Player of the Night: Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers.
It hasn’t been the easiest start to the season for Twitter legend Roberto Luongo, nor has it been for the Twitter debate generators known as the Florida Panthers.
Bobby Lou hasn’t been healthy at times, making it easy to ignore that even at 38, he’s quietly managed a save percentage that climbed to .931 after today’s outstanding performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Luongo made 43 out of 44 stops to help Florida edge Toronto in a 2-1 shootout win, to the amusingly over-the-top celebration of the Panthers, who might have done so because there were probably a ton of Maple Leafs fans in the house:
Nick Bjugstad won the game with this saucy shootout score, by the way:
Honorable mentions go to tonight’s other standout goalies, plus Nathan MacKinnon, who received plenty of praise here.
Fight of the Night: William Carrier vs. Mike Liambas.
Is it fair to call this fight “methodical but entertaining?”
Quip of the Night: P.K. Subban, always entertaining, though he should reduce the height-shaming.
Pest of the Night: Nazem Kadri?
Highlight of the Night: John Tavares continues to impose his will, this time setting up the Islanders overtime-winner:
Factoids of the Night
Another milestone for the Vegas Golden Knights, who lead the Pacific Division:
The @GoldenKnights overcame a 2-0 deficit to match the NHL record for most wins by a team through the first 20 games of its inaugural season. #NHLStats #VGKvsANA pic.twitter.com/dsKQUHUneN
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 23, 2017
Brock Boeser is another worthy mention for player of the night, as the young Canuck keeps scoring and scoring, this time helping Vancouver beat Pittsburgh (again).
Per @EliasSports: @BBoeser16 is the fourth rookie in @Canucks history to record multiple goals in consecutive team games. #NHLStats #VANvsPIT pic.twitter.com/l6RnnAyI8T
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 23, 2017
Connor McDavid continues to impress, and maybe shuts up a critic or two for one night:
#Oilers Connor McDavid records his NHL-best 37th multi-point game since the start of 2016-17
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 23, 2017
The Canadiens? Well, at least they got a point.
#Habs score 2 goals or fewer for an NHL-worst 15th game this season
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 23, 2017
Scores
Wild 5, Sabres 4
Oilers 6, Red Wings 2
Panthers 2, Maple Leafs 1 (SO)
Bruins 3, Devils 2 (SO)
Islanders 4, Flyers 3 (OT)
Canucks 5, Penguins 2
Capitals 5, Senators 2
Rangers 6, Hurricanes 1
Blue Jackets 1, Flames 0 (OT)
Lightning 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Predators 3, Canadiens 2 (SO)
Avalanche 3, Stars 0
Sharks 3, Coyotes 1
Golden Knights 4, Ducks 2
Jets 2, Kings 1
—
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.