Three stars
1. Kevin Boyle, Anaheim Ducks
Boyle, 26, made his first NHL start and was perfect in the game, stopping all 35 shots sent his way for his first NHL shutout.
The Boyle era began after John Gibson was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with an upper-body injury. Chad Johnson, Gibson’s backup and the man who Boyle had to come in for in a relief effort on Saturday, is out with a head injury.
The game was also the first for Bob Murray behind the bench after he took over following the firing of Randy Carlyle earlier this week.
And the win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Ducks, who came into the game losers for 19 of their past 21.
And this reaction:
Simply incredible.#LetsGoDucks | @Boyle33 pic.twitter.com/1qzqD1AnLr
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 14, 2019
“I honestly don’t have many words, this is incredible,” an emotional Boyle said in the post-game interview. “It’s been a tough past couple of days for me and my wife and my family. To be able to come out here and get a win, it’s just incredible.”
The New Jersey native said he thinks he blacked out around the same time the Canucks pulled the goalie late in the third.
Boyle has spent the past three seasons with San Diego of the American Hockey League. He played college puck at UMass-Lowell.
He’ll get another start.
2. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins
Shot suppression hasn’t been something the Penguins have been all that good at over the past two games. Murray stopped a career-high 50 shots in a 4-1 win on Monday.
Two days later, Murray was back in the crease, and while the siege wasn’t as heavy, he still made 38 saves in a 3-1 win.
Getting pelted every night and only allowing a single goal probably isn’t sustainable, but Murray’s play is going to be a massive factor down the stretch of Pittsburgh is going to take another run at Lord Stanley. If he’s starting to heat up now, there’s not a better time to do so.
3. Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Markstrom only had one blemish on his record in the loss to the Ducks. He stopped 21 shots in his return after missing Monday’s 7-2 slaughtering at the hands of the San Jose Sharks with back spasms.
Markstrom has been solid recently, despite a subpar Canucks team in front of him. He’s had a .930 save percentage or better in four of his past six starts now.
Highlights of the night
The OG Mighty Ducks:
Oh yes, those are some of the members of the original Mighty Ducks squad.
— NHL (@NHL) February 14, 2019
What a time to be alive. pic.twitter.com/3koiBKL2kG
This one-two punch:
Factoids
With an assist tonight, Connor McDavid became the 3rd player since 1989-90 to be held without a point in 7 or fewer contests through 55 personal games. The others:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 14, 2019
Mario Lemieux - 1989-90 (3), 1992-93 (5), 1995-96 (5)
Wayne Gretzky - 1990-91 (5)#NHLStats #EDMvsPIT pic.twitter.com/2SnuXCVePG
The @penguins improved their record vs. EDM to (14-0-3) dating to Dec. 5, 2007, matching the longest point streak in franchise history against any team (also: 17 GP vs. ATL from Jan. 27, 2000 - Dec. 1, 2003). #NHLStats #EDMvsPIT pic.twitter.com/K4bYzLfC7P
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 14, 2019
#LetsGoOilers McDavid & #LetsGoPens Crosby Through First 263 Career Games:
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 13, 2019
Crosby - 119 G, 243 A, 362 PTS, 38 PPG, 14 GWG & 853 SOG
McDavid - 118 G, 219 A, 337 PTS, 19 PPG, 25 GWG & 799 SOG
Kevin Boyle became the second goaltender in @AnaheimDucks franchise history to record a shutout while making his first career NHL start. The only other: John Gibson on Apr. 7, 2014 vs. VAN. #NHLStats #VANvsANA pic.twitter.com/01GwVvFOFE
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 14, 2019
Scores
Penguins 3, Oilers 1
Ducks 1, Canucks 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