Three Stars
1. Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames. The Calgary Flames handed the Montreal Canadiens their first regulation loss of the season on Saturday night and there was one primary reason for it -- Markstrom. He stopped all 37 shots he faced in a 2-0 Flames win. It is already Markstrom’s second shutout in his first six starts as a member of the Flames. Strong start for the team’s big offseason addition.
2. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers. It was the Connor McDavid show in Edmonton on Saturday (as it usually is) as the captain scored two goals, including the game-winner in overtime. His first goal of the night is an early contender for the best goal of the season (watch it here). He also had an assist for a three-point game. He already has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in the Oilers’ first 10 games. That would be a 140-point pace over 82 games. Over 56 games it is a 95-point pace.
3. Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins are dealing with a crazy amount of injuries on their defense. They entered Saturday’s game already playing without Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, Mike Matheson, Juuso Riikola. Then early in the first period on Saturday they lost Kris Letang. That is four of their top-six and five of their top-seven. That is a big problem. On Saturday, the solution to that problem was Pierre-Olivier Joseph. The rookie defenseman has shined since entering the lineup and had his best game on Saturday, logging a team-high 22 minutes and recording three assists, including the game-winner on Sidney Crosby’s overtime winner.
NWHL SCORES
Buffalo Beauts 2, Boston Pride 1
Lisa Chesson’s power play goal late in the third period helped lift Buffalo to 2-1 win over the Boston Bride. The win is Buffalo’s first of the season. Goalie Carly Jackson stopped 36 out of 37 shots in the win.
Toronto Six 4, Minnesota Whitecaps 3
Mikyla Grant-Mentis scored two goals, including the game-winner with just 23 seconds to play in regulation, to help lift the Toronto Six to their third win of the season. The loss for Minnesota is its first of the season.
NWHL SCHEDULE FOR SUNDAY
Sunday’s NWHL schedule begins with the Buffalo Beauts vs. the Boston Pride (3 p.m. ET), followed by the Toronto Six against the Connecticut Whale (6 p.m. ET). All games can be streamed on the league’s Twitch channel.
NWHL STANDINGS
1. Six– 7 points (3-1-1; even +1 differential)
2. Whitecaps – 6 points (3-1-0; +2 goal differential)
3. Whale – 4 points (2-1-0; +3 goal differential)
4. Beauts – 3 point (1-2-1; -5 goal differential)
5. Pride – 2 point (1-4-0; -3 goal differential)
Riveters – 4 points (2-1-0; +3 goal differential) (withdrawn)
The single-elimination Isobel Cup Semifinals will be shown live on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET and 8:30 p.m. ET. The winners of the semifinals will advance to the Isobel Cup Final on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. ET. In addition to coverage on NBCSN, live coverage will stream exclusively on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
Other Notable NHL Performances From Saturday
• Taylor Hall had two assists against his former team to help lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils.
• Vincent Trocheck had three points (two goals, one assist) to help lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a convincing 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars.
• Jordan Kyrou continued his great start for the St. Louis Blues with three points (two goals, one assist) in a 6-1 rout against the Anaheim Ducks. Kyrou now has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his first eight games this season for the Blues.
• Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Anthony Cirelli each recorded two points as the Tampa Bay Lighting were 4-3 winners over the Nashville Predators.
• Scott Laughton scored the game-winning goal for the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime to help lift them to a win over the New York Islanders.
• The Vancouver Canucks are suddenly on a roll with four consecutive wins, and Brock Boeser played a big role in their latest win on Saturday night with two more goals. He is now the NHL’s leading goal scorer with eight goals this season and has four multi-goal games.
Highlights Of The Day
Of course it is the Connor McDavid goal.
Mikko Rantanen makes this goal look easy for the Colorado Avalanche in their 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Alex Ovechkin returns to the lineup and scores the game-winning goal in overtime for the Washington Capitals and moves into a tie with Mike Gartner for seventh place on the NHL all-time goal scoring list.
Scores
Buffalo Sabres 4, New Jersey Devils 3 (SO)
Edmonton Oilers 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, New York Rangers 4 (OT)
Philadelphia Flyers 3, New York Islanders 2 (OT)
Washington Capitals 4, Boston Bruins 3 (OT)
Carolina Hurricanes 4, Dallas Stars 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Nashville Predators 3
Calgary Flames 2, Montreal Canadiens 0
Colorado Avalanche 5, Minnesota Wild 1
St. Louis Blues 6, Anaheim Ducks 1
Vancouver Canucks 4, Winnipeg Jets 1
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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.