There is plenty of time left in the season until we hit the playoffs. However, this does not mean that we have no excitement going on in the NHL right now. It is still the hardest-hitting and fastest-paced sport in all of America, and there is plenty of news coming through that shows this. The first is a nice trip down memory lane to help people to appreciate what they have now, by honouring what came before.

Jim Rutherford joins masks in Hall of Fame

Jim Rutherford is a legendary figure in the NHL. He played from 1970 until 1983 as a goalie for a number of different teams. The Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings all had Rutherford in net at some point. He is most well-known for his time at the Red Wings in part due to the iconic mask that he wore. The story behind the mask is quite an interesting one and goes some way to explaining why this item, as well as another mask that he wore while at the Maple Leafs, has been placed into a Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit called ‘From Protection to Expression’.

The story of the mask comes from when Rutherford was traded from the Penguins to the Red Wings. He did not want to leave the Penguins and his mask at the time was light blue, the same colour as that of the Penguins. As he was leaving to play for the Red Wings when he found out about the trade, he sent his mask to be painted before he played that night. It would meet him at the stadium before he went out to play. He told the painter that he wanted the mask painted plain white with no designs on it at all – just a plain white mask, kind of like Jason from the Friday the 13^th movies.

When Rutherford opened the box containing his mask, he saw that red wings had been drawn over the eyes of the mask. He was annoyed, but it was too late for him to get another mask and so he had to wear it. This mask then went down in history and as such has pride of place in the Hall of Fame exhibit. Rutherford has had a storied career, which includes a stint as general manager of the Penguins, and he is now being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder in the class of 2019.

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Fleury puts in a match-winning performance against the Flames

The Vegas Golden Knights have been on a bad run recently. After going five games without a win, they were coming to the Calgary Flames, who were on a similar bad run. Despite both teams being low on confidence, this was a great example of attacking hockey. Both teams were desperate to grab the win, and it was only an incredible performance by Marc-André Fleury that stopped the Flames from walking away with the victory. The match ended 6-0 to the Golden Knights, but this really does not tell the whole story of the game.

Despite shutting out the Flames, Fleury still had to make 34 saves during the game. He was incredibly busy, and without him, it could have easily been a very different result. This is not to say that the Flames goalie was not also impressive. Cam Talbot made 31 saves himself, which goes to show that both teams were really attacking hard and going for the win.

This game made it over 130 minutes for the Flames without scoring and leaves them winless in their last four games. The performance of Fleury could be a catalyst for the Golden Knights to push on from here, but the Flames need some luck to help them do the same. You can catch their next games right here at Sportsbet on our NHL matches page.

Seidl brothers aim to be first NHL players from the Congo

Sawyer and Simon Seidl are two teenage hockey players in Minnesota. They are standing out from all the other players in their league at this moment in time. Their adoptive parents, Molly and Steve Seidl, believe that they have the chance to go all the way and play in the big leagues. This is a belief that is shared by their junior hockey coaches, who expect to see them playing NCAA hockey in the near future.

Things have not been smooth sailing for the two brothers though. Since starting to play what is predominantly a white sport, they have been victim to some derogatory and racist abuse from players on other teams. On top of this, there have been a number of challenges about their age from other teams, which the boys’ father feels comes from a racist place. He says that there are white boys just as big as Sawyer and Simon, but because they do not have the same level of talent, nothing is said about them. He believes that if the two boys were white, then they would be just left alone to play like other kids.

Both players have said that they will not let anything prevent them from playing the sport they love, even abuse from opposing players. If things keep going well for them, then you might see them playing in the NHL in the near future. Make sure that you check out Sportsbet for their names when the Rookie of the Year award has its odds released.

Following the NHL this season

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Words: Stijn Janssen

Images: PA