Eakin Blows A Tire

Cody Eakin is a good lad. He's a Winnipegger by birth, a Washington Capital by draft, and a Dallas Star currently. He's generally relegated to the third- or fourth-line in Dallas, but he's known for his work ethic and determination when it comes to his assignment. In other words, he's a prototypical player that head coach Lindy Ruff enjoys having on his team. While he only has 59 goals in his 307-game NHL career thus far, his 59th goal scored against St. Louis tonight might be the most memorable of his career not for the way it was scored or who it was scored on, but rather for the celebration that followed the goal that didn't go according to script.

Most times, a player scores, he raises his arms in celebration, and he gathers with his linemates and they exchange compliments on the work done by goal scorer and setup men. Nothing unusual there, and Eakin's goal seemed to be going to plan as he scored, celebrated, and headed to the gathering of linemates. And then... well, to the video!

Jamie Benn actually makes a move to avoid Eakin's skate that rose into the air, but I'm not sure that Cody Eakin expected to slide from the hashmarks to the blueline on his back after the goal. Kris Russell watches him slide by before the group of Stars heads down to the blueline to congratulate Eakin on the goal.

Pretty funny if you ask me.

St. Louis would go on to a 5-4 victory which put them right alongside Dallas for top spot in the Central Division. Both teams have identical 41-20-9 records, but the Stars are technically still ahead of the Blues as they have 39 regulation wins to St. Louis' 36 regulation wins. Regardless of the standings, this game was incredibly entertaining, and one can only hope that these two teams meet in the playoffs at some point. There were goals, hits, saves, and, as seen above, a funny moment.

Nice goal, Cody Eakin. Keep the good times rolling in Dallas!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!