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The Buzzer: Predators rally over Capitals, Laine carries Jets, Marleau’s big return

Minnesota Wild v Winnipeg Jets

WINNIPEG, MB - OCTOBER 10: Patrik Laine #29 of the Winnipeg Jets keeps an eye on the play during first period action against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell MTS Place on October 10, 2019 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Three Stars

1. Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets. It is not a stretch to suggest that Laine’s 2018-19 season was a bit of a disappointment. Not necessarily a bad season, just not what anyone really expected from him. He is doing his best to make everyone forget about that so far this season. He continued his incredible start on Thursday with a four-point night (two goals, two assists) to help the Jets pick up a 5-2 win in their home opener against the Minnesota Wild. He now has three goals and 10 total points in the first five games for a Jets team that is now 3-2-0 despite having a woefully undermanned defense.

2. Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks. Is he the missing ingredient for the Sharks? That remains to be seen, but for one night he was by scoring two goals in a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Maybe signing a 40-year-old veteran after an 0-4 start was a desperation move on the part of the Sharks, but he definitely made an impact in his first game back in teal. Read more about it here.

3. Ryan Johansen, Nashville Predators. Thanks to a four-goal third period the Predators were able to overcome a 4-2 deficit against the Washington Capitals to win for the third time in their first four games. Johansen played a big role in the win with a pair of goals, his first two of the season.

Other notable performances from Thursday


  • Brayden Point made his return to the lineup for Tampa Bay with three points as part of a huge 7-3 rout of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos also had four points each. Read more about all of their performances here.
  • The Edmonton Oilers are 4-0 for the first time since 2008-09 thanks to a great performance from Mikko Koskinen in net and James Neal’s seventh goal in four games, already matching his season total from a year ago. Read more about the Oilers -- and Neal’s -- great start here.
  • Sidney Crosby scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, handing the latter their first defeat of the season.
  • The Calgary Flames overcame a two-goal third period deficit to defeat the Dallas Stars. Johnny Gaudreau scored the winner in the shootout.
  • Anthony Mantha continued his fast start and helped the Red Wings win again as they topped the Montreal Canadiens.
  • Phillip Grubauer stopped 39 shots for the Colorado Avalanche and Andre Burakovsky scored his first goal with the team as they came from behind to defeat the Boston Bruins. The Avalanche had a little bit of luck on their side as two potential Bruins goals were wiped out by video review.
  • David Perron scored two goals and Ryan O’Reilly finished with four points as the St. Louis Blues rallied past the Ottawa Senators for their third consecutive win.
  • The Arizona Coyotes are on the board with their first win of the season thanks in part to a two-goal effort from Conor Garland. Barrett Hayton also recorded his first NHL point in his first ever game.

Highlights of the Night

This sequence by the Coyotes to take a 2-0 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights is really something to see.

Burakovsky’s first goal as a member of the Avalanche was quite the individual effort.

Gaudreau’s shootout winner was a pretty slick backhander.

Blooper of the Night

Pretty much the only thing that did not go well for the Tampa Bay Lightning during their big win over the Maple Leafs was this play here.

Factoids


  • Phil Kessel skated in his 777th consecutive game, moving him past Craig Ramsay for the seventh-longest consecutive games streak in NHL history. [NHL PR]
  • Marleau is only the 13th player in NHL history to score at least one goal in 22 different seasons. [Sportsnet Stats]
  • One more Marleau fact: His consecutive games streak extended to 789, the sixth-longest in NHL history. He is also the only player to appear in every possible game during his 30s, which is just incredible. [Ross McKeon]
  • No player in Oilers franchise history has scored more goals through the first four games of a season than James Neal’s seven. [NHL PR]
  • Alex Ovechkin scored two power play goals for the Capitals to move ahead of Luc Robaitaille for fourth place on the NHL’s all-time power play goals list. [NHL PR]
  • The Red Wings’ win against the Canadiens snapped a nine-game losing streak against Montreal. [NHL PR]
  • Sharks defenseman Brent Burns became the 23rd defenseman to reach the 200-goal mark. [NHL PR]

Scores
Tampa Bay Lightning 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 3
Detroit Red Wings 4, Montreal Canadiens 2
Edmonton Oilers 4, New Jersey Devils 3 (SO)
Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Anaheim Ducks 1
St. Louis Blues 6, Ottawa Senators 4
Nashville Predators 6, Washington Capitals 5
Winnipeg Jets 5, Minnesota Wild 2
San Jose Sharks 5, Chicago Blackhawks 4
Calgary Flames 3, Dallas Stars 2 (SO)
Colorado Avalanche 4, Boston Bruins 2
Arizona Coyotes 4, Vegas Golden Knights 1

MORE:
Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.