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The Buzzer: Monahan is money, Zajac(!?), Command and Conacher

Pittsburgh Penguins v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 03: Travis Zajac #19 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates scoring his goal in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center on February 3, 2018 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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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.

Tough to top the bottle-bashing goal:

Factoids:

The Stars’ scoring is about as imbalanced as the score of their 6-1 win against the Wild.

In his young career, Sean Monahan has 131 regular-season goals. He’s scored 10 of them in overtime.

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.

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.