Three Stars
1. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators. With less than three minutes to play the Predators were down by two goals and seemingly on their way to another loss and potentially waste a big offensive night from Forsberg. Then they struck for two quick goals to send the game to overtime where Forsberg won it to wrap up a five-point night.
2. Jason Spezza, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs were 7-3 winners on Thursday against Vancovuer in a game that was not even that close. Spezza looked like he found the fountain of youth on his way to a hat trick to help drive the offense. This is already the third hat trick the Canucks have surrendered in 14 games this season. There have only been 10 hat tricks in the league all season.
3. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks. It was a four-point night for Kane as the Blackhawks stunned the Carolina Hurricanes in a 6-4 win. He now has 15 points in 12 games this season and is showing he can still score at an elite level. The Blackhawks are now 4-4-4 on the season, which seems to be better than was anticipated for them at the start of the season given the roster and injury situation.
Other Notable Performances From Thursday
• Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic scored their first goals as members of the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars. Read all about it here.
• It came in a losing effort, but Jonathan Huberdeau also had a five-point effort in that Panthers-Predators game. It is just the third time in the past 30 years that opposing players had five points in the same game.
• Ryan Strome scored two goals for the New York Rangers to help lead them to a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals.
• Rookie Tim Stutzle had a huge game for the Ottawa Senators as he scored a goal and added a pair of assists in a stunning 3-2 upset win over the Montreal Canadiens.
• Mason Appleton scored two goals and Matthieu Perreault recorded three assists as the Winnipeg Jets were 4-1 winners over the Calgary Flames.
• Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak both had a goal and an assist in the Arizona Coyotes 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Highlights Of The Day
This is an incredible individual effort from Anthony Bitetto of the New York Rangers. It is his first goal in 112 games, a span of more than three years.
Auston Matthews goes coast-to-coast for one of his two goals.
Alex Ovechkin scores career goal 709 to move ahead of Mike Gartner for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list.
Scores
Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Dallas Stars 3
Toronto Maple Leafs 7, Vancouver Canucks 3
New York Rangers 4, Washington Capitals 2
Ottawa Senators 3, Montreal Canadiens 2
Nashville Predators 6, Florida Panthers 5 (OT)
Winnipeg Jets 4, Calgary Flames 1
Arizona Coyotes 4, St. Louis Blues 3
Chicago Blackhawks 6, Carolina Hurricanes 4
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils (Postponed)
Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Islanders (Postponed)
Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (Postponed)
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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.