Three stars
1. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars
Sometimes one goal is enough, with the Stars proving that.
But without Ben Bishop, that lone goal likely wouldn’t have stood as the game’s only. Bishop was solid, stopping all 27 pucks sent his way for his third shutout of the season, tying him for second in the NHL in that category. Bishop improved his season save percentage to .924.
Who needs run support when you have that level of goaltending? Keep reading.
2. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins
Murray was 10-2-0 entering Wednesday dating back to his return from injury on Dec. 15. And despite getting lit up in a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Monday, Murray bounced back to make 33 saves to knock off the NHL’s top team in the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday Night Hockey.
Murray’s save percentage prior to his current run wasn’t great, but he’s chipping away at bringing it back to a respectable level, now at .910.
3. Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres
On a night where he stopped 26-of-27 shots, all Ullmark needed, it seemed, was some help at the other end.
Bishop is the first star because of his shutout, but Ullmark rightly deserves a star of his own after keeping Buffalo in this one to the very end. The Sabres needed their goaltending to be better coming out of the all-star break, and Ullmark provided that.
It’s a shame then that he received no help.
Highlights of the night
Kendall Coyne Schofield was tremendous in her NBC debut:
Changing the game. 🙌#TBLvsPIT pic.twitter.com/nYbHnkXCmn
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 31, 2019
Letang ties Coffey with this beauty:
Poor Ullmark:
The #HandsTeam and @jamiebenn14 know each other very well. pic.twitter.com/SHV6Y1MwNq
— NHL (@NHL) January 31, 2019
Factoids
Evgeni Malkin became the fourth Russian-born player to record 600 assists, requiring the fewest games to reach the milestone (834 GP). 🇷🇺 #NHLStats #TBLvsPIT pic.twitter.com/xk6Qqy9P5D
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 31, 2019
Kris Letang scored his 108th career goal tying Paul Coffey for most goals by a defenseman in @Penguins franchise history. #NHLStats #TBLvsPIT pic.twitter.com/MoJarA7lAD
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 31, 2019
Scores
Penguins 4, Lightning 2
Stars 1, Sabres 0
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