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The Buzzer: Blues keep rolling, a surprising hat trick, Ducks miss chance

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TORONTO,ON - JANUARY 16: Vladimir Tarasenko #91 of the St.Louis Blues skates during the warm-up prior to playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on January 16, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Gety Images)

Claus Andersen

Players of the Night

Thomas Vanek, Columbus Blue Jackets: One of the more underrated trade deadline acquisitions has been Columbus’ pickup of Thomas Vanek from the Vancouver Canucks. He is averaging more than a point per game with the team and recorded a hat trick in their come-from-behind win on Tuesday night. The Blue Jackets fell behind by three goals in the first 10 minutes then scored seven consecutive goals to rout the Oilers.

Brandon Tanev, Winnipeg Jets: Entering play on Tuesday night Brandon Tanev had scored just four goals in 55 games for the Winnipeg Jets this season. He had not recorded a point in 12 consecutive games and had just two in his past 20. All he did on Tuesday night in a 5-4 overtime win against the Boston Bruins was score three goals for his first career hat trick. Is that the most random, unexpected hat trick in the NHL this season? It almost certainly has to be.

Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues: As improbable as it seemed a little over a month ago, the St. Louis Blues now occupy the top wild card spot in the Western Conference. Vladimir Tarasenko scored the game-winning goal in overtime on Tuesday night to lift the Blues to a 3-2 win against the San Jose Sharks, extending their current winning streak to seven games. They have also won eight out of their past nine and are 9-2-1 in their past 12 games. A stunning turnaround given the trade of Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets and the number of injuries the team is currently dealing with.

Staal gets No. 40

The Minnesota Wild were losers in a shootout in Nashville on Tuesday night, but Eric Staal scored the lone goal for the Wild in the loss and in the process recorded the 40th goal of the season. He now has three 40-goal seasons in his career, making him one of just six active players in the league this season to have three of them. The others are Alex Ovechkin (nine), Steven Stamkos (four), Marian Gaborik (three), Evgeni Malkin (three), and Rick Nash (three).

Ducks let two points slip away

The Anaheim Ducks entered the night in the third playoff spot in the Pacific Division and a game against one of the NHL’s worst teams, the Vancouver Canucks. Seemed like a good opportunity to pick up two points and gain some ground in the playoff race, right?

Wrong.

They ended up scoring just a single goal and losing 4-1.

They remain one of three teams in the West tied with 91 points, joining the Blues and Kings. They are just one point up on the Colorado Avalanche, the first team on the outside of the playoff picture. If the Kings get a point on Thursday night, and if Colorado beats the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, the Ducks could find themselves back on the outside of playoff picture this week. It is going to be an incredibly tight right between these four teams for those three spots.

The Panthers didn’t get any help

The Florida Panthers had the night off on Tuesday (they play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday) but it was still a tough night for them as the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, and New Jersey Devils all gained points. The Blue Jackets and Devils were winners, while the Flyers picked up a point by losing in overtime to the Dallas Stars.

The Panthers still have several games in hand but they are now three points back of the Devils, five points back of the Flyers, and six points back of the Blue Jackets.

Their schedule the rest of the way is not easy with three games against the Boston Bruins, as well as games against the Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators.

Highlight of the Night

It may end up being too little, too late, but the Dallas Stars finally snapped their eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was Alexander Radulov getting the winner on a 2-on-0 rush with Tyler Seguin.

Factoid of the Night

The New York Islanders are not going to the playoffs, they might lose John Tavares after the season, but they have another cornerstone building block in Mathew Barzal who is having an absolutely unbelievable rookie season. He continued it on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators in their 4-3 win.

Scores

New Jersey Devils 4, Carolina Hurricanes 3

New York Islanders 4, Ottawa Senators 3

Detroit Red Wings 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

St. Louis Blues 3, San Jose Sharks 2

Nashville Predators 2, Minnesota Wild 1

Winnipeg Jets 5, Boston Bruins 4

Dallas Stars 3, Philadelphia Flyers 2

Columbus Blue Jackets 7, Edmonton Oilers 3

Vancouver Canucks 4, Anaheim Ducks 1

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.