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The Buzzer: DeBrincat gets the hat

Pittsburgh Penguins v Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 05: Alex DeBrincat #12 of the Chicago Blackhawks greets fans during a “red carpet” event before the season opening game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the United Center on October 5, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Player of the Night: Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks

With 13 points in his first 22 NHL regular-season games, Alex DeBrincat has been just about as good as advertised, but perhaps some fans wanted a little more sizzle to go with the steak. Especially considering that other precocious prospects have been so productive. It’s easy to forget that the undersized scorer is merely 19.

DeBrincat’s age was relevant on Monday, as he became the second-youngest Blackhawks forward to record a hat trick. Apparently NBC’s own Jeremy Roenick did so when he was just a bit more fresh-faced:

DeBrincat also collected an assist, so this was a four-point night, bumping him up to 17 points in 23 games.

Blackhawks fans and management alike envisioned nights like these when he went in the second round (39th overall) back in 2016. Ducks followers, meanwhile, must worry that a collapse is approaching after the team’s shown so much heart in fighting off injury after injury.

Highlights of the Night

Yikes, these hits:

Sergei Bobrovsky fell to the Canadiens this time around, but he still managed to make a nice save or two.

Carey Price got the best of Bob in this one, making 37 saves to win his second straight game upon returning from injury. You might say that he’s fairly important to the Habs.

If you enjoy brawls (how bloodthirsty of you), check out this post for some nastiness between the Wild and Jets during Winnipeg’s drubbing of Minny.

Factoids of the Night

One perk of Roberto Luongo’s two tours with the mostly-struggling Panthers: the future Hall of Famer now has at least 200 wins with two different teams. BREAKING: this is a rare feat.

Quite a CLUTCHNESS DUEL forming between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin:

Scores

Panthers 3, Devils 2
Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (OT)
Canadiens 3, Blue Jackets 1
Jets 7, Wild 2
Blackhawks 7, Ducks 3


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.