The incident occurred during the third period of Wednesday's contest between the two clubs and saw Sobotka assessed a double-minor.
The Blackhawks would take advantage, scoring twice on the extended power play. However, the Blues skated to a 5-2 win and jumped into first place in the Central Division.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This edition focuses on Bill Ranford, who earned 240 regular-season victories over 15 NHL seasons and backstopped the 1989-90 Edmonton Oilers to a Stanley Cup.
On what he remembers from his first NHL game:
The first one, I didn't even know I was going to play. They didn't tell me.
It was an afternoon game against Buffalo. I had just come out of junior hockey and came to the rink, and a jersey with my nameplate and No. 30 was sitting in the stall. And (Bruins head coach) Butch Goring called me into the office and told me I was starting.
It was a little bit of a shocker, but he felt he didn't want me to lose sleep and be nervous about my first start. It kind of happened quick.
On making his playoff debut in the Montreal Forum:
It was crazy. You walked in there and saw all the wooden banners ... I was a Ken Dryden fan growing up, and obviously Montreal had won a ton of Stanley Cups. So it was quite an experience to go in there, and your first-ever game at the Montreal Forum is a playoff game.
On when he realized he was in the NHL to stay:
I think you always question yourself, especially as a young player. But I would say it was the year that (starting netminder Grant Fuhr) was either suspended or got hurt, and I played 60-something games as a starter for the Oilers, I felt that I had finally come into my own. I was ready to compete.
I know my first year in Boston, when I played 40-some games, it was all a blur. I don't really remember it happening. But I think once I settled in with the Oilers, I started to realize I had the capability to play in the league and hopefully play there for a long time.
On the funniest player he encountered:
I played with Marc Bergevin, who's now the GM in Montreal, at the World Championship, and I think he's one of the funniest guys I've ever played with. He always kept us on edge with his humor and his "Frenglish." He kept everybody laughing.
He had bad jokes that kept us all loose, and he'd imitate different guys in morning skates. He brought a lot of fun to the game in pressure times. It's good to have somebody to keep you loose.
On Bergevin's best impression:
He would imitate Brian Skrudland in a breakaway situation. It was pretty funny. He got his stride in there, too. (laughs)
On his most memorable referee encounter:
I think mine was probably a bad situation, but I grew up real quick.
It was in Buffalo in the (Memorial Auditorium) with the short glass. I got scored on, and the puck was in the crease; I went to flip it off to the side, and I caught all of it - right over the glass. It hit a kid in the stands.
Ray Scapinello was the linesman at the time, and he just laid into me. He said, "Next chance you get, you get one of your spare goalie sticks and you get it over to that kid." So there was a real learning aspect of it for me, just to respect the game. Ray put me in my spot right off the bat, and it's something that I never forgot.
On the greatest game he ever played:
I think probably the one that sticks out is when we had the overtime game with all the delays with the fog in Boston in 1990. It was Game 1, but it set the stage for the rest of the series.
There were some lucky bounces, there's no doubt, but I think it was just one of those games where I made the right saves at the right times, and under the bright lights of the Stanley Cup final.
On the most underrated player from his era:
Boy, there's lots. But for me, Kevin Lowe was probably the one. He was a leader not only on the ice, but off the ice; a really good manager of the dressing room. But he was also a fierce competitor. He played hurt a lot.
I think it was in '90 that he played the last three rounds with his ribs frozen. If anybody has had a rib injury, it's probably the most painful injury you can have as a player. He was just a warrior.
On who had the greatest influence on him:
As a kid moving around in the military, being in a lot of different places growing up, my midget coach, Dave Manning, had a big part in teaching me to stand up for myself.
Ron Low also had a big influence on me - not only as an assistant coach when we were going through the playoffs in '90, but also as a head coach. He always seemed to have my back. I guess being an ex-goalie probably had a lot to do with it. Just very supportive throughout my career.
On when he knew it was time to call it quits:
I think the biggest thing for me was that I was always a No. 1 guy, and I went back to Edmonton as a No. 2 - and didn't like it. A No. 1 guy has to have the mentality to be a No. 1 guy, and I just didn't like being a No. 2.
