Player of the Night: Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils.
What has gotten into Travis Zajac? Did he step out of a time machine this week, and if so, was it the type that makes you a bit more monstrous, like the one from “The Fly?”
Zajac factored into all three of the Devils’ goals in a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, collecting two goals and one assist. The Devils have been slipping quite a bit lately, but they’ve now won three in a row, with these last two wins being considerable.
And Zajac’s been a notable factor in each of the past two wins, fighting Radko Gudas and shockingly holding his own:
Highlights of the Night:
Are we certain that Mike Hoffman isn’t Swedish? Feels like a relevant question, considering his expert use of the Peter Forsberg Postage Stamp move:
Unusual scene for the Lightning on Saturday: Cory Conacher drew a penalty shot while taking a high-sticking infraction to his face. He got repairs, scored on that penalty shot, and then the Bolts received a two-minute power play. Weird. (Also: Conacher has been pretty hot for Tampa Bay recently.)
Sweeet save by Tuukka Rask, who continued his personal point streak of 20 games.
Stick save by @tuukkarask 😱 pic.twitter.com/xS0XxgyoiD
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 4, 2018
Tough to top the bottle-bashing goal:
Exploding water bottle goal by Gourde 💥 pic.twitter.com/LPQk3G5oue
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) February 4, 2018
Factoids:
The Stars’ scoring is about as imbalanced as the score of their 6-1 win against the Wild.
Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, Tyler Seguin or John Klingberg, who factored in on four of six @DallasStars goals, have been involved in 108 out of 162 goals, excluding shootouts, this season (66%). #NHLStats #MINvsDAL pic.twitter.com/ru5Q7xhZ09
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 4, 2018
In his young career, Sean Monahan has 131 regular-season goals. He’s scored 10 of them in overtime.
At 23 years, 115 days old, #Flames Sean Monahan is the youngest player in NHL history with 10 career OT goals.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 4, 2018
Henrik Sedin is a few ahead of his twin Daniel Sedin (who’s currently at 1,276 regular season games). Daniel could hit 1,300 if he plays most of the Canucks’ remaining games.
NHLers to play 1,300 games for one franchise during entire career
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 4, 2018
Nicklas Lidstrom
Alex Delvecchio
Shane Doan
Steve Yzerman
Joe Sakic
Stan Mikita#Canucks Henrik Sedin
Tuukka Rask is the 13th different goaltender in NHL history to earn at least one point in 20+ consecutive decisions and fourth to do so with the @NHLBruins. #NHLStats #TORvsBOS pic.twitter.com/nFjv0fLTTe
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 4, 2018
Scores:
Canadiens 5, Ducks 2
Senators 4, Flyers 3 (SO)
Jets 3, Avalanche 0
Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 1
Blues 1, Sabres 0
Panthers 3, Red Wings 2
Devils 3, Penguins 1
Islanders 4, Blue Jackets 3
Predators 5, Rangers 2
Stars 6, Wild 1
Lightning 4, Canucks 2
Flames 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)
Kings 6, Coyotes 0
—
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.