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NHL Rink Wrap: Pitlick, Batherson surprise stars, Maple Leafs win again, and Kessel’s streak

NHL Scores

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 13: Rem Pitlick #16 of the Minnesota Wild scores his goal of the night past Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Seattle Kraken during the second period of a game between the Minnesota Wild and the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on November 13, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Top player from Saturday in the NHL

Rem Pitlick, Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild forward Rem Pitlick entered Saturday’s game in Seattle with zero goals in 15 career NHL games.

He left Saturday’s game with three goals, recording a natural hat trick in the Wild’s 4-2 win over the Kraken.

He was able to take advantage of sloppy Seattle play with the puck to sneak in for a couple of breakaways to beat Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer. The Wild are off to a great start this season and with Saturday’s win have now won five of their past six games and are 10-4-0 overall. It is the second best start to a season in franchise history.

The Kraken, meanwhile, are not having the start anybody in Seattle wanted for their inagurual season, now sitting with a 4-10-1 record and have lost four games in a row.

Highlights from Saturday in the NHL

The New York Rangers were big winners in Columbus on Saturday night, and it was this stretch in the second period where they scored three goals in one minute and three seconds to help push them to the win.

Morgan Rielly’s goal with 11.8 seconds to play in regulation lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs to another win. After a slow start that saw them win just two of their first six games the Maple Leafs have now won eight of their past nine games.

The big game of the night was in Tampa Bay where the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Lightning were hosting the league’s best team so far this season, the Florida Panthers. It did not disappoint. The Lightning were 3-2 winners in overtime thanks to this Brayden Point goal. Point also had a fight in this game.

Three Takeaways from Saturday in the NHL

Batherson leads Senators to surprising win

The Ottawa Senators entered Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on a six-game losing streak and with nine regulars from their lineup sidelined. Seemed like a tough challenge. All they did was jump out to a 5-0 lead on their way to a convincing 6-3 win. Drake Batherson was the big star for the Senators in this game, scoring two goals and adding two more assists for a four-point game. After winning two of their first three games the Senators were 1-8-1 in their previous 10 games entering Saturday.

Phil Kessel’s ironman streak continues

The Arizona Coyotes lost again on Saturday, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Nashville Predators to bring their record to just 1-13-1 through their first 15 games, collecting just three out of a possible 30 points in the standings. That is bad. The good news, though, is that Phil Kessel’s ironman streak is still going strong and on Saturday night increased to 915 consecutive games, moving him ahead of Gary Unger for sole possession of the third-longest ironman streak in NHL history. Doug Jarvis holds the NHL record at 964 games. Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle has the second-longest streak at 934 games. Both players could move ahead of Jarvis this season.

Avalanche, Golden Knights getting back on track

The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights have been two of the best teams in the NHL over the past few years, and both entered this season with Stanley Cup goals. They both got off to slower than expected starts, with injuries playing a big role for both teams. They are starting to both turn things around and both were big winners on Saturday night. The Avalanche were 6-2 winners over the San Jose Sharks, giving them 13 goals over their past two games since Nathan MacKinnon went out of the lineup. They are now 5-2-1 over their past eight games, earning 11 out of a possible 16 points during that stretch. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, were 7-4 winners over the Vancouver Canucks and are now 8-2-0 in their past 10 games after winning just one of their first four five games. Mark Stone is back in the lineup now, and they still have Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, and of course Jack Eichel all still waiting to return.

Sunday’s big story

It might actually be the Anaheim Ducks. They enter their game against the Vancouver Canucks on a six-game winning streak, while Troy Terry looks to extend his current point streak to 14 consecutive games. Nobody expected the Ducks to be this competitive, while Terry’s point streak might be even more surprising than the early team success. He also has five multi-point games already this season. Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid is also looking to extend his current point streak to 14 consecutive games to match Terry’s in their game against the St. Louis Blues.

Saturday’s NHL scores

Boston Bruins 5, New Jersey Devils 2 Winnipeg Jets 3, Los Angeles Kings 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Buffalo Sabres 4 Ottawa Senators 6, Pittsburgh Penguins 3 Detroit Red Wings 3, Montreal Canadiens 2 (OT) Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Florida Panthers 2 (OT) New York Rangers 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 Carolina Hurricanes 3, St. Louis Blues 2 Nashville Predators 4, Arizona Coyotes 1 Dallas Stars 5, Philadelphia Flyers 2 Colorado Avalanche 6, San Jose Sharks 2 Minnesota Wild 4, Seattle Kraken 2 Vegas Golden Knights 7, Vancouver Canucks 4