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The Buzzer: Knight wins debut; Beauvillier breaks out (Tuesday in NHL)

The Buzzer: Knight wins debut; Beauvillier breaks out (Tuesday in NHL)

SUNRISE, FL - APRIL 20: Goaltender Spencer Knight #30 of the Florida Panthers takes a moment to himself during a break in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the BB&T Center on April 20, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

3 Stars for Tuesday in the NHL

1. Anthony Beauvillier, New York Islanders

Anthony Beauvillier headed into Tuesday’s NHL action ice-cold. He was on a five-game pointless streak. The Islanders forward also hadn’t scored a goal in seven straight games, managing a single assist during that span. Well, Beauvillier made up for lost time.

In the Islanders’ dominant win over the Rangers, Beauvillier scored a goal and three assists for four points. He scored on his only shot on goal, and registered a +3 rating in 16:14 TOI.

With that four-point outburst, Beauvillier’s now scoring about a point every two games (19 in 37). It’s a step back from last season (18 goals, 39 points in just 68 games), but if he can really get rolling, the already-formidable Islanders get that much scarier.

Naturally, with six goals scored, other Islanders contributed alongside Beauvillier. Josh Bailey enjoyed almost as strong an output, collecting two goals and one assist. Jordan Eberle and Jean-Gabriel Pageau generated one-goal, one-assist nights.

2. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

Thanks mostly to injuries, it’s been a bumpy 2020-21 season for Tuukka Rask. (On the bright side, the Bruins might have unearthed a goalie option for the future in Rask’s absence.)

Like the Bruins, Rask has been heating up lately. On the way to producing the highlight of Tuesday night in the NHL, Rask pitched a 32-save shutout. That’s his first shutout of the season, extending his win streak to three in a row.

Since the full Bruins - Sabres highlights will be spliced in below, enjoy Rask’s brilliant sequence of saves in GIF form, too:

3. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

They did it again.

The Canucks were supposed to struggle after a lengthy COVID disruption. That seemed like a particularly good bet against the North-leading Toronto Maple Leafs.

Then again, considering how strange things always seem to follow those Buds, maybe we should’ve expected this development?

This time, the Canucks didn’t need a Bo Horvat overtime-winner to take this one. (They did get a pretty keyed-in Braden Holtby, though.) Hughes scored a goal and two assists, while Tanner Pearson collected two goals on a rough night for Toronto netminding. More on that soon ...

There are plenty of honorable mentions, and you could argue they deserve the nod over Hughes. This one stands out the most, at least from a storytelling perspective (sorry, Andreas Athanasiou, but here’s hoping those flashes of offense help you to raise your profile).

Knight bright in NHL debut as Panthers win

Being that the Panthers scored five goals, they probably didn’t need Spencer Knight to be brilliant in his NHL debut. Knight was, though, stopping 33 out of 34 shots.

He wasn’t alone, as Jonathan Huberdeau collected three points (2G, 1A) in a lopsided win for Florida.

The league points out that Knight is the first goalie born in the 2000s to play an NHL game, so such goalies are now undefeated.

(You can consider Spencer Knight one of the three stars for Tuesday in the NHL, really, but it’s fancier to give him his own section.)

Highlights of the night for Tuesday in the NHL

The Bruins clogged things up for the Sabres to the point that there were only so many highlights beyond Rask’s save. But, hey, you get multiple angles if you watch the video. That’s cool, right?

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust combined for a goal as pretty as the Penguins’ third period (six goals allowed against Devils) wasn’t:

Stats of the Night

It was not a great night for “Big Save” Dave Rittich. Despite heavy 2021 NHL Trade Deadline investments, Toronto’s goaltending struggles continue.

Speaking of the Penguins winning despite that awful third period ...

Tuesday’s NHL scores

Bruins 2, Sabres 0
Islanders 6, Rangers 1
Hurricanes 4, Lightning 1
Panthers 5, Blue Jackets 1
Penguins 7, Devils 6
Stars 5, Red Wings 2
Canucks 6, Maple Leafs 3
Kings 4, Ducks 1

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.