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The Buzzer: DeBrincat leads Blackhawks comeback; Zucker’s crazy goal streak

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TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 9: Alex DeBrincat #12 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates with the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on October 9, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Claus Andersen

Player of the night: Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks. What made the Chicago Blackhawks a mini-dynasty a few years ago wasn’t just the fact they had a bunch of top-line players and superstar talents. That helped a lot, sure, but it was also the fact they always seemed to have a great complementary cast of players around those superstars. Often times young players on cheap, entry level deals. They might have another one in Alex DeBrincat.

After dominating the Ontario Hockey League the past couple of seasons DeBrincat has made the jump to the NHL this season and is starting to make an impact in the big leagues.

He played perhaps his best game of the season on Saturday night in helping the Blackhawks erase a 3-1 deficit in their 4-3 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Debrincat scored two goals to help get the game to overtime then picked up one of the helpers on Brandon Saad’s game-winning goal.

He now has 10 points in 17 games this season but has been really starting to pick up the pace in recent games with six points in his past six games.

He looks like he might be a steal of a second-round pick. The only reason he was not picked higher is probably the simple fact he is “undersized.”

Highlight of the night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were 2-1 shootout winners over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. They were able to win in the shootout because starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did this in overtime.

Bonus highlight of the night.

Hey how about one more awesome save. New Jersey Devils defenseman Andy Greene made the second best save of the night, sliding across the goal crease to give his goaltender a helping hand. This turned out to be a huge play because the Devils held on to win by a 2-1 margin.

Factoid of the night.

The Minnesota Wild were 1-0 winners on Saturday night over the Philadelphia Flyers thanks to a goal from forward Jason Zucker, his team-leading ninth of the season.

He has scored six of those goals over the past three games.

Why is that so noteworthy? Because he is the only Minnesota Wild player to score a goal in those three games, scoring each of the team’s past six goals.

Amazingly, the Wild have won two of those games thanks to his goal-scoring and a pair of shutouts from Devan Dubnyk.

Misc.

-- No Auston Matthews? No problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night was their third in a row without their leading scorer and best player.

-- Playing in his first game with the Nashville Predators Kyle Turris scored his first goal with his new team.

-- Mike Hoffman’s two goals were the difference in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Sweden.

Scores

New York Rangers 4, Edmonton Oilers 2

Ottawa Senators 4, Colorado Avalanche 3

New Jersey Devils 2, Florida Panthers 1

Minnesota Wild 1, Philadelphia Flyers 0

Chicago Blackhawks 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3

Columbus Blue Jackets 2, Detroit Red Wings 1

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 1

Montreal Canadiens 2, Buffalo Sabres 1

New Islanders 5, St. Louis Blues 2

Nashville Predators 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 3

San Jose Sharks 5, Vancouver Canucks 0

Winnipeg Jets 4, Arizona Coyotes 1