Players of the Night:
- Alex DeBrincat arguably had the best night, collecting the second hat trick of his career, while also adding an assist. Read more about his strong game here.
- There were plenty of skaters who generated three-point nights who warrant a mention. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby enjoyed strong nights (more here), Teuvo Teravainen, and briefly benched Rangers forward J.T. Miller. And that’s just the players who collected three points for a winning cause. (Anthony Duclair generated a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks too, by the way.)
- Scroll through NBC’s scoreboard and you’ll see some nice goalie performances from shutouts (including Pekka Rinne and Robin Lehner) along with heavy workloads where goalies only allowed one goal apiece (such as Curtis McElhinney and Sergei Bobrovsky).
Highlight of the Night: Ryan Callahan turns back the clock.
Seriously, Callahan did this ... in 2018.
Chris Neil honored: So many black eyes and bruises.
The #Sens honour Chris Neil on his 16-year NHL career in Ottawa, playing 1,026 games and making a significant impact in the community. pic.twitter.com/aSZfeBLkwO
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) January 26, 2018
Factoids
Read about Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin reaching milestones here.
A quirky stat stemming from John Gibson’s troubling injury, and Ryan Miller coming in relief:
Ryan Miller of Anaheim becomes just 5th goalie in past 40 years in the NHL to get a win despite not facing a shot. Came in for injured Ducks goalie John Gibson with 6:40 left in 3rd. #NHLJets got no shots in the 11:40 he played including overtime. He did stop 5 shootout shots.
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) January 26, 2018
Speaking of Miller ...
Most shootout wins, NHL history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 26, 2018
59 – @RyanMiller3039
58 – Henrik Lundqvist
53 – Marc-Andre Fleury#NHLStats #WPGvsANA pic.twitter.com/GWaEGXwHQJ
... and speaking of Miller, again:
Robin Lehner is the first @BuffaloSabres goaltender to post consecutive shutouts since Ryan Miller from Feb. 29 – March 1, 2012. #NHLStats #BUFvsVAN pic.twitter.com/GvLXDXJKoI
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 26, 2018
And speaking of a team that once tormented Miller, at least when Milan Lucic was around:
This marks the third time in franchise history that the @NHLBruins recorded one or more points in at least 18 consecutive games. #NHLStats #BOSvsOTT pic.twitter.com/QQUYEAlD9e
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 26, 2018
Scores
Predators 3, Devils 0
Lightning 5, Flyers 1
Penguins 6, Wild 3
Hurricanes 6, Canadiens 5
Bruins 3, Senators 2
Blackhawks 5, Red Wings 1
Capitals 4, Panthers 2
Blues 3, Avalanche 1
Maple Leafs 4, Stars 1
Oilers 4, Flames 3 (SO)
Blue Jackets 2, Coyotes 1
Sabres 4, Canucks 0
Islanders 2, Golden Knights 1
Ducks 4, Jets 3 (SO)
Rangers 6, Sharks 5
—
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.