Three Stars
1. Anthony Mantha, Detroit Red Wings
Well, the Predators should feel a little better on Sunday than they did on Saturday. The night before, Nashville fared about as well vs. Mantha, Dylan Larkin, and Tyler Bertuzzi as normal pants hold up against Larkin in Detroit’s 5-3 win. They were stretched too thin and didn’t stand a chance, in other words.
Mantha was even tougher to stop on Sunday. Through the second period and the opening moments of the third, Mantha scored three goals in a row (a natural hat trick), flipping a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 lead for Detroit over Dallas. The Stars ended up tying the game, but it was all for naught, as Mantha scored the fourth goal, and ultimately the game-winner, with less than a minute remaining.
It’s probably unfair to label the game “Mantha 4, Stars 3,” but that does capture the goal-scoring. The big winger now has five goals and two assists for seven points in two games. Larkin and Filip Hronek factored into that win, too, with two assists apiece.
2. Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders
A lot was made about the Islanders moving on from Robin Lehner to Semyon Varlamov during the offseason, and with good reason. Lehner was a revelation last season, and betting on Varlamov is pretty bold.
But for all the attention Lehner justifiably received for his work in 2018-19, Greiss put up numbers that were almost as outstanding, going 23-14-2 with a magnificent .927 save percentage.
Greiss began this season on a similar note, stopping 35 out of 36 shots from the Jets to help the Islanders beat Winnipeg handily on Sunday. So far, Barry Trotz’s system and the Islanders’ goalies are looking strong.
3. Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes
There were plenty of worthy two-point performances on Sunday that you could argue for, including Roope Hintz of the Dallas Stars, whose two goals gave his team a chance against the Mantha onslaught.
Hamilton’s all-around performance might have been the most worthy of the third star, though. He scored the goal that sent Sunday’s game to overtime, and also generated an assist. As mentioned in this post on that game against the Lightning, Hamilton is tied for the Hurricanes’ team points lead with four so far in 2019-20.
Hamilton generated three SOG, took a penalty, delivered a hit, and logged 25:19 TOI.
Highlight of the Night
Thanks to Mantha most of all, the Stars lost in regulation, falling to 0-3-0.
The Stars were about as close to sending the game to overtime as you could be, though, especially when Alexander Radulov was hacking away at Jonathan Bernier’s pads during the waning seconds of the game. Bernier stood strong -- or at least strong enough to survive the review process -- and secured a perfect weekend for Detroit. Not bad, being that the Stars and Predators both made the playoffs last season, and brought significant expectations into 2019-20.
Factoids
- Mantha joined John Sorrell (Nov. 12, 1933) and Brendan Shanahan (Oct. 16, 1998) as the only Red Wings to generate a natural hat trick. Sorrell and Mantha are the only two Red Wings to score four goals during a home-opener. (via NHL PR)
- In coaching his 1,608th NHL game, Barry Trotz broke a tie with Al Arbour to be alone at third all-time. Trotz is only 30 behind Joel Quenneville, so it should be fascinating to see which of those two ends up with more games behind the bench once they’re both done.
- NHL PR notes that the Hurricanes became the 13th team in league history to win their first three games while overcoming a deficit. The 2005-06 Predators and 1988-89 Kings are the two teams who’ve done it four times. They’re also the third team to start their season 3-0-0 with all three wins coming beyond regulation, according to Sportsnet stats.
Scores
CAR 4, TBL 3 (OT)
DET 4, DAL 3
NYI 4, WIN 1
MORE:
• Pro Hockey Talk’s Stanley Cup picks.
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.