Three Stars
1. Mark Scheifele
Scheifele helped Winnipeg stay in Monday’s game when it seemed like St. Louis might be pulling away (scoring the Jets’ first goal to shrink a deficit to 2-1, tying the game at 3-3) and then generated an assist on Jacob Trouba’s overtime game-winner.
Overall, Scheifele generated two goals and two assists, with the tiebreaker being that none of his points came via an empty-netter.
Scheifele logged defenseman-like minutes (25:55), fired five shot on goal, and even was slightly above-.500 at draws with a 14-13 mark. He helped remind the Blues (and the hockey world) that few leads are safe against the high-octane Jets.
2. Alex Ovechkin
Ovechkin probably could have had a hat trick if he really wanted it, but instead he set up T.J. Oshie’s empty-netter, which elicited some laughter from Oshie.
That empty-netter slightly downgrades Ovechkin’s night in comparison to Scheifele’s Monday, but you could make an argument for the superstar winger’s all-around night. He ended up with two goals and two assists, firing an Ovechkin-like seven SOG. With a +2 rating and a hit credited to him against Vancouver, The Great 8 filled up the peripheral categories, as he’s wont to do.
Ovechkin now has eight goals in eight games in 2018-19. Don’t count him out for yet another Maurice Richard Trophy.
The Capitals have some other worthy mentions, with John Carlson standing out as one of the better choices. (He’s having quite the start to his first season with that fat new contract that looks pretty justified at the moment.)
3. Ryan O’Reilly
You could make a strong argument for other players - again, Carlson stands out - and you might ding “ROR” for being on the losing team.
O’Reilly was pretty excellent in defeat, however. The two-way center scored one goal and two assists, showing that he can produce plenty of chances on the second line with David Perron (when he’s not running shotgun on the top trio with Vladimir Tarasenko).
As you’d expect from a guy who could be a dark horse candidate for the Selke, ROR was strong from an all-around standpoint. O’Reilly had a +2 night (not bad in a defeat), went 13-12 on faceoffs, fired four SOG, and managed three takeaways. O’Reilly also shook off a Brandon Tanev boarding hit that bloodied him early in the contest.
This has been a frustrating start to the season for St. Louis, but don’t blame O’Reilly.
Highlight of the Night
Justin Faulk scored a goal as the Hurricanes dominated the Red Wings, yet his best moment came when he auditioned for Carolina’s goalie position:
Factoids
Ovechkin moves up the all-time power-play goals ranks. How high will he finish by the end of this season? Could he end up being the all-time leader when he clears out his “office?”
Alex Ovechkin scored his 233rd career power-play goal to move into sole possession of ninth on the NHL's all-time list. #NHLStats #WSHvsVAN pic.twitter.com/Z5NhfuiqYu
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 23, 2018
Monday was a pretty big night for a few Capitals, it seemed.
Nicklas Backstrom became the first player from the 2006 #NHLDraft to reach the 600-assist milestone. Since entering the League in 2007-08, Backstrom leads all active players in that category. #NHLStats https://t.co/ddSe9Q5RFh
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 23, 2018
Click here for plenty of numbers about the red-hot top Avalanche line of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog.
Faulk moved up the ranks with his goal:
Justin Faulk eclipsed Glen Wesley to move into sole possession of second place on the @NHLCanes / Whalers all-time points list by defensemen. #NHLStats #CARvsDET pic.twitter.com/MDujGzppCg
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) October 23, 2018
Again, the Hurricanes really dominated the Red Wings for most of Carolina’s eventual win.
Dennis Cholowski registers Wings first shot on net, around 6:30 left to play 1p.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 23, 2018
Scores
Avalanche 4, Flyers 1
Hurricanes 3, Red Wings 1
Jets 5, Blues 4 (OT)
Capitals 5, Canucks 2
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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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.