NHL Rink Wrap: Thomas lifts Blues; Kotkaniemi contract close

The St. Louis Blues won a thriller against the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon that was highlighted by a two goal, four point effort from Robert Thomas, the first four point game of his career. The Blues have assembled quite an offensive team this season and a sneaky contenders in the Western Conference. As long as Ville Husso keeps playing the way he has in goal, and maybe with a defensive upgrade, they can go toe to toe with almost anybody in the Western Conference with their offense.

Thomas second goal of the game was this nice goal set up by a slick Jordan Kyrou feed with less than three minutes to play.

Connor McDavid scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers get a big 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Seattle Kraken scored one of the weirdest goals of the season.

Hurricanes closing in on new contract with Jesperi Kotkaniemi

The Carolina Hurricanes are reportedly closing in on a new contract extension with forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, according to a report from Andy Strickland. The deal will reportedly be an eight-year contract worth between $4.2 and $4.5 million per season. The deal can not be made official until after the trade deadline. Kotkaniemi joined the Hurricanes this past offseason when he signed a one-year offer sheet worth $6 million as a restricted free agent. The Montreal Canadiens chose not to match that offer and received the Hurricanes’ first-and third-round picks from the 2022 NHL draft. Kotkaniemi, 21, has 11 goals and 12 assists (23 total points) in 54 games for the Hurricanes this season. At this point he has not really become an impact player offensively, but he does play a strong two-way game and is a good possession driver. It will be interesting to see how his offensive