Crosby Scores 1000, Vermette Appealing & More

by

Pittsburgh Penguins‘ captain Sidney Crosby hit a major career milestone Thursday night when he recorded his 1000th NHL point. Crosby became the 86th player in league history to reach the milestone and just the first from the 2005 draft class to do so.

Interestingly enough, Crosby is just the second player drafted in the 2000s to have reached the 1000 point milestone, with Alexander Ovechkin reaching the mark earlier this season. played in 757 games. He became the 12th fastest player to reach 1000 points – doing so in six fewer games played than Jaromir Jagr.

The makeup of Crosby’s 1000 points includes 368 goals and 632 assists. Many players perform better on home ice, or on the road – for Crosby, the split was almost directly down the middle with 548 points coming at home in Pittsburgh and 452 coming on the road. The team that was targeted the most by No. 87 through his first 1000 points were the New York Islanders – whom Crosby scored 100 points against.

At just 29 years old, there’s still likely a lot of hockey left to be played for Crosby, who sits in first place in the league in goals with 31, and second place in the league in points with 64 – second only to Connor McDavid’s 66. Crosby has always been one of the league’s best players since joining in 2005, but it’s his pay over the last few years that has stood out to many as perhaps the best years of his career.

Antoine Vermette Appeals 10 Game Suspension

Antoine Vermette officially received a 10-game suspension Thursday for his slash on an official. The general consensus was that Vermette would be penalized under Rule 40.3 for abuse of an official – a penalty that comes with an automatic 10-game suspension. Vermette has decided to appeal the suspension – a ruling that would force him to forfeit $97,222.22 per the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, per Eric Stephens.

Vermette has played in 968 career NHL games in his career. He’s recorded 219 goals and 493 points split between the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. He won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2015 after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Coyotes before returning to the Coyotes last season. Vermette was ultimately bought out in the 2016 offseason before catching on with the Ducks.

In 58 games this season, Vermette has scored eight goals and 22 points, but it’s been his contribution in the faceoff circle that has really paid off for Anaheim. The veteran forward has taken 985 faceoffs – averaging 17 per game, and has won 615 – good for second in the league with a 62.4 winning percentage.

Martin Brodeur Making Goaltending Decision in St. Louis

The St. Louis Blues have taken a hands-on approach with their goaltending situation. When thinking of the best goaltenders in history, one name that stands out is Martin Brodeur. Fortunately for the Blues, the elite netminder is working within the organization as an assistance general manager. The team gave Brodeur an additional role on the team, however, as he is now one of the team’s goalies coaches.

Since Mike Yeo has turned to Brodeur to make the calls in net, the team’s goaltending tandem of Jake Allen and Carter Hutton have been superb. In seven games, the two have combined for seven wins and three shutouts. Allen has won four games while allowing an incredible 1.40 goals against average with a .953 save percentage and one shutout. Hutton, the team’s backup goaltender, has recorded two wins – both shutouts, with Brodeur making the calls.

The St. Louis Blues have turned their season around following the firing of Ken Hitchcock. A shakeup is needed sometimes for teams to truly reach their potential. Though it’s a small sample size, the Blues management team must be happy about the early rewards they’ve been reaping from their change on the bench.

Odds & Ends

– Mike Condon has been a revelation for the Ottawa Senators since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season. With starting goalie Craig Anderson taking various stints this season to be with his wife who is suffering from Cancer, Condon has made his mark with the team to help them when they need him most.

Condon has compiled a 17-9-5 record on the year with a 2.45 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Even more impressive than his ability to step in when needed has been how well he’s performed in the crease. Condon became the fastest goalie in Senators’ history to reach five shutouts – doing so in just 32 games this season.