Players of the Night:
Scott Foster, Chicago Blackhawks: You will likely never see this name in this spot again, so you’re reading history. Foster stopped all seven shots he faced in an emergency relief appearance against the Winnipeg Jets. The 36-year-old accountant was summoned after Collin Delia was injured with 14:01 remaining in the third period. Anton Forsberg, who was supposed to get the nod, was injured in warmup. Enter the accountant by day, who stopped shots off the sticks of Dustin Byfuglien and Patrik Laine and was named the games first star.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Columbus Blue Jackets: Dubois registered his first NHL hat trick and made some Blue Jackets history along the way. Dubois set a new Columbus rookie record for goals with 18, surpassing the previous mark of 17 set by Rick Nash during the 2002-03 season. If Dubois can finish out the season strong, he can pass the points mark of 47 set by Zach Werenski last season. Dubois has 44 points now.
Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings: Joining Dubois in the hat trick department was Carter, who potted three goals, one in each period, to help see of the Arizona Coyotes in a 4-2 win. The victory helped move the Kings two points head of the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division. On Friday, both teams will meet in what Carter called the “game of the year” following Thursday’s win.
Matt Dumba, Minnesota Wild: Dumba scored and added three assists in the first four-point night by the Wild defenseman in franchise history. His production also propelling the Wild to a vital win as they try to lock down the third spot in the Central Division.
Highlight of the Night:
This, by far:
Scott Foster, accountant by day, makes NHL debut with Blackhawks https://t.co/dry0qApUnJ
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) March 30, 2018
Other Highlights of the Night:
Poke check:
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 30, 2018
Rask throwing bombs:
Aw, man. This would have been incredible. It was already incredible.
Solid effort and feed from Granlund:
This is just getting silly now:
Crosby is here for opening day in OT. ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/hy4PUGJn00
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 30, 2018
Factoids of the Night:
Teams w/ two goalies making their NHL debut in the same game, (modern era, 1943-44):@NHLBlackhawks: Collin Delia, Scott Foster (2017-18)
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 30, 2018
NJD: Karl Friesen, Chris Terreri (1986-87)
BOS: Marco Baron, James Stewart Jr. (1979-80)#NHLStats pic.twitter.com/dzA9uvMjho
#Canucks Derrick Pouliot is the first player in NHL history to score 5 career goals, with all of them being game winners.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 30, 2018
He was also the first with his first 4 goals being all GWGs.
Scores:
Blue Jackets 5, Flames 1
Blackhawks 6, Jets 2
Wild 5, Stars 2
Predators 5, Sharks 3
Senators 3, Panthers 2 (OT)
Penguins 4, Devils 3 (OT)
Red Wings 6, Sabres 3
Bruins 4, Lightning 2
Canucks 2, Oilers 1
Kings 4, Coyotes 2
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck