Lines of the Night: With combinations of forwards running wild in many cases, it might be best to break things down by the lines that dominated Thursday.
Let’s start with the painfully obvious one.
Vladislav Namestnikov - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov
Will the Lightning’s top line ever cool down? Probably, but right now they’re basically unstoppable; they didn’t even take it easy on Ben Bishop as he made his return to Tampa Bay. Instead, the Lightning beat the Stars 6-1 thanks to that top trio.
As played for the return of @benbishop30 that got the @amaliearena crowd to their feet...
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 17, 2017
Thank you, Bish. For everything. For always. 💙 https://t.co/rvg1XMbe2s
Stamkos scored two goals and two assists to boost his points total to 35 (!) in 19 games, while Nikita Kucherov scored his league-leading 17th tally and also produced two assists. Names grabbed an assist and apparently fought Dan Hamhuis.
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Some Colorado fans might have uttered “Matt WHO-chene?” for at least one night, as this top trio was ridiculous. Landeskog recorded his first career hat trick, Rantanen collected four points (1G, 3A), and MacKinnon generated one goal and four helpers.
This might just be the breakout season people were hoping to see with MacKinnon, as he has 20 points in 17 games.
It was a landslide from Avalanche captain Landeskog, if you will.
Brayden Schenn continues to ride high for the Blues, as he collected two goals and an assist. His point streak is honestly a little ridiculous:
Brayden Schenn collected 2-1—3 to extend his point streak to six games (4-10—14) and help the @StLouisBlues improve to 14-5-1 (29 points) this season, the best record in the Western Conference. #STLvsEDM pic.twitter.com/Xsgw33nsaN
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 17, 2017
Eric Staal (1G, 2A) had the better night, but his linemate Jason Zucker is on a tear of his own:
Jason Zucker extended his goal streak to five games (8-0—8), one shy of the longest such run in @mnwild history set by Brian Rolston from Jan. 21 – Feb. 5, 2008 (6-1—7 in 6 GP). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/1vuJKNbWZZ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 17, 2017
To keep this from getting unwieldy, we’ll leave it at that, but there are worth honorable mentions, such as top scorers for the Golden Knights (who just keep winning).
Highlight of the night: Matt Murray’s save
There were some other great stops, goals, and hard hits on Thursday, but wow, Murray.
More factoids:
The Maple Leafs make a little history in their 1-0 OT win, which was their fifth straight W.
#Leafs win their first regular-season 1-0 game that went past regulation for the first time since October 11, 1984
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 17, 2017
Roberto Luongo shuts out the Sharks for the first time in his career. You’d think San Jose would have been a victim of one of the previous 73 goose eggs ...
Roberto Luongo of the @FlaPanthers turned aside all 35 shots he faced to earn the 74th shutout of his NHL career, the most among active goaltenders. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/7Y3hTT30cq
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 17, 2017
And some relief:
#Coyotes win a regulation game for the first time this season (21 games)
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 17, 2017
More on that Coyotes win here and the Habs’ angry reactions here.
Scores
Leafs 1, Devils 0 (OT)
Islanders 6, Hurricanes 4
Coyotes 5, Canadiens 4
Penguins 3, Senators 1
Lightning 6, Stars 1
Wild 6, Predators 4
Jets 3, Flyers 2 (SO)
Avalanche 6, Capitals 2
Golden Knights 5, Canucks 2
Blues 4, Oilers 1
Bruins 2, Kings 1
Panthers 2, Sharks 0
—
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.