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The Buzzer: Rust continues dominance; Ehlers clutch once again

Pittsburgh Penguins v Montreal Canadiens

MONTREAL, QC - OCTOBER 13: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the NHL game at the Bell Centre on October 13, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Three stars

1. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins

On the morning of Dec. 12, Rust had just one goal to his name this season, one he scored back on Oct. 25.

As of Dec. 20, he now has nine goals. Yes, in the span of nine days, Rust has scored eight goals, including a hat trick back on the 12th, and goals in four straight games now dating back to Dec. 15.

Rust’s two goals were all the Pens needed in a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Wild. Rust is on quite the heater right now, with five goals and an assist in his current run and eight goals in his past six games.

2. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

Ehlers had scored earlier in the game, but it was his two third-period goals -- a go-ahead goal to make it 4-3 and then the automatic empty-net goal to put the Jets up 5-3 -- that cemented his second hat trick of the season.

Ehlers has been solid this season with 16 goals, including two hat tricks and six markers in his past five games.

He’s also been clutch. His goal last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning tied the game 4-4 and forced overtime. His goals on Thursday were self-explanatory in their importance. He’s got three game-winners now this season.

3. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs

Sure, John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a pair of goals -- Matthews also had two assists for a four-point night -- but someone has to be setting those up, right?

Well, in the case of those two, maybe not. Still, four assists in a game are nothing to scoff at and the above two get enough time in the spotlight.

The four apples matched a career-high for Rielly, who is well on his way to setting new career highs in assists and points. He has 11 goals (already a new career high) and 29 assists for 40 points this season.

He’s also on a three-game point streak.

Other notable performances:


  • Carter Hart won his second game in as many starts and is now 2-0-0 record with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. Pretty, pretty good.
  • Claude Giroux put up a career-high 10 shots on goal and one of them, a second-period strike, stood up as the game winner.
  • Jonathan Bernier stopped 39 shots in a 4-1 Red Wings win against the Hurricanes
  • Cam Atkinson scored a ridiculous penalty shot (watch it below) to help the Blue Jackets past the Devils. It was his 20th goal of the season.
  • David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists in Boston’s 3-1 win against the Ducks.
  • Patrick Kane (two goals, one assist) and Alex DeBrincat (one goal, two assists) help the Blackhawks to their third win in their past five games.
  • Nate Schmidt had a goal and two assists to help Golden Knights down the Islanders 4-2
  • Jets captain Blake Wheeler had three assists and now has 42, tying Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen for the NHL lead.

Highlights of the night

This doesn’t need an introduction:

Oh my goodness is right.

The old strip and score:

Defying geometry:

Factoids

Scores

Bruins 3, Ducks 1

Maple Leafs 6, Panthers 1

Flyers 2, Predators 1

Penguins 2, Wild 1

Blue Jackets 2, Devils 1

Red Wings 4, Hurricanes 1

Blackhawks 5, Stars 2

Lightning 5, Flames 4 (SO)

Canadiens 2, Coyotes 1

Canucks 5, Blues 1

Golden Knights 4, Islanders 2

Jets 5, Sharks 3


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