Players of the Night:
Tom Wilson, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals:
I suppose this is somewhat cheating the system, but instead of doing three separate posts for each guy, why not just praise them all at once? These three had a dominant night as the top line for the Caps, combining for 11 points. Wilson (two goals, two assists) and Ovechkin (one goal, three assists) each had four-point outings. Backstrom scored and added two helpers of his own for good measure.
Ryan Miller, Anaheim Ducks:
Miller record his first shutout of the season to give the Ducks just their second win in their past nine games. The 37-year-old stopped 29 shots and has yet to lose in regulation this season with a 3-0-4 record.
Highlights of the Night:
Jonathan Toews provided this nasty deke on Braden Holtby in a game that was a lost cause for his Chicago Blackhawks:
This was pretty filthy from Ondrej Kase:
Bone-headed play of the Night:
This one goes to Matthew Tkachuk, who tried to get in a sneaky spear that was inevitably caught on camera. This could require a hearing from the league:
Factoid of the Night:
Alex Ovechkin trails only Sidney Crosby for the most four-point games since entering the League in 2005-06. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/TsGsfpbeAk
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 7, 2017
MISC:
- Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia Flyers have put together back-to-back wins after a 4-2 defeat of the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Don’t plan the parade just yet, though. They’ve only won two of their past 11.
- NHL insider Bob McKenzie dropped by the NBSCN studios on Wednesday and got a little more specific as to how long Roberto Luongo would be out for. McKenzie said the timeline could stretch up to eight weeks for the veteran netminder.
- McKenzie added that the Panthers will be looking at the possibility of adding a netminder.
- The Senators created a bunch of hope and belief in their dressing room after a 6-5 win against the New York Islanders last week. But they’ve resumed normal service as of late. After getting blanked 5-0 on Sunday against the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa lost 3-0 in Anaheim on Wednesday.
- Sticking with the Senators, Erik Karlsson has no points in his past 10 games.
- Ottawa is 1-8-1 in their past 10.
- Adam Henrique scored his first goal in a Ducks uniform on Wednesday.
Scores:
Maple Leafs 2, Flames 1 (SO)
Capitals 6, Blackhawks 2
Flyers 4, Oilers 2
Ducks 3, Senators 0
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter��@scottbilleck