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The Buzzer: Tavares records hat trick; Mike Smith’s milestone night

Arizona Coyotes v New York Islanders

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders celebrates his goal at 14:25 of the second period against Louis Domingue #35 of the Arizona Coyotes at the Barclays Center on October 24, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Player of the night: John Tavares

John Tavares has bid farewell to his scoring drought, which saw him go five games without a point from Oct. 9-19. On Tuesday, the Islanders captain recorded the hat trick, including the winning goal late in the third period, to help give his team a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes are now nine games into the season and still do not have a win.

The Islanders and Coyotes traded five goals between them during the third period, but Tavares put his team up for good on a nifty deflection to the side of Louis Domingue.

Tavares now has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last two games. What slump, right?

Honorable mention goes to Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Nieto, who also recorded the hat trick tonight against the Dallas Stars.

Highlight of the night:

Matt Murray, everyone.

The Penguins goalie denied Oilers forward Mark Letestu with an unbelievable stick save during the second period of Tuesday’s game, which Pittsburgh won in overtime. Words really don’t do it justice.

Factoid of the night:

Mike Smith hit a career milestone with his shootout victory against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Scores:

Colorado 5, Dallas 3

Vegas 4 , Chicago 2

New York Islanders 5, Arizona 3

Anaheim 6, Philadelphia 2

Pittsburgh 2, Edmonton 1 (OT)

Tampa Bay 5, Carolina 1

Buffalo 1, Detroit 0

Montreal 5, Florida 1

L.A. 3, Ottawa 2 (SO)

Calgary 3, Nashville 2 (SO)

Vancouver 1, Minnesota 0

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Cam Tucker is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @CamTucker_Sport.