Tuesday hockey: The night Vukota trashed Detroit hotel; Bruins remain unbeaten
Now we know what happened when the New York Islanders trashed a hotel near Detroit Metro Airport in 1996.
On the recent episode of the No. 1-ranked hockey podcast "Spittin' Chiclets," former Islanders enforcer Mick Vukota said he was sent to the minors after a "self-inflicted" incident following a 4-2 loss against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Oct. 19, 1996.
In the game, Vukota had one shot on goalie Mike Vernon with Steve Yzerman, Darren McCarty, Slava Kozlov and Slava Fetisov scoring goals for the Red Wings.
"I think (Islanders defenseman) Bryan Berard told you about some crazy guy that destroyed a hotel room in Detroit," Vukota said on the podcast with former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, Barstool Sports writer Brian "Rear Admiral" McGonagle and producer Mike Grinell.
"That was you?" Whitney said.
"Yeah," said Vukota, who scored 17 career goals in 573 games with 2,071 penalty minutes with the Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens.
Vukota said the Islanders' flight after the Detroit game was cancelled because of fog so they stayed at a hotel near the airport. He said Travis Green and some of his teammates wanted to go to Windsor but coach Mike Milbury said, "Nobody goes out, tonight" so they went back to their rooms to play cards with 4-5 cases of beer.
"I lose two, three grand in 20 minutes so I'm out but we've got beer so I'm crushing beers," Vukota said. "I'm throwing cans against the wall. All of a sudden, knock, knock, security shows up, big guy. He said they had a complaint from the room next door and we might have to keep it down. Thirty minutes later, knock, knock, knock. Milbury shows up. I was hiding behind the door and Milbury said to the other guys, 'You, you and you are suspended immediately.'
"I came out from behind the door and said, 'Mike, it's not them. It's all me.' He said, 'You. You're all set. You didn't do anything.' He started walking away and I think that was the only thing he could do to me, is punish my teammates for something I did. Now I'm just loosing it. I follow him down the hallway and he says, 'Don't do it. I'm telling you. Calm down. Back away.'
"Now I go back to my room and my poor roommate Corey Foster, who just got called up from the minors, he's laying in bed with the covers up to his eyeballs. I'm throwing everything out the hotel window. Everything that was eligible is out. The pillows, the blanket, the clock, the lamps, the chairs. I had to break them but I got them out, all in the yard of the hotel.
"The next day, everybody got on the bus and then Mike goes, 'Everyone off the bus' and we walked around the building. It looked like a tornado came through. He said, 'Is this what you guys consider professional?' I couldn't say much. I just sat in the back of the bus. We got back to the Coliseum and we had a meeting. I apologized to the boys but it was too little too late. Mike sent me to Salt Lake City and that's how I wound up in the minors."
Bruins match best start in history
Chicago – Matthew Poitras and Trent Frederic scored 56 seconds apart in the third period, and the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Tuesday night to match the best start in franchise history.
Pavel Zacha also scored for Boston, and Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves in his 10th career shutout.
The Bruins moved to 6-0 by closing out a perfect four-game trip in the franchise's centennial season. Boston also won its first six games of the 1937-38 season.
Ex-Wings goalie Petr Mrazek made 40 stops for Chicago in its third consecutive loss. The Blackhawks also lost to the Bruins on Oct. 11, falling 3-1 in Boston.
The Bruins were in control for most of the night, but it was only good enough for a 1-0 lead before Poitras and Frederic helped put it away.
The 19-year-old Poitras skated past veteran Blackhawks forward Corey Perry and beat Mrazek on the glove side at 4:06. The rookie forward scored his first two NHL goals in a 3-1 win at Anaheim on Sunday.
Frederic made it 3-0 when he knocked home a slick pass from James van Riemsdyk. It was Frederic's second goal of the season.
More Tuesday games
Colorado 7, (at) N.Y. Islanders 4: Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists for the Avs' NHL-record 15th straight road win.
Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Bowen Byram, Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton also scored for Colorado, which won its sixth straight to open the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots to also improve to 6-0-0 this season.
The Avalanche’s winning streak, which includes the last 11 road games of last season, topped the previous mark of 14 set by Buffalo bridging the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They also matched the 2013-14 team for the best start (6-0-0) since moving to Colorado before the 1995-96 season – one win behind the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques for tops in franchise history.
Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored, and Noah Dobson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had two assists as the Islanders lost their third straight (0-2-1). Ilya Sorokin finished with 34 saves.
Toronto 4, (at) Washington 1: Auston Matthews scored his seventh goal of the season, Joseph Woll made 36 saves and Toronto handed Washington its fourth loss in five games.
Alex Ovechkin scored his first goal this season and 823rd of his NHL career, moving 71 back of Wayne Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin had a game-high 14 shots, including a failed penalty shot. Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on the first 12 shots he faced and 17 overall.
Morgan Rielly, John Tavares and William Nylander also scored for the Maple Leafs, who won for a fourth time in six games.
Rielly’s goal was the first by a Maple Leafs defenseman this season and the fifth time the Capitals gave up the first goal of the game. Tavares and Nylander extended their respective season-opening point streaks to six and became the third set of Toronto teammates to do that.
(At) Tampa Bay 3, Carolina 0: Jonas Johansson made 32 saves, Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, and Tampa Bay sent Carolina to its third straight loss.
Alex Barré-Boulet and Nicholas Paul also scored for Tampa Bay. Johansson is filling in for Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had back surgery last month and is expected back in late November or early December.
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 20 shots for the Hurricanes, who wrapped up a six-game trip at 2-4.
New Jersey 5, (at) Montreal 2: Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick against his former team, leading New Jersey past Montreal.
Alexander Holtz and Nico Hischier also scored for New Jersey, and Jack Hughes continued his hot start to the season with four assists. Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 shots.
Hughes, who entered the contest tied for third in the league in scoring, has 14 points in five games.
Justin Barron and Mike Matheson scored for Montreal. Goaltender Cayden Primeau made 29 saves in his first start of the season.
Buffalo 6, (at) Ottawa 4: Jeff Skinner and Tage Thompson each scored twice and Buffalo beat Ottawa on a night the Senators honored former star goaltender Craig Anderson, who serves as a hockey liaison for the Sabres.
Zemgus Girgensons and Alex Tuch also added goals for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 34 saves.
Jakob Chychrun, Vladimir Tarasenko, Josh Norris and Mathieu Joseph scored for Ottawa. Starting goalie Anton Forsberg was chased after allowing five goals on 18 shots through two periods. Joonas Korpisalo made five saves in the third.
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk left the game late in the second period appearing to favor his shoulder after a collision with Sabres center Peyton Krebs.
Dallas 4, (at) Pittsburgh 1: Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston scored in the third period and Dallas beat Pittsburgh.
Trailing by a goal, Dallas countered with four straight scores. Jason Robertson scored for the first time this season and Evgenii Dadonov added a goal before third-period goals from Harley and Johnston.
Jake Oettinger stopped 38 shots for the Stars, who won their third straight. Dallas has won four of its first five games this season.
Penguins defenseman John Ludvig, making his NHL debut, left with an injury at 10:41 of the second period. He was briefly knocked unconscious following a collision at center ice with Stars forward Radek Faksa. Ludvig was eventually helped to his feet and skated from the ice with assistance from teammates Marcus Pettersson and Noel Acciari.
Bryan Rust scored and Alex Nedeljkovic made 31 saves for the Penguins, who lost third third straight and fell for the fourth time in six games this season.
(At) Florida 3, San Jose 1: Sam Reinhart extended his goal streak to five games, helping Florida keep San Jose winless.
Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Panthers (3-3-0), who were without captain Aleksander Barkov because of an illness. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves in his Florida debut.
Fabian Zetterlund scored for the Sharks. Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.
At 0-5-1, San Jose has matched the worst six-game start in franchise history. The Sharks also went 0-5-1 for one point through six games in 1993-94 – part of what became an 0-8-1 start.
Anaheim 3, (at) Columbus 2 (OT): Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway 2:40 into overtime and Lukas Dostal stopped 34 shots as Anaheim snapped a three-game skid with its first road win of the season, rallying to beat Columbus.
The Ducks twice erased one-goal deficits and pulled even with goals by Ryan Strome and Brett Leason on the way to their fifth straight win over Columbus.
In the overtime, Benoit-Olivier Groulx picked up a loose puck in his own zone and sent a pass to a streaking Vatrano near center ice, and the 29-year-old winger beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on the stick side.
