Players of the Night:
- Whoa, Ryan Pulock. The Islanders rookie collected one goal and four assists for an unexpected five-point night. He came into Saturday with nine points in 33 games so far in 2017-18, but maybe this will open things up for the young blueliner. Pulock played a big role in the Islanders pasting the Blackhawks 7-3.
- John Klingberg collected three assists as the Dallas Stars dominated the Buffalo Sabres 7-1. For more on the Norris Trophy argument Klingberg is making, click here.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the third period down 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators. Jake Gardiner collected two of his three assists during their rally back, helping Toronto erase that deficit and win 4-3 in regulation. Gardiner had to pick up some of the slack for Toronto with Morgan Rielly sidelined.
- There were some other strong nights, such as Nick Bonino chipping in three points to help the Predators stay hot.
Lowlight of the Night:
You won’t see Carey Price allow many goals as bad as this one. At least, the Habs have to hope not in his later years, as his $10.5 million cap hit won’t kick in until 2018-19.
More than a few wonder if the Canadiens’ playoff hopes died with a poor showing in three recent games against the Bruins.
Get hit, get back up, and score a goal. pic.twitter.com/3M6czD14cV
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 21, 2018
Highlights:
Patrick Marleau: not too old to essentially shrug off a hit. Nice.
Nice glove stops from Jimmy Howard ...
Howard commits robbery with the glove! pic.twitter.com/m6mghPiBk2
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 21, 2018
And Mike Smith:
Great set play, great save, great game. pic.twitter.com/d0jK4wxbLm
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) January 20, 2018
Meanwhile, this is comes down to cool editing as much as it was a nice goal:
Fantastic stuff from the Sharks.
The newest member of the #SJSharks and @sfwish recipient Hayden Bradley is 1-0 in faceoffs in his NHL career. 👏 pic.twitter.com/uqw4sEdt4X
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 21, 2018
Factoids
The Bruins are red-hot, and might start putting the heat on the Lightning:
Last time the @NHLBruins finished a game without a point?
— NHL (@NHL) January 21, 2018
Mid-December. They're 12-0-4 in their last 16 GP. #HockeyDay pic.twitter.com/TY11vnf3qh
While the Avalanche might be even hotter?
The @Avalanche earned their ninth consecutive victory, tied for the second-longest win streak in franchise history. #NHLStats #NYRvsCOL pic.twitter.com/KQUokGxGij
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 20, 2018
(More on those rising Avs here.)
An additional Pulock fact for ya ...
Pulock has an assist added on Nelson's goal, giving him 5 points. First #Isles rookie D to do that, first #Isles D of any kind since Uwe Krupp (3/20/93) at VAN.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) January 21, 2018
Scores
Stars 7, Sabres 1
Flyers 3, Devils 1
Avalanche 3, Rangers 1
Jets 2, Flames 1 (SO)
Bruins 4, Canadiens 1
Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3
Hurricanes 3, Red Wings 1
Sharks 2, Penguins 1
Coyotes 5, Blues 2
Predators 4, Panthers 3
Islanders 7, Blackhawks 3
Wild 5, Lightning 2
Oilers 5, Canucks 2
—
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.