THREE STARS
1. Keith Yandle, Panthers
A wild game in Minnesota ended with the Panthers topping the Wild 5-4 and Yandle finishing with a goal and four points. Noel Acciari tipped home a shot with 5.6 seconds left for the win. The final period began with the game tied at two. Evgenii Dadonov put home his 22nd of the season and Minnesota scored twice to make it a 4-3 Wild lead. Then it was Vincent Trocheck tying the game with 4:08 to go and Acciari giving Florida the two points with the late winner:
2. Nazem Kadri, Avalanche
Kadri had two goals and an assist during a 6-3 Monday matinee win over the Red Wings. With his pair of goals Kadri now has 17 on the season, surpassing his total from 2018-19. His career high is 32, which was reached in back-to-back seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18 with the Maple Leafs.
3. Cale Makar, Avalanche
One of the favorites for the Calder Trophy, Makar picked up two primary assists in the Avs’ win. He’s now in sole possession of first place in the rookie scoring race with 37 points and is three helpers behind Quinn Hughes for tops among rookies. Per the NHL, Makar’s multi-point day helped him match Bruce Bell for most points in a single season by a rookie defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT
• This was a pretty setup by the Red Wings for Givani Smith’s second career NHL goal:
• Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and reached the 30th goal mark for the third straight season:
Makar to MacKinnon.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 20, 2020
ABSOLUTE MAGIC. #GoAvsGo https://t.co/hzuCCKRZcx
• Aleksander Barkov keeps doing wonderful things:
• The Wild’s pup, Breezer, took care of some business pregame:
Uh oh...Breezer apparently doesn’t think much of Our Ice pic.twitter.com/ewxqDUctaZ
— Anthony LaPanta (@AnthonyLaPanta) January 20, 2020
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Thursday: Rangers (Kreider) vs. Islanders with 25 seconds left.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) January 21, 2020
Sunday: Blues Jackets (Bjorkstrand) vs. Rangers with 27 seconds left.
Tonight: Panthers (Acciari) vs. Wild with 5.6 seconds left. https://t.co/7DbxGMnhH3
SCORES
Avalanche 6, Red Wings 3
Panthers 5, Wild 4
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.