Three stars
1. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
Couts, as some call him, notched his first career regular-season hat trick in a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday Night Hockey. Obviously, that’s a great feat for him, but he also helped the Flyers win consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 20, so it was also good for the team that has been mostly in nose-dive mode this year.
Couturier has 19 goals now on the season. A special mention here goes to Carter Hart, the Flyers netminder, who stood tall, stopping 39-of-42 sent his way in a game where the Flyers were outshot 42-19.
Priority No. 1 in Philly is making sure Hart gets some help going forward.
2. Matt Duchene, Ottawa Senators
Duchene stuck it to his old team in a 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche.
The 28-year-old, who the Senators badly need to re-sign, scored twice in the game put it out of reach and added an assist on the game-winner.
Duchene has 20 goals on the year now, the seventh time he’s done that in his 10-year NHL career.
3. Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres needed this one.
Stuck in a three-game slide, the Sabres were quickly falling down the Eastern Conference standings. And having to play the Calgary Flames, with five straight victories heading into Wednesday -- and on the road to boot -- wasn’t an easy task.
But Eichel scored with 1:10 into overtime to give the Sabres a much-needed win. The Sabres captain has 16 goals on the year now and 51 points after adding a third-period assist on rookie Rasmus Dahlin’s fifth.
Highlights of the night
Couturier made the hats fly in Philly:
No panic in Panik:
Get over here!
Ullmark’d:
Chabot threads that needle:
Factoids
Tonight marked the first time since March 3-8, 1999 in which there was six consecutive days with a player registering a hat trick. #NHLStats https://t.co/4Uu0NaqJXF
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2019
Johnny Gaudreau recorded the third-fastest instance in @NHLFlames franchise in which a player reached the 70-point mark in a season (48 GP).
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2019
Kent Nilsson (46 GP in 1980-81) and Bob MacMillan (47 GP in 1978-79) are the only others to reach the mark faster. #NHLStats #BUFvsCGY pic.twitter.com/67obJHq9WJ
Rasmus Dahlin extend his point streak to five contests, matching the longest such run by a 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history. #NHLStats #BUFvsCGY pic.twitter.com/N9QFcIx12H
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2019
Sean Couturier became the eighth player to score a natural hat trick in 2018-19. #NHLStats #BOSvsPHI pic.twitter.com/YEz9xNaeNa
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 17, 2019
Scores
Senators 5, Avalanche 2
Flyers 4, Bruins 3
Sabres 4, Flames 3 (OT)
Oilers 3, Canucks 2 (SO)
Coyotes 6, 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