Eighty-five years ago today, March 15, 1941, legendary Montreal Canadiens head coach Dick Irvin Sr's indecision about who to play in net in an NHL playoff game led to one of the more fascinating goalie experiments in NHL history.
Irvin decided to rotate goalies Bert Gardiner and Paul Bibeault throughout a game against the New York Americans. He switched goalies every seven minutes and they combined for a 6-0 blanking of the Americans. This was the first shared shutout in NHL history.
The idea seems ludicrous for the modern game. But wouldn't you love to see Colorado's MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood do this once? How about Washington's Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren?
Other NHL notes:
2. Feels like home: It doesn't feel like any trade deadline has grabbed the spotlight, but I like how Corey Perry (two goals, one assist in four games) looks with the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is his second tour with the Lightning. The closer we get to the playoffs the more important Perry appears.
3. Missed Opportunity: With three centers now injured, do the Red Wings regret not pushing hard for center Vincent Trocheck before the NHL Trade Deadline? The Rangers wanted a king's ransom, but the Red Wings are suddenly in danger of missing the playoffs.
4.This wasn't the plan: Speaking of the Red Wings, elite goalie prospect Trey Augustine didn't turn pro last spring because he wanted to make another run at an NCAA championship with Michigan State. TSN recently ranked Augustine No. 5 on the list of Top 50 Affiliated Prospects. On Saturday, MSU lost to Ohio State 3-2 in overtime in the Big 10 semifinals. The Spartans will still receive an NCAA tournament invite a week from today. But being upset in the Big 10 tournament is not a good omen.
5. JV game: When the Grand Rapids Griffins faced the Milwaukee Admirals Saturday in AHL action, the Griffins were without their top five scorers because of Detroit call-ups and injuries. Plus, Nate Danielson (15 points in 18 games) is also hurt. They also don't have veteran defenseman Justin Holl who has had a strong season. He's gone because the Red Wings traded him. Meanwhile, the Admirals didn't have six of their eight top scorers for the same reason. This is what being an AHL affiliate team is all about.
6. Summer plans: New Jersey Hockey Now is speculating that the Devils will trade either Dougie Hamilton or Simon Nemec this summer to land an impact forward.
7. Exaggerated importance: We always hear about the importance of faceoffs, but three of the bottom four faceoff teams are the Tampa Bay Lightning (47.3%), Minnesota Wild (46.3) and Buffalo Sabres (45.3%). All three rank in the top six teams in the league. The Sabres are fourth, and they are dead last in faceoffs.
8. Conference disparity: If the Edmonton Oilers (32-26-9) were in the Eastern Conference they would be seven points out of a playoff spot. Is it going to take 97 points to qualify in the East?