Hockey numerology highlights Sedin twins’ retirement

Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin, left, and his twin brother, Daniel Sedin, wave to the crowd after the Canucks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in the brothers’ last home NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 5, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin, left, and his twin brother, Daniel Sedin, both of Sweden, skate before their final home NHL hockey game, against the Arizona Coyotes, Thursday, April 5, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Sedins are retiring after the season. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks’ Daniel Sedin, left, and his twin brother, Henrik Sedin wave to the crowd after the Canucks defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 in the Sedins’ final home NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 5, 2018, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck//The Canadian Press via AP)

A fan holds a sign for Vancouver Canucks’ Daniel Sedin and his twin brother, Henrik Sedin, both of Sweden, in their last NHL hockey home game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, April 5, 2018. The brothers announced this week they would be retiring from the NHL at the end of the season. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Daniel and Henrik Sedin displayed the unique telepathy that is reserved for identical twins throughout their 17 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Sedins would provide a bit of bizarre hockey numerology before they retire.

Daniel (No. 22) and Henrik (No. 33) were part of multiple instances last week that were enough to make one think they speak their own language and feel each other’s pain, too.

In their final home game Thursday against Arizona, Daniel Sedin scored his 22nd goal of the season, on assists from Henrik Sedin and Alex Edler (No. 23). The goal came 33 seconds into the second period.

Then in overtime, Daniel Sedin scored the winner at 2:33 — or 22:33 of the third period, if you prefer — with Henrik Sedin earning the primary assist. It was the 23rd regular-season overtime assist for Henrik Sedin, passing Nicklas Lidstrom (22) and Ryan Getzlaf (22) for the most in NHL history.

But that’s not all.

The Canucks had a 33-22 advantage over Arizona on faceoffs.

And in the Sedins first game after announcing their retirement, a 5-4 shootout loss to the Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Canucks were outshot 33-22 in regulation.

The Sedins, 37, joined the Canucks in 1999 when the club made several trades to select Daniel at No. 2 and Henrik at No. 3.

The natives of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, are the only sibling duo in NHL history to each record 1,000 career points.

Henrik is the Canucks’ all-time leader in assists (830), points (1,070) and games played (1,328) entering Saturday’s schedule, while Daniel sits atop the club’s list in goals (393) and ranks second in points (1,041).

Since the Sedins debuted for the 2000-01 season, at least one has been in the lineup for every Canucks game.

“When the fans show up like that, you want to play well for them. We did tonight,” Daniel Sedin said Thursday. “I was real tired today, but the crowd was energizing. We fed off that. I saw our kids up on the Jumbotron during the game and smiled. I knew we made the right decision.”

O’Ree award created

The league announced the creation of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award to be presented during the NHL Awards show this summer.

The award will be presented to a person, team, league, rink or association (not affiliated with the league or any NHL club) “who best utilizes hockey as a platform for participants to build character and develop important life skills for a more positive family experience.”

O’Ree is the first black player in the NHL and has worked with disadvantaged youths through grassroots hockey programs for the past two decades.

“We are privileged to honor Willie with the creation of this new community award,” commissioner Gary Bettman said. “He has dedicated his life to equality and inclusion; to supporting young people of all backgrounds who are following their dreams; and to using hockey as a platform to build character and teach life skills.”

Remarkable rookies

Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders is the overwhelming favorite for the Calder Trophy, but he’s not the only first-year player to impress this season.

Barzal is one of seven rookies with at least 50 points, and Columbus’ Pierre-Luc Dubois entered Saturday with 48 points. The last time at least seven rookies reached the 50-point mark was 1993-94.

Also, there are seven rookies with at least 20 goals, led by Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor (30), with two others at 19. Only two seasons since 1990-91 have featured more than seven 20-goal rookies: 1992-93 (12) and 2005-06 (11).

Chicago rookie Alex DeBrincat, with a team-high 28 goals entering Saturday, would become the sixth rookie in franchise history to lead the team in goals.

Knights rookie forward Alex Tuch has 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.