Three Stars
1. Jonathan Bernier, Detroit Red Wings. Robby Fabbri was not the only Red Wings player to have a big night in their upset win over the Boston Bruins. Bernier had a huge night making 26 saves -- including a highlight reel glove save on David Pastrnak that you will see down below -- and recording two assists. He is the first goalie since Tuukka Rask in 2016 to record at least two assists in a single game.
2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets. Even with a makeshift defense the Jets are still doing their best to hang around in the Western Conference and picked up a big win on Friday night against Vancouver, beating the Canucks, 4-1. While Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist to help drive the offense, Hellebuyck was the Jets’ big star by making 32 saves including a desperation glove save on Bo Horat to help protect the lead late in the third period.
3. Mikko Koskinen, Edmonton Oilers. A clean sweep for goalies when it comes to the stars of the night as Koskinen turned aside all 26 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils. It is his first shutout of the season, improved his record to 6-1-1 in eight appearances, and pushed his save percentage for the season over .920. The goaltending being a pleasant surprise has been a huge part of the Oilers’ early success this season.
Other notable performances from Friday
- Leon Draisaitl extended his current point streak to eight consecutive games when he opened the scoring for Oilers in the first period, scoring on a breakaway for his 14th goal of the season. More on that below, including a look at the goal.
- Fabbri took advantage of his first opportunity with the Red Wings by scoring two goals. Read more about it here.
- Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, and Yanni Gourde all scored goals for the Tampa Bay Lightning as they started to regain some of their swagger in a win over the Buffalo Sabres in the Global Series. Read all about that game here.
Highlights of the Night
This is Bernier’s highlight reel save on Pastrnak that was mentioned above, by far his best save of the night.
Speaking of great saves, here is Hellebucyk’s game-saving stop on Horvat in Winnipeg.
Draisaitl gets behind the Devils’ defense and scores his 14th goal of the season, making it look easy.
Blooper of the Night
It was not as costly as the 3-on-0 they gave up in overtime against the St. Louis Blues earlier this week, but the Canucks again literally fell over themselves to set up an easy goal for their opponents. This was an empty-netter by the Jets to put the game away, once somebody decided to actually put the puck in the net.
Factoids
- Pastrnak is up to 31 points in 16 games, making him just the sixth different Bruins player in the past 25 years to do that. [NHL PR]
- Draisaitl is the first Oilers player in 20 years to score 14 goals in the team’s first 18 games. [NHL PR]
- The Jets have won nine games in a row against the Canucks. They have outscored them 31-10 in those games. [NHL PR]
- Fabbri is just the seventh Red Wings player to ever score two goals in his debut with the team. [NHL PR]
- Sam Reinhart scored both goals for the Sabres in their 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay, making him the third Sabres player to score multiple goals in a game played outside of North America. Yes, two other Sabres (Thomas Vanek and Luke Adam) have done that. [NHL PR]
Scores
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Buffalo Sabres 2
Detroit Red Wings 4, Boston Bruins 2
Winnipeg Jets 4, Vancouver Canucks 1
Edmonton Oilers 4, New Jersey Devils 0
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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.