Greatest Moments of NHL Season … So Far: first round, matchup 25

The 2019-20 NHL season had many incredible moments before it paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and now fans can decide which one was the best.

The Greatest Moments of the NHL season … So Far have been placed into a bracket of 64 entries, and fans will vote on one matchup per day, ultimately deciding the greatest moment up until this point.

Fans can vote on Twitter and Instagram each day from noon until 10 a.m. ET the next day. Each day, the winner of that matchup will be revealed, and a new set of moments will go head-to-head.

Though fans will have the ultimate say, two NHL.com staffers will weigh in on the matchup each day to give his or her opinion on which one should advance to the next round.

In the matchup Thursday, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals passing Mario Lemieux on the all-time NHL goals list defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins' crazy win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The matchup Friday has Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho's three-goal, five-point performance against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 7 facing Ryan Strome's mom, Trish, reading the starting lineup for the New York Rangers before their game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 19.

Nick Cotsonika, columnist

Aho is so fun to watch because of his hockey sense and skill, especially when combined with his chemistry with teammate Teuvo Teravainen. Aho showed off his range with this hat trick: scoring on a one-timer from the right face-off circle after a give-and-go with Teravainen, tapping his stick on the ice in the low slot and redirecting a pass from Teravainen in close, and finishing it off by winning a battle on the wall and scoring on a long-range shot for an empty-net goal. He also had two assists, giving him an NHL career-high five points.

Shawn P. Roarke, Senior Director of Editorial

Hockey dads usually get all the love, but Trish Strome struck a wonderful blow for the moms, who support their sons unconditionally and sacrifice much in the pursuit of their success. That's why the moment when Trish marched into the visitors' locker room at United Center and rattled off the starting lineup against the Blackhawks as part of the moms' trip for the Rangers is the clear winner here. Trish kissed Ryan before offering up comments to each of the starters, including telling forward Artemi Panarin to pass the puck to her son, wishing defenseman Adam Fox a happy birthday, and admonishing defenseman Ryan Lindgren to not get hurt again. After the presentation, she retreated with the other moms and beamed with pride as Ryan took the opening face-off, appropriately against his brother Dylan, who is a forward with the Blackhawks. Oh yeah, Ryan also scored in a 6-3 New York victory.