Three Stars
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers. All of a sudden the Edmonton Oilers can not be stopped. They improved to 6-2-1 under Ken Hitchcock with a dominating 7-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, inching their way closer to a playoff position in the Western Conference. As has been the case all season when they win, Connor McDavid was at the center of everything. He finished Friday’s game with four points (one goal, three assists) and a plus-four rating. He is now up to 40 points on the season in only 28 games. He was not the only Oiler that shined on Friday.
2. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers. Yes, two of the three stars come from the same team tonight because when you are as good as these two were, you earned it. Draisaitl also had four points of his own (including two goals) as he and McDavid continued to lead the Oilers offense. Four of the Oilers’ seven goals on Friday came with this duo on the ice. They surrendered zero while they were out there.
3. Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues. Goaltending has been one of the primary issues for the St. Louis Blues this season, but they got a huge performance on Friday night against one of the best offensive teams in the league. Jake Allen stopped all 26 shots he faced to help lift the Blues to a 1-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. It is just their fourth win over their past 13 games, while it was also Allen’s first shutout of the season. He entered the game with an .899 save percentage in his first 20 appearances, so to say it was a much-needed performance for both him and the team is an understatement.
Highlights of the Night
Carolina Hurricanes forward Clark Bishop scored his first NHL goal in their 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. It was not a very conventional goal.
McDavid doing what he does best. Freezing NHL defenders and goalies to score goals.
The pass of the night belongs to, of all people, Roman Polak in the Dallas Stars’ 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. This is also his first assist (and only second point) of the entire season.
Factoids
It is usually really difficult for defenders to get much attention in the rookie of the year voting, but Dallas Stars blueliner Miro Heiskanen is doing a lot to make a name for himself so far.
Scoring for the @DallasStars vs SJ tonight, Miro Heiskanen is just the 7th teenage defenceman in the last 30 NHL seasons (since 1988-89) to score 5+ goals through their first 29 career games
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) December 8, 2018
More McDavid dominance.
Connor McDavid has recorded at least one point in 24 of the @EdmontonOilers first 29 team games to start the season. The only other Oilers to do so: @WayneGretzky (x7), Mark Messier (x2), Jari Kurri and Glen Anderson. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/q9b0LEa6nd
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 8, 2018
More on Jake Allen’s shutout for the St. Louis Blues.
Jake Allen recorded his 17th career shutout to pass Glenn Hall (16) and move into third place on the @StLouisBlues all-time list, trailing only Brian Elliott (25) and Jaroslav Halak (20). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/c1mQzN7ph7
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 8, 2018
Scores
Dallas Stars 3, San Jose Sharks 2
St. Louis Blues 1, Winnipeg Jets 0
Edmonton Oilers 7, Minnesota Wild 2
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Anaheim Ducks 1
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.