Adam Fantilli had a goal and an assist, his first multi-point NHL game, and Emil Bemstrom scored for the Blue Jackets, who had a two-game wins streak halted. Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.
(At) Winnipeg 4, St. Louis 2: Connor Hellebuyck stopped 18 of 20 shots to lead the Winnipeg past St. Louis.
Kyle Connor, Mason Appleton and David Gustafsson scored for the Jets, and Morgan Barrons added an empty-netter.
Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington made 26 saves on 29 shots.
It was the Jets first game without head coach Rick Bowness, who took a leave of absence after his wife, Judy, suffered a seizure on Sunday.
(At) Minnesota 7, Edmonton 4: Ryan Hartman scored three goals as part of a career-high-tying five-point game, and Minnesota scored five times in the final period to beat Edmonton.
Hartman recorded his first hat trick since Jan. 8, 2017.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello also scored in third for the Wild before Marcus Foligno added an empty-netter. Marco Rossi and Hartman scored in the first period for Minnesota, and Filip Gustavsson finished with 25 saves.
Warren Foegele had two goals, and Evan Bouchard and Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers, who played without captain and three-time MVP Connor McDavid, expected to miss a week or two due to injury.
Vancouver 3, (at) Nashville 2: Phillip Di Giuseppe and Nils Hoglander scored early in the second period to lead Vancouver past Nashville.
Ilya Mikheyev also scored, and Thatcher Demko made 15 saves as Vancouver won its second straight game.
Colton Sissons and Kiefer Sherwood scored, and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for Nashville, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.
N.Y. Rangers 3, (at) Calgary 1: Defenseman Erik Gustafsson had a goal and an assist and New York scored three times in the second period to beat Calgary.
Chris Kreider added his team-leading fifth goal and Alexis Lafreniere also scored for New York. Filip Chytil had two assists. Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves and improved to 3-2.
Blake Coleman scored for Calgary, which has lost three in a row and gone 1-4-1 since winning its season opener. Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for Calgary.
(At) Los Angeles 6, Arizona 3: Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, Anze Kopitar scored on the power play and had an assist, and Los Angeles defeated Arizona.
Trevor Lewis, Trevor Moore, Blake Lizotte and Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who had been winless in their first three games on home ice. Pheonix Copley made 24 saves.
Clayton Keller had a power-play goal as he scored for the third straight game, Jack McBain and Nick Bjugstad also scored, but the Coyotes couldn’t get their third straight win.
Connor Ingram was replaced midway through the first period after allowing three goals on nine shots. Karel Vejmelka replaced him and made 15 saves.
(At) Las Vegas 3, Philadelphia 2: Shea Theodore blasted a shot from above the left circle with 32.5 seconds left Tuesday night to give Vegas a victory over Philadelphia and extend the Golden Knights’ winning streak to seven games to open the season.
Ivan Barbashev and Paul Cotter also scored for the Knights and Jack Eichel had two assists. Logan Thompson made 26 saves.
Noah Cates and Cam Atkinson scored for Philadelphia, and Carter Hart stopped 25 shots.
The Knights’ 7-0 start ties seven other teams for ninth best in NHL history. Vegas, which has scored at least three goals in every game, also has the best start for a defending Stanley Cup champion.
Local hockey games this week
Tuesday games
▶ Seattle 5, Red Wings 4 (OT)
Thursday's games
▶ Winnipeg at Red Wings, 7 p.m. (BSD/97.1)
▶ Michigan State at Boston College, 7 p.m. (ESPN+/730)
Friday's games
▶ Grand Rapids at Cleveland, 7 p.m. (AHL/106.9)
▶ Lindenwood at Michigan, 7 p.m. (Big 10+)
▶ Michigan State at Boston College, 7 p.m. (EPSN+/1240)
▶ Madison at NTDP U17, 7 p.m.
▶ Michigan Tech at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m.
▶ Northern Michigan at Ferris State, 7 p.m.
Saturday games
▶ Red Wings at Boston, 7 p.m. (BSD Extra/97.1)
▶ Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8 p.m. (AHL/106.9)
▶ Lindenwood at Michigan, 7 p.m. (Big 10+)
▶ Madison at NTDP U18, 7 p.m.
▶ Michigan Tech at Clarkson, 7:30 p.m.
▶ Northern Michigan at Ferris State, 7 p.m.