I can’t tell you how many people have called this week and said “I see you were with the Tkachuks on the weekend. Are they as big of jerks in person?”

The truth is, they’re just a regular hockey family. And I was envious of the boys getting to spend this time with their Hall of Fame Dad. But we had our time doing that. Now it’s theirs.

#4 – The weirdest thing’s going on in Tampa — reigning NHL MVP Nikita Kucherov is playing under protest, after requesting a trade on Friday and he’s not backing down, yet still lighting up the scoresheet. He had two assists in the Bolts’ 4-2 win over Detroit, and the Lightning set a franchise record by going 7-0 at home. Wild!

And #5 – I’ve relented and conceded that Sergei Bobrovsky is no longer the world’s best goalie. Bob made 33 saves Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough as his Leafs lost 3-2 at home to Utah. Maybe Father Time’s caught up to him, or maybe he’s still brokenhearted over having to leave his home in South Florida, where he’s a legend.

Either way, it’s not working in Toronto. And people there are only too happy to point the finger at the player, and not the franchise.

By the way — Mitch Marner had an assist in Vegas’s 3-2 win at Pittsburgh.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

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