Three stars
1. Zach Hyman, Toronto Maple Leafs
John Tavares had two points. Auston Matthews scored a goal after making bank yesterday.
But it was Hyman who stood out on Wednesday in a wild 5-4 win for the Maple Leafs against the Ottawa Senators.
Hyman initiated the goal scoring in the first period and then made a sweet pass across the ice -- and out of the reach of Ryan Dzingel -- to Morgan Rielly on the game-winner in the third.
2. Alexandar Georgiev, New York Rangers
Looking past the .900 save percentage here in Wednesday’s game...
Georgiev was handed a tough task on Wednesday. Even with the Boston Bruins coming into the Big Apple after a 3-1 win against the Islanders the night before, Boston would prove to be a valiant opponent.
Georgiev stood tall, however, and managed to shake off a three-goal outburst by the Bruins in the second to settle down in the third, overtime and then made six saves in the shootout to clinch two points for the Rangers.
3. Jaroslav Halak, Boston Bruins
Halak was cruising until the third period when the Rangers bit back and tied the game. Still, he finished the game with 36 saves through 65 minutes, including some ridiculous snags across six overtime shots to give a tired Bruins team a chance to win in the shootout.
Halak has proved to be a competent backup all season and continued to show that on Wednesday.
Highlights of the night
The legend:
Oh baby!
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 7, 2019
For 50 years, Bob Cole’s calls have captivated the country.
Tonight he takes to the broadcast booth in Toronto for the final time. Congratulations and thank you, Bob! pic.twitter.com/Ox7FOHU0XN
$11.634 million goal:
The definition of not giving up on a play. ⬇ pic.twitter.com/aniYIP0q7q
— NHL (@NHL) February 7, 2019
Factoids
Mitch Marner hit the 45-assist mark for the 2nd consecutive season becoming the first @MapleLeafs player to record consecutive 45-assist seasons since Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle (2005-08), who each accomplished the feat in three straight seasons. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/Pjr54cxXm1
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 7, 2019
In 2018-19, there have been 102 instances of a team rallying from a multi-goal deficit at any point to win including the @NYRangers tonight.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 7, 2019
Only two other NHL campaigns have seen as many such comebacks through 822 games: 1985-86 (117) and 1987-88 (102). #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/5DiI6O4AGh
Scores
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4
Rangers 4, Bruins 3 (SO)
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