Three Stars
1. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
You get the sense that this kid is going to be written in this top spot many times over the next 15 years. He’s just bloody special. Pettersson had two goals and five points in a 7-6 win against the Colorado Avalanche. His second goal of the game came with the score 6-5 Avalanche and 35 seconds left on the clock in the third period. Clutch. Also clutch? An assist on the game-winner in overtime. Pettersson has nine goals and 15 points now in nine games and is starting to run away in the rookie of the year race in early November.
2. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers
Luongo wasn’t supposed to feature in Finland at first. Then he was brought on the trip, taken off injured reserve and placed into the net for the first time since around the 32-minute mark of Florida’s season opener. And Luongo picked up right where he left off, saving a lot of pucks. ‘Lou’ shut the door 32 times against the Winnipeg Jets as the Panthers earned a split in Finland. The win was Florida’s third of the season. James Reimer and Michael Hutchinson have been south of brutal thus far so Luongo can stay healthy, it’s likely Florida can start clawing its way back.
3. Antti Raanta, Arizona Coyotes
You have to hand it to a goalie who stopped 48 of 51 shots against a high-power Carolina Hurricanes team. Raanta was the savior on special teams as well, turning aside nine power-play shots on six Carolina power plays. Carolina was 0-for-6 on their opportunities. Raanta and the Coyotes survived a flurry in the third period after getting outshot 23-5 in the final frame. Raanta then had to make a clutch save in overtime to boot to help ‘Yotes to their fifth straight win.
A couple other notables:
- Brock Boeser snapped an eight-game goalless streak with two goals against Colorado
- Nathan MacKinnon had a three-point night, including two goals and is up to 11 markers on the season.
Highlights of the Night
Holy moly:
Give us a word for this @Kerfy14 goal. We're still speechless. https://t.co/4aT5d8xvud
— NHL (@NHL) November 3, 2018
That footwork:
Passes like that can't be squandered, no matter how many attempts it takes.@NikolajEhlers24 knows this well. #NHLGlobalSeries https://t.co/RNNbV4hgUb
— NHL (@NHL) November 2, 2018
Goalie hat trick:
Not one, not two, BUT THREE SAVES.
— NHL (@NHL) November 3, 2018
Buy this man a steak. #CARvsARI pic.twitter.com/YR155BdrRx
Factoids
The @ArizonaCoyotes established a franchise record for most consecutive games with at least one shorthanded goal, eclipsing the previous mark of three contests set by the Winnipeg Jets from March 23-29, 1985. #NHLStats #CARvsARI https://t.co/2pjZfMY2w5
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 3, 2018
#Canucks Elias Pettersson is the first centre to score 8 goals thru his first 9 career NHL games since Joe Sakic in 1988-89
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 3, 2018
The @Avalanche have multiple players each with 10+ goals through the first 14 team games in a season for the fifth time in franchise history and first since 1992-93 (Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin w/ QUE). #NHLStats #COLvsVAN https://t.co/2BoKMvd996
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 3, 2018
Scores
Panthers 4, Jets 2
Coyotes 4, Hurricanes 3 (OT)
Canucks 7, Avalanche 6 (OT)
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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