Three Stars
1. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie provided the offense for the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, but if not for Braden Holtby they would not have been able to get the win. Holtby was the best player on the ice in the Capitals’ 2-1 victory, stopping 41 of the 42 Pittsburgh Penguins shots he faced. It was by far Holtby’s best game of the season since his season-opening shutout. He has struggled a bit over the first month and entering play on Wednesday had allowed at least three goals in seven of his previous nine appearances. That includes 12 total goals in his previous three appearances. On Wednesday night he once again looked like the top-tier goalie that he is.
2. Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators. After scoring a goal and recording an assist in the Predators’ season-opener, Colton Sissons managed just one point (an assist) in the 13 games that followed entering play in Colorado on Wednesday night. All he did there was record a hat trick in the Predators’ 4-1 win over the Avalanche. Even though Sissons is not really known for offense (entering play on Wednesday he had scored just 23 goals in 204 career games) this is the second hat trick of his career. He set a career-high in goals a season ago with nine, and he is now up to four this season thanks to his performance on Wednesday.
3. Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks. Injuries have really limited Ryan Getzlaf the past two seasons, but when he has been on the ice he has shown that he can still be a difference-maker for the Ducks. He scored the game-winning goal for them on Wednesday night in a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames and is now up to 11 points in 11 games this season. Since the start of the 2017-18 season that brings his point total to 72 in 66 games. That 1.09 point per game average is 14th among all NHL players (minimum 40 games played) during that stretch.
Highlights of the Night
Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie had a couple of scares on Wednesday night due to hits to the head, but he was able to return to the game both times and eventually scored the game-winning goal to lift his team to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have now lost five games in a row.
Factoids of the Night
Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin both scored goals for their teams on Wednesday night. This is the ninth time that has happened in their matchups.
Through 47 all-time matchups, Wednesday marked the ninth time that rivals Alex Ovechkin (13-3—16) and Sidney Crosby (10-9—19) each found the back of the net. #NHLStats #PITvsWSH pic.twitter.com/aQWGhWOUUi
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 8, 2018
Nashville Predators forward Colton Sissons seems to love playing against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Nashville Predators have been great on the road this season.
Nashville improved to 7-0-0 on the road this season. Only two teams in NHL history have posted longer streaks to start a season. #NHLStats #NSHvsCOL pic.twitter.com/FMLG5yhhgP
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 8, 2018
Scores
Washington Capitals 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1
Nashville Predators 4, Colorado Avalanche 1
Anaheim Ducks 3, Calgary Flames 2
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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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.