Three Stars
1. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Almost every night, there can be fierce debate about who deserves the first star, and all the great players who couldn’t quite make it in the top three.
A lot of times, when Marchand is involved, it’s difficult to tell if there’s a single member of his line that deserves top billing, as David Pastrnak is off to a blistering start, and Patrice Bergeron is ... well, Patrice Bergeron.
This was not one of those times. Pastrnak and Bergeron certainly contributed to the Bruins’ hard-fought, hard-skated win against the Penguins on Monday, but Marchand stood high above everyone on that ice surface -- and on the night overall. He scored a ridiculous five points (two goals, three assists), giving him 28 points in 14 games this season. Pastrnak is one step ahead of Marchand overall in 2019-20 with 29 points, but Pastrnak “only” scored a goal and an assist on Monday (the slacker).
David Krejci is worth mentioning, as well, with two assists.
2. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ottawa Senators
There will probably be instances of “Well, someone has to score” with the Senators top line, including when the constellation involves Pageau, Brady Tkachuk, and Anthony Duclair.
That trio didn’t really need such caveats on Monday against the up-and-down Rangers. Tkachuk had a two-point night of his own (1G, 1A), but the pesty Pageau scored both of his points on goals, and had a nice spread of stats overall: +3 rating, three shots on goal, 8-8 on faceoffs, two hits, three blocks, and, of course, a penalty.
Rangers fans can take solace, at least, in Kaapo Kakko being involved in both of their goals (1G, 1A).
3. Matt Duchene, Nashville Predators
Like Pageau, Duchene scored two goals on Monday. I’m giving JGP the slight edge because, well, one of Duchene’s goals probably shouldn’t have counted. Consider this error the blooper of the night:
Considering that Duchene was far offside on a controversial goal against the Predators that helped inspire a greater push for video reviews, it seems like the speedy center just seems to get these occasional breaks. Luckily, he’s good even when the goals and assists are beyond debate; despite a four-game pointless streak heading into Monday, Duchene has 13 points over his first 14 games as a member of the Predators.
Highlight of the Night
Since we already covered Connor McDavid’s coast-to-coast goal in a post that didn’t feature Space Ghost, let’s enjoy that impressive game-winner by Marchand:
Marchand’s other goal against Pittsburgh might have been even more impressive, but the above one was the more momentous since it won the game.
Factoids
- The Marchand/Pastrnak stats are ... pretty out of control. NHL.com’s Matt Kalman collected some of them. Marchand is the first Bruins player to collect two different five-point games through his first 14 games, and NHL PR notes that Marchand recorded just the 10th instance of doing so since 1986-87. Mario Lemieux had three five-point outings through such a span twice, Wayne Gretzky collected three five-point outings once, and everyone else did it twice. Marchand’s 13-game point streak is also rare for the Bruins.
- NHL PR also notes that Pastrnak is the second Bruins player in history to post multiple 12+ game point streaks before their 24th birthday, joining Bobby Orr, who did it three times. Pastrnak’s done it twice, and his 24th birthday isn’t until May 25, so he at least has a chance to tie Number Four’s ... three.
- Fun #specificstat from NHL PR: John Marino of the Penguins is the second player in three seasons to score their first NHL goal in their home state. Ryan Donato, also of Massachusetts, was the most recent to do it.
- Darcy Kuemper’s more reliable than (insert the car you find most durable).
Most games with two or fewer goals allowed through first 10 appearances of a season, @ArizonaCoyotes / Jets history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 5, 2019
9 GP – @dkuemps35 in 2019-20
9 GP – Zac Bierk in 2002-03
9 GP – Sean Burke in 2000-01
9 GP – Nikolai Khabibulin in 1998-99 #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/98zsmRN96o
Scores
BOS 6 - PIT 4
OTT 6 - NYR 2
NSH 6 - DET 1
ARI 3 - EDM 2 (OT)
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.