Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

The Buzzer: Shutouts, a hat trick and Vegas keeps rolling

Carey Price

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price makes a save against the Buffalo Sabres during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

AP

Players of the Night

Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens: In his first start since Nov. 2 Price stopped all 36 shots he faced from the Buffalo Sabres during a 3-0 victory. The shutout was the 40th of his career and first this season to help the Habs end a five-game losing skid. Price is now the fourth goalie in Canadiens history to record 40 shutouts.

Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks: Jones recorded his second shutout of the season and 17th of his career as the Sharks blanked the Winnipeg Jets 4-0. Logan Couture scored twice and Jones made 38 saves, including 29 over the final 40 minutes, in the victory.

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals: Ovechkin had a special night and created one for a fan as his hat trick, which tied Pavel Bure for most in NHL history by a Russian-born player, powered the Capitals by the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2. Before the game, Ovechkin met Alex Luey, a 13-year-old bone cancer survivor, and the Washington captain delivered on a promise to score and created a memory for a lifetime.

Highlight of the Night: Not going to beat what Ovi did, so here’s runner-up Brendan Perlini providing a highlight for the Coyotes:

MISC:

• Brian Gibbons’ tremendous season continued as he potted his 11th of the season 2:32 into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

• Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves and Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle provided the goals as the New York Islanders edged the Ottawa Senators 2-1 for their sixth win in seven games. Matt Duchene scored his first goal with the Senators in the loss.

• Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel each scored twice to power the Pittsburgh Penguins by the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2. Kessel also added two assists for a four-point night, while the Penguins captain had a helper of his own to finish with three points on the evening.

• Chris Kunitz returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since signing with the Lightning and received his 2017 Stanley Cup before the game:

• Corey Crawford’s great season continued as his 37 saves and three points from captain Jonathan Toews helped the Chicago Blackhawks down the Florida Panthers 4-1.

• Oh, look, another night, and some more goals from Jaden Schwartz, whose pair helped the St. Louis Blues double up the Minnesota Wild 6-3. The Blues lead the NHL in points with 35 through 24 games and are tied for third in scoring with 84 goals.

• William Karlsson potted his 13th of the season as the Vegas Golden Knights won their fifth in a row by defeating the Arizona Coyotes 4-2. Jonathan Marchessault ended the night with a goal and two assists.

• David Rittich recorded his first NHL win with 24 stops during a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Micheal Ferland and Mikael Backlund scored 22 seconds apart in the final minute of the second period to snap a 1-1 deadlock.

• Trevor Lewis’ goal in the fourth round of the shootout was the difference as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1. Anaheim was 1:32 from clinching a 1-0 win when Dustin Brown scored his ninth of the season to send the game to overtime. Jonathan Quick made 25 saves in overtime and regulation.

• Kevin Bieksa brought out the Superman punch again, as Andy Andreoff found out:

Factoid of the Night:

Scores:
Capitals 4, Maple Leafs 2
Canadiens 3, Sabres 0
Islanders 2, Senators 1
Devils 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)
Blackhawks 4, Panthers 1
Penguins 5, Lightning 2
Golden Knights 4, Coyotes 2
Blues 6, Wild 3
Flames 3, Avalanche 2
Sharks 4, Jets 0
Kings 2, Ducks 1 (SO)

————

Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.