Player Of The Night: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers have at least started to show some signs of life in recent games. They were shutout on Sunday night in Toronto, but sandwiched around that game were a convincing 6-2 win in Montreal and then a thoroughly dominating 7-2 win in Columbus on Tuesday night that left Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella completely speechless.
Leading the way for the Oilers was captain Connor McDavid as he went off with a four-point night.
The four points are a season high for him and the fifth time this season he has recorded at least three points.
That performance gives him 39 points in 31 games on the season and currently has him third in the NHL scoring race, three points behind Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos.
Marc-Andre Fleury Probably Deserved Better In His Return To The Lineup
Marc-Andre Fleury made is return to the Vegas Golden Knights net and looked great, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Unfortunately that was not enough to get Vegas a win as they fell in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2.
One of those two shots in regulation that beat him? It was this.
That is unfortunate.
Still, that is another point for Vegas as they continue their push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference during their inaugural season in the NHL.
Highlight Of The Night
The Philadelphia Flyers were 4-2 winners over the Toronto Maple Leafs and have now, suddenly, won four games in a row following a 10-game losing streak.
They picked up the winner on Tuesday thanks to this goal that featured a crazy between-the-legs pass.
Filth. pic.twitter.com/599ntCGpqS
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) December 13, 2017
Highlight Of The Night Part Two
Now let us take a look at Johnny Gaudreau from the Calgary Flames. This came in a losing effort in the shootout but this is still a slick move. Maybe illegal? Either way, it counted.
Johnny Hockey with the slick moves tonight #Flames pic.twitter.com/XONvvIQDKw
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) December 13, 2017
Factoid(s) Of The Night
-- By stopping all 32 shots he faced against the St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up his 20th win of the season. He is just the sixth goalie in NHL history to win at least 20 games within his first 25 starts of a season. [NHL Public Relations]
-- Matt Cullen scored his 250th career goal in the Minnesota Wild’s 2-1 shootout win over the Calgary Flames, making him the 29th American-born player in NHL history to reach that mark. [Minnesota Wild PR]
-- Carolina Hurricanes goalies Cam Ward recorded his 300th career win on Tuesday night in their 3-2 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights. He is the fifth active goaltender to reach that mark. [NHL Public Relations]
Scores
Buffalo Sabres 3, Ottawa Senators 2
New Jersey Devils 5, Los Angeles Kings 1
Philadelphia Flyers 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 2
Washington Capitals 5, Colorado Avalanche 2
Edmonton Oilers 7, Columbus Blue Jackets 2
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, St. Louis Blues 0
Minnesota Wild 2, Calgary Flames 1
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Florida Panthers 2
Carolina Hurricanes 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2
Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.