The year that I retired (after the 1999-2000 season), I had already decided. I hadn't told my teammates or management. I didn't know exactly when it was going to be. The last month, I knew in my mind I was done but didn't want it to be about me. We were battling for a playoff spot. It was more about looking back at my career, and the fact that it lasted close to 15 years, and the opportunities it gave me.
On his most memorable story from the 1990 Stanley Cup run:
We won Game 1, and then about eight of us had the flu going into Game 2. None of us skated until the morning skate. And because the Boston Celtics were in the playoffs, we actually had two days between games, which was unheard of back then. You were basically playing every second night until the playoffs were done.
It ended up being a little bit fortunate for us that we had two days in between, and had an extra 24 hours to recover. But a lot of us lost a lot of weight, which, at that time, wasn't a good thing. And because we won in the Garden, we didn't fly back that night, so we all got together at a pub in Faneuil Hall.
Back then, coaches didn't really talk to you very much. But I remember the coaching staff calling me over saying they basically didn't think I was going to make it; I was probably 10 pounds lighter by the time that series ended, just because of not having the opportunity to gain that weight back. They were quite concerned with my health.
You just went and played, so you never thought anything of it, but I was pretty run down by then, and just trying to struggle through it. You don't think your coaches notice sometimes, but they were very aware of what was going on.
Rapid Fire
The greatest player he ever played with: Wayne Gretzky
The greatest player he ever played against: Mario Lemieux
The best coach he ever had: Dave Manning
The player with the best wrist shot: Tom Fergus
The player with the best slap shot: Al MacInnis
The hardest player to move from the front of the net: For me? Everybody. (laughs)
Love 'em or hate 'em, the Toronto Maple Leafs have used the early portion of the new NHL campaign to propel themselves to the top of the league standings, doing so in the way many anticipated - scoring a ton of goals.
Thirty-four goals, to be specific, in just seven games - six of which being wins - is an astronomical number in a small sample size, but it makes one wonder, could the Leafs' offense be even more dangerous than we anticipated?
After pouring in 250 goals last season, the fifth-highest sum in the league, Toronto added Patrick Marleau in the summer to further bolster an offensive unit that was already a nightmare to defend. Despite the addition of a Hall of Fame resume to the lineup, the caveat to the Leafs' championship aspirations this season was team defense, and while things can certainly be tightened up on the back end, Toronto's torrid start has made it look like it might not matter.
Now, nobody is realistically expecting Rielly, or really any of the other skaters outside Matthews to maintain such a high pace until April, but the early indication is that this team will receive contributions from the entire roster - a lineup filled out with the likes of Mitch Marner, Tyler Bozak, and the aforementioned Marleau, who've each had fine starts, yet are being overlooked by the sheer firepower at the top.
Why it's such an asset
(Photo Courtesy: Action Images)
In the latter half of a back-to-back, the Leafs came out flat versus the Red Wings, frequently playing in their own end and struggling to generate or maintain any consistent pressure in the offensive zone.
Yet they still scored four goals in the opening 20 minutes.
Detroit out-attempted Toronto 45-29 at 5-on-5, and 56-38 in all situations (hockeystats.ca) but because of the Leafs' offensive talent, they came away with two points and a convincing score line, despite an effort nowhere near their best.
The long-term picture
Head coach Mike Babcock will continue to adjust in hopes his team can cut down on the chances his team is giving up down the road, but if the Leafs can manage six goals on an off night, what's going to stop them when they're firing on all cylinders?
And while Wednesday's performance reared some ugly possession numbers, it was an outlier when looking at the Leafs' analytical output thus far. The Leafs are averaging 34.7 shots per game this season - a mark good for sixth-highest in the NHL, while their power play is operating at 30 percent.
Additionally, their expected goals-for percentage (xGF%), which measures goal expectancy to shots based on shot types and distance, among other factors, was at 59.97 percent entering Wednesday's win, ranking third in the NHL, per Corsica.
We all knew the Leafs would rely on their offense again this season, and considering what they've demonstrated so far, perhaps we underestimated how powerful it can be.
LOS ANGELES (AP) Adrian Kempe had his first career hat trick to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
Michael Cammalleri scored the other two goals for the Kings, who have opened their season with their best six-game start (5-0-1) in franchise history.
