Three stars
1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Barkov had a heck of a night, producing five assists and getting in on five of the Panthers’ six goals in the game.
You can read more about that here.
And here’s one of Barkov’s apples:
2. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Holtby just wins these days, and it’s certainly helping the Washington Capitals keep pace with the New York Islanders.
Washington’s No. 1 netminder recorded his third shutout of the season in a 25-save effort against the New Jersey Devils, his fifth straight win — and Washington’s six straight triumph as they regained top spot in the hotly-contested Metropolitan Division.
3. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets
It was Ehlers streaking through the Carolina Hurricanes zone that found Kevin Hayes some space and set up the first goal for the Winnipeg Jets in a landslide 8-1.
Ehlers set the tone early in the game with his assist just 2:58 into the game. By the end of the period, Hayes returned the favor, finding Ehlers for his first goal of the game and 17th of the season. Ehlers would cap off his three-point night with an assist with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
The 23-year-old did this all in 12:25.
Highlights of the night
Kevin Hayes batted 1.000 on Friday:
Barkov’s record-setting assist:
Max Jones‘ first NHL goal:
Connor:
Factoids
Scores
Panthers 6, Wild 2
Capitals 3, Devils 0
Jets 8, Hurricanes 1
Ducks 8, Canadiens 2
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