Three stars
1. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Two goals and two assists for Stamkos, who helped the Lightning crush the Colorado Avalanche 7-1 and win their sixth straight game.
Stamkos scored the first two goals of the game 10:10 apart in the first period and they proved to be all the Lightning needed in the win.
Stamkos has been his steady self all season and has 12 goals and 30 points in 31 games now.
2. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers needed a win. They had just two wins in their previous nine games coming into Saturday.
With Sean Couturier out of the lineup due to injury, ‘G’ made the move back to center and thrived, scoring and adding three helpers as the Flyers picked on the Buffalo Sabres in a 6-2 win. The Flyers scored all six of their goals after the Sabres took a 2-0 lead. Giroux scored the winner in the third.
Giroux now has three goals and four assists in a three-game point streak.
3. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Holtby needed that one after giving up 10 goals over his previous two starts -- both losses.
On Saturday, there were no goals given up in a 28-save shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets must be sick of seeing Holtby this year. In the spring, Holtby owned Columbus and he did so again on Saturday.
Holtby has two shutouts on the season now.
Other notable performances:
- Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist to push his point streak to 11 games.
- Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and two assists in a 5-4 shootout loss to the New York Rangers.
- The Kings, as a whole, deserve mention. Drew Doughty’s ‘pathetic’ comment seemed to spark his team. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in a 5-1 win against the surging Vegas Golden Knights.
- Craig Anderson stopped 35-of-36 in a 2-1 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Louie Domingue had another solid outing, stopping 29 shots against the Avalanche.
Highlights of the night
Bob was pulled on the night, but not before making this ridiculous save:
We may hate Bobrovsky but we have to tip our cap to him on this one. Wow. 🎩👏👏
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 9, 2018
Stream #CapsJackets live: https://t.co/tiKkLNS7FI pic.twitter.com/3PSQhghgjD
Yikes:
Speed on full display right here.
— NHL (@NHL) December 9, 2018
Oh, and that shifty deke isn't too bad either. pic.twitter.com/qGOlXeXKct
Making dreams come true:
Pure joy. Pure excitement.
— NHL (@NHL) December 9, 2018
Good on you, @wmnylander. https://t.co/dtGC5RBSsy
Patience is a virtue:
Shorthanded bar ⬇ courtesy of @28CGiroux. https://t.co/FuTqRCI515
— NHL (@NHL) December 8, 2018
Factoids
Most career shootout wins, NHL goaltenders:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 9, 2018
61 – @HLundqvist30
59 – Ryan Miller
55 – Marc-Andre Fleury
52 – Roberto Luongo#NHLStats #NYRvsFLA pic.twitter.com/zP4Yq3RfEB
The 2018-19 campaign marks the first season to feature six or more 20-goal scorers through the first 453 games since 1996-97, when seven players achieved the feat (Jaromir Jagr, Mats Sundin, Mario Lemieux, Tony Amonte, Geoff Sanderson, John LeClair, Ziggy Palffy). #NHLStats
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 9, 2018
Boston has been a house of horrors for the #Leafs in 2018 pic.twitter.com/3Yc5ACwVLk
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 9, 2018
Auston Matthews becomes the first #Leafs player to score 16 goals in his first 16 games since Busher Jackson in 1934-35
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 9, 2018
Scores
Flyers 6, Sabres 2
Kings 5, Golden Knights 1
Bruins 6, Maple Leafs 3
Senators 2, Penguins 1 (OT)
Islanders 3, Red Wings 2
Lightning 7, Avalanche 1
Rangers 5, Panthers 4 (SO)
Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 0
Sharks 5, Coyotes 3
Flames 5, Predators 2
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