Around the NHL: Hall sticks to it . . . Habs double dip
Devils star Taylor Hall was asked about slapshots. Perhaps not the greatest question to ask a winger who rarely ever winds up to blast the puck. “I don’t take a whole lot of slapshots. Maybe I should start. It’s a valuable shot. Goalies can’t read it as well as wristers and snapshots. There’s not the same blade action. That’s why one-timers are harder for goalies to pick up. That’s why you see a lot of goals scored on one-timers. Slapshots are a time-and-space thing. If you have the time and space to do it, then it’s going to be a hard shot to stop. But in today’s NHL, there’s not a lot of time and space.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Montreal Canadiens top the league in a category no one wants to lead: They’ve surrendered two goals within a minute seven times this season, a disheartening turn at the best of times. The Leafs did it to them on Saturday.
“We’re supposed to play one way, but we’re making fundamental mistakes,” said Montreal coach Claude Julien.
BERRA BULLISH: Anaheim goalie Reto Berra notched his first NHL win since Dec. 1, 2015 — when he was playing for Colorado — against San Jose on Monday night. “Goaltending is — people would say it’s the most critical,” said Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle. “You don’t know (how important) goaltending is until you don’t have it. Reto stood tall for us.”
PHIL THE THRILL: None other than Phil Kessel has been Pittsburgh’s most consistent scorer, leading the club with 24 points through 22 games. “He’s no different than (Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin), top guys that have done it for a long time,” Senators defenceman Dion Phaneuf said of his former Leaf teammate, after the Penguins passed through Ottawa. “They’re dangerous players. When you give them time, they’re going to make you pay. It’s about not only taking his time, but angles, having a good stick, and you’ve got to play them hard. You’ve got to compete with them.” Kevin McGran