Three Stars
1. Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings. It has been a tough year for the Los Angeles Kings but they were at least able to give their home fans something to be happy about on Sunday night. Their 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers featured a turn-back-the-clock performance from their two top players, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, as the Kings were able to win at home for the first time since Nov. 6 (they had lost five consecutive home games). This is the type of game they used to get from Kopitar and Brown when the Kings were dominating the Western Conference and competing for the Stanley Cup every year. Brown was the big star of the night on Sunday as he recorded a hat trick in the win, snapping what had been an eight-game goal drought. He is now up to six goals and 10 total points this season.
2. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning. He is not only the Lightning’s latest draft steal, he is currently one of the hottest players in the NHL and helped the Lightning roll to a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday with another mutli-point game. With 31 points in 24 games so far this season he is now the NHL’s fifth-leading scorer. Along with Nikita Kucherov (currently in fourth place with 32 points) the Lightning now have two of the top-five point producers in the league.
3. Noah Hanifin, Calgary Flames. The Flames’ special teams made a huge impact in their big win over the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, scoring three shorthanded goals and a power play goal. Defenseman Noah Hanifin played a big role in all of that by scoring the first of their shorthanded goals to give them a 2-0 lead in the first period, and then adding to that lead with the power play marker midway through the second period. Those two goals were his first two of the season and his first as a member of the Flames since going to Calgary in the big Dougie Hamilton trade over the summer.
Highlights of the Night
Dustin Brown was not the only Kings star to have a big game on Sunday night. Anze Kopitar also recorded three points in the win, including the game-winning goal in the third period. Here it is.
As for the other side of that game, here is Connor McDavid doing what he does on a nightly basis for the Edmonton Oilers. It did not result in a goal, but it is still worth watching. When he gets the puck on his stick and is going at top speed there is nobody in the NHL that can match him. Nobody.
He doesn't even need to score for you to be dazzled by @cmcdavid97's skating abilities. 😍 pic.twitter.com/Ridkxy1clh
— NHL (@NHL) November 26, 2018
Factoids
The Arizona Coyotes have made a habit out of scoring shorthanded goals this season. On Sunday, they got a taste of their own medicine against the Calgary Flames.
Three shorthanded goals in one game in @NHLFlames / Atlanta franchise history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 25, 2018
Oct. 17, 1997 vs. COL
Mar. 9, 1991 at STL
Nov. 25, 2018 at ARI
#CGYvsARI #NHLStats: https://t.co/JsY4WZ8iph pic.twitter.com/rks6TXFp62
The Predators and Lightning have spent a lot of time at the top of the NHL standings recently.
The @PredsNHL now sit atop the NHL, holding the tiebreaker over the @TBLightning who also have 35 points.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 26, 2018
Since the start of 2017-18, the teams have combined for 197 days as the NHL's first-place team (TBL: 137, NSH: 60) - amounting to 82% of days during that span. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/lcvLbOC25G
More factoids from Sunday’s NHL action...
-- Kings rookie forward Matt Luff extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with an empty net goal in their win over the Oilers.
-- Flames coach Bill Peters needed some stitches after getting hit in the face by a puck during their game.
-- Austin Watson recorded his first career hat trick for the Nashville Predators in their 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Dustin Brown of the @LAKings and @PredsNHL forward Austin Watson each recorded a hat trick Sunday, marking the third straight day with at least one such performance.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 26, 2018
There have been 29 hat tricks this season (361 GP), compared to 25 at the same point in 2017-18. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/dZRGCMj1LY
-- Not long after their game against Calgary, the Arizona Coyotes made yet another trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, sending forwards Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to Chicago in exchange for forward Nick Schmaltz.
Scores
Calgary Flames 6, Arizona Coyotes 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, New Jersey Devils 2
Nashville Predators 5, Anaheim Ducks 2
Los Angeles Kings 5, Edmonton Oilers 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.