NHL Weekly Awards: Phil Kessel Is Iron Man and Arber Xhekaj's Impressive First Fight
Why wait until the NHL Awards are held at the end of the season to celebrate some of the hockey world's greatest moments?
I can't think of a reason.
The Norris, the Selke, and the Lady Byng are all well and good but there are plenty more awards that could be doled out on a week-to-week basis.
If they can hand out a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes, then I can certainly make up my own awards and give them out too.
So, without further ado, here are a few award-worthy moments you may have missed over the last week.
Iron Man Of The Week (And Of NHL History): Phil Kessel
Let's start with Tuesday night. It was a record-setting evening in Las Vegas for Golden Knights center Phil Kessel, who broke Keith Yandle's consecutive games record.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for your new NHL Iron Man:
It's impossible to not love Phil Kessel. The guy has a legendary aversion to working out and manages to put up 50+ points a year and win a pair of Stanley Cups.
Meanwhile, the league is full of health freaks who won't be able to touch Phil's 990 straight games played.
Kessel's steak started when he played for the Boston Bruins and he hasn't missed a game since Nov. 3, 2009. Over that time he played for the Bruins, Maple Leafs, Penguins, Coyotes, and now, Golden Knights.
Not only did Phil set the consecutive games record, but he also scored his 400th career goal and his first with the Golden Knights.
An incredible night of accomplishment by one of hockey's most incredible characters.
Congrats to Phil the Thrill!
Best First Career Fight Of The Week: Arber Xhekaj
Montreal Canadiens rookie Arber Xhekaj may win the award for the most difficult name to pronounce in the league, and that's saying a lot. This is the reason for his nickname "Wi-Fi." He recently told an interviewer where the nickname comes from and it couldn't make more sense.
The 21-year-old out of Hamilton, Ontario is going to be winning himself some fans thanks to that phenomenal nickname.
It also doesn't hurt that he isn't afraid to drop the gloves.
Ragdolling a guy as tough as Zack Kassian is a badge of honor and that definitely earned ol' Wi-Fi some taps on the shin pads when he returned to the Habs bench.
What an impressive showing.
And hey, speaking of the Canadiens...
Ugliest Goal Of The Week: Joe Pavelski And The Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are coming off of an abysmal season last year, and things are only slightly better this season, as they're 3-3 through 6 games.
Slightly.
I mean just look at this. The Habs had a defensive lapse somewhere — maybe multiple places — and Joe Pavelski was off to the races.
Pavelski managed to score, but his third of the night against the Habs was an unmitigated mess.
Credit where credit is due, there was some A+ backchecking on display until just past the hash marks. Best Backcheck Of The Week-worthy, for sure, but they didn't finish the play, so no award (we've got to have rules, even if I'm making them up on he fly).
Instead, we get what looks like a moment out of a Three Stooges short.
Okay, This Is Starting To Get Unfair Play Of The Week: Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid is a human highlight reel and has been since he entered the NHL. Frankly, it started well before that.
He's got speed, finesse, and a finishing ability that makes the "generational talent' tag apropos.
He also has what appears to be superhuman hand-eye coordination which he showed off when the Oilers hosted the Blues.
Despite that unreal display of silky-mittedness, McDavid is still but a mortal man. The Blues managed to keep him and the rest of the Oilers off the score sheet for a 2-0 road win.
Now, elsewhere in Alberta...
Most Milan Lucic Play Of The Week: Milan Lucic
Everyone knows how Calgary Flames left wing Milan Lucic plays. Hard-nosed, gritty, dirty, and borderline-criminal are some words that come to mind to describe his body of work.
But we need to simplify that and come up with a one-word description of his game. Such a word doesn''t exist, so let's create one.
I submit for your approval, Lucician.
We're all lucky I just came up with that word because this is now of the most Lucician plays I've ever seen.
Cross-checking Jaccob Slavin back into the bench when he's trying to make a change is on-brand for Milan Lucic. Weirdly petty and completely unprovoked.
That's the Lucic way.
How Was That Not A Penalty Moment Of The Week: Tristan Jarry
Everyone knows you can't run into the goalie.
Conversely, the netminders get a bit more leeway when it comes to initiating that contact.
That said: how the hell did Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry get away with this slide tackle of Oilers center Leon Draisaitl?
We could give Leon an award for Most Justified Palms-Up Moment Of The Week after that. That's an insane non-call.
Maybe Jarry was getting some frustrations out. He got shelled with 47 shots and let in 6 goals en route to the Pens' first regulation loss of the season.
Still... no penalty?! Really?!?!
It's not like the officials put their whistles away when it came to Jarry. They gave him two minutes for holding the stick in that same game.
Sure seems like Jarry woke up that day and just chose violence, then (mostly) got away with it.
Most Obvious Indefinite Suspension Of The Week: Mikael Robidoux
We'll close things out for the week in the ECHL.
Allen Americans forward Mikael Robidoux was not happy about getting tossed from the team's Saturday night game against the Wichita Thunder.
That's completely understandable, but he probably would admit that he should've found another way to express his frustrations with the Wichita fans.
Fans can be frustrating I get it. I don't mind a player jawing with the crowd a little bit, but I draw my personal line at trying to break fans' fingers with a CCM twig.
But hey, that's just me.
...
Come back next week for more awards from around the NHL and the rest of the hockey world!
In the meantime, if you see anything award-worthy be sure to give me a shout on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle.