Senators VS Tomas Hertl? Hot Game on NHL

23rd NHL season just in progress. Many hockey stars join in this NHL season.
Sharks rookie Tomas Hertl left Saturday night's game against the Ottawa Senators with about three minutes remaining in the second period after colliding with forward Clarke MacArthur in the slot in front of the visiting team's net.

Rookie Tomas Hertl scored his league-leading seventh goal before leaving with an injury and Brent Burns got the tiebreaker in the third period to lead the Sharks to their fifth straight win to open the season, 3-2 over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

Hertl was cutting toward the slot with the puck when he appeared to lose his balance and fell awkwardly into MacArthur.

The 19-year-old forward from the Czech Republic scored his NHL-leading seventh goal of the season 55 seconds into the game.



"He fell into a player," the coach said. "Basically he was going to the net, stumbled and fell into him. He's a little bit sore but I think he'll be fine tomorrow."
Later, I asked McLellan if it was fair to say the area of concern was the shoulder, not the head.

"Yeah that would be fair," he said.



Really, there was nothing to dislike. Hertl seems like a nice kid who came seemingly out of nowhere to do something special -- nobody that young had a four-goal game since 1988. His mom and his girlfriend were watching in the stands; they cried. The hockey portion of Twitter melted down -- as much it could for midnight-ish on the East Coast, at least. It was special.

It was also tough to watch, because if there's anything you learn from watching young guys have fun on a hockey rink, backlash will follow. And it did -- most loudly via Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates on Thursday.



Goalie Jimmy Howard told Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News it was easier working between the pipes last spring in Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks than watching the Tigers.

"When you're out there, not much is going through your mind," Howard said. "Speaking for myself, when I'm out there I just play and whatever happens, happens.

"I don't know what mind-frame they took into the game, but I'm sure they weren't thinking anything other than going out and playing baseball."