Montreal (1-5-1) still hasn't won in regulation this season.
Jonathan Quick made 36 saves for the Kings.
The 21-year-old Kempe scored the go-ahead goal on a 2-on-1 breakaway for the Kings at 7:34 in the third period. He scored again at 16:42 and added another at 18:24 as hats were thrown onto the ice.
The game was tied heading into the third period before the Kings scored four times.
Paul Byron scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period, capitalizing on Derek Forbort's turnover, to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.
On his first goal, Cammalleri batted the puck out of the air to score on a power play and tie the game at 1 in the first period. It was Cammalleri's first goal of the season and first goal as a King since 2008. The 35-year-old Cammalleri is in his second stint with the Kings. He scored the second goal midway through the third period.
Al Montoya made his first start of the season in goal for the Canadiens. Montoya relieved Carey Price on Oct. 7 and played 40 minutes but that was his only work of the season prior to Wednesday.
Alex Galchenyuk started on Montreal's top line with Max Pacioretty and Jonathan Drouin. He was called for two penalties in the first period, an illegal check to the head and slashing. The latter led to the Kings' power-play goal by Cammalleri.
The Canadiens last won on Oct. 5 in overtime.
NOTES:
Jeff Carter sustained a lower-body injury after a collision near the end of the first period and didn't return ... Canadiens defenseman David Schlemko had surgery Wednesday to remove a bone fragment in his right wrist and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks ... Right winger Justin Augler, 23, made his NHL debut for the Kings on Wednesday ... ''It was Hockey Fights Cancer Night'' in Los Angeles and the Kings auctioned their purple jerseys used in warmups online to benefit the cause ... It was also ''Ontario Reign Night,'' the American League Hockey franchise of the Kings. Reign players were in attendance and shown on the JumboTron.
UP NEXT:
Canadiens: Finish their three-game roadtrip by playing the Ducks Friday in Anaheim.
Kings: Head out on their longest roadtrip of the season, a six-game, 11-day trek that starts Saturday in Columbus and ends in St. Louis.
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For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
ST. LOUIS (AP) Jaden Schwartz had his third career hat trick to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Schwartz has four goals and six assists this season and has at least one point in six of the Blues' first seven games. It was his 51st career multi-point game and fourth this season.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist, Kyle Brodziak also scored, and Jake Allen made 22 saves. The Blues snapped a two-game losing streak
Duncan Keith and Ryan Hartman had late goals for Blackhawks, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves.
Schwartz opened the scoring at 4:46 of the first period, tucking in a backhander off Tarasenko's feed.
Schwartz left the game eight minutes later after going awkwardly head-first into the boards after getting tangled with Richard Panik on a partial short-handed break.
Schwartz returned in the second period, and gave the Blues a 2-0 lead at 5:59. Allen's outlet pass off the boards created a 2-on-1 with Schwartz and Sammy Blais. It was Allen's fourth career assist.
Tarasenko made it 3-0 two minutes later, scoring his fifth of the season by stripping Artem Anisimov in front of the Chicago net.
St. Louis outshot Chicago 26-8 in the first two periods, including 17-4 in the second. The four shots in each of the first two periods were a season low for the Blackhawks in a period.
Brodziak scored at 7:01 of the third. It was the first time this season the Blues' third or fourth line scored.
After Keith and Hartman scored for Chicago, Schwartz completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal.
NOTES: Blackhawks television analyst Eddie Olczyk, who is battling colon cancer, received a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,752 after being recognized late in the first period. Olczyk was back in the booth for the first time since his diagnosis in August. ... Blues F Alexander Steen (broken left hand) was activated from injured reserve and made his season debut. To make room, the Blues waived F Wade Megan. ... Blues F Paul Stastny is one point shy of 600 for his career. ... Blackhawks C Nick Schmaltz (upper body) returned after missing four games.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Host Edmonton on Thursday night.
Blues: Travel to Colorado on Thursday night.
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For more NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
We're not quite sure what Corey Crawford was doing with Jaden Schwartz bearing down in search of his second goal of the night against the Chicago Blackhawks, but what's remarkable about this play is the perfect pass sent up the ice and off the boards by Jake Allen from the top of his crease to set it up.
