Three Stars (Bruins vs. Flyers; Lightning vs. Red Wings)
1. David Pastrnak
When Pastrnak put the Bruins up 1-0 against the Flyers just 12 seconds in, maybe we should’ve realized that it would be his night.
The Flyers turned the tide for much of the contest, though. After a nice 3-1 goal from Joel Farabee, it seemed like the Flyers might bounce back from a bad start vs. the Bruins. In retrospect, the Bruins began and finished strong, and that ended up being just enough.
Really, David Pastrnak and “The Perfection Line” made sure it was too much.
Pastrnak scored that 1-0 goal, then two power-play goals to close regulation, collapsing a 3-1 Flyers lead to a 3-3 game heading to overtime. Then Pastrnak assisted on another power play goal, this one in overtime by Patrice Bergeron, to give Boston a stunning win.
2. Patrice Bergeron
Speaking of Bergeron, he matched Pastrnak in producing a four-point night. While Pastrnak generated a hat trick plus an assist, Bergeron piled up that game-winning goal, and also three helpers.
Depending upon your taste, you might prefer Bergeron’s night to that of David Pastrnak. As a multiple-Selke-winning center, Bergeron did penalty kill duty on Wednesday, too.
Either way, “The Perfection Line” asserted itself as, once again, one of the best trios in the NHL. We won’t hold Brad Marchand “only” collecting an assist against them too much.
3. Victor Hedman
You could probably label the third star entry as “the Lightning casually dispatching the Red Wings, in general.”
Perhaps you’d prefer Blake Coleman’s output? Like Hedman, Coleman managed a two-point game. (In Coleman’s case, it came via two assists.)
Hedman feels like the right choice. He collected his goal (the 1-0 tally) and assisted on the eventual game-winner (then making it 2-0), generating points when this wasn’t totally out of reach yet. Hedman ended up with that goal and an assist, a +2 rating, two shots on goal, and one hit in 21:17 TOI.
NWHL Season suspended
Tough news out of the NWHL on Wednesday, as the league decided to suspend its season due to COVID concerns. PHT’s Marisa Ingemi has more.
Wild latest NHL team to see games postponed due to COVID
Unfortunately, that didn’t sum up all of the bad COVID-related hockey news for Wednesday. The NHL announced that the Wild’s games have been postponed through at least Feb. 9. This post adds details, and also runs down some of the league’s larger issues.
Bruins - Flyers, Lightning - Red Wings highlights
Nope, the Red Wings didn’t lure the Lightning into a trap game on Wednesday. Instead, Tampa Bay dominated the game, and the highlights:
Even in a league where leads are less safe, the Flyers were probably feeling OK about being up 3-1 vs. the Bruins. Then David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and “The Perfection Line” took advantage of some key power-play opportunities to turn that game on its head:
NHL scores: Bruins - Flyers, Lightning - Red Wings
Lightning 5, Red Wings 1
Bruins 4, Flyers 3 (OT)
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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.