Top player from Wednesday in the NHL
Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks
It was an eventful game for DeBrincat in Chicago’s latest win as he recorded the first Gordie Howe hat trick of his career, scoring a goal, recording an assist, and getting into a fight with Yannie Gourde during the Blackhawks’ 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken. DeBrincat is now up to nine goals and 12 total points on the season and is picking up where he left off a year ago offensively when he scored 32 goals and 56 total points in 52 games. As of now he is on a 46-goal pace for this season. He already has one 40-goal season in his career, would have had one in a full season a year ago, and looks to be on pace for another this season.
Highlights from Wednesday in the NHL
Cale Makar gives Colorado the lead early in the third period on this absolute rocket of a one-timer to beat Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko. Makar is already one of the best players in the league, and his best days are still ahead of him.
Seth Jones opened the scoring for Chicago on Wednesday with the 300th point of his career on this absolutely fantastic passing play.
It took nearly 57 minutes for somebody to break the ice in the Washington Capitals-Los Angeles Kings game, and it was Garnet Hathaway scoring the game-winner and then adding an empty-net goal for the game’s only two goals in the Capitals’ 2-0 win. Hathaway now has five goals in his past four games for the Capitals. Here is his game-winning goal on Wednesday.
Three Takeaways from Wednesday in the NHL
Getting ugly in Vancouver
The Canucks had a 2-1 lead in the third period with a chance to snap their losing streak and, at least for one night, calm down the anger that the fan base is directing at the organization. Then they completely melted down in the third period, gave up three unanswered goals, and lost their fifth game in a row to fall to 5-10-2 on the season. It is hard to see how this team gets better anytime soon. There are a lot of problems here, but the penalty kill is one of the most significant at the moment. They entered Wednesday’s game with a 61 percent success rate on the PK, by far the worst mark in the league. Then they went out on and allowed Colorado to score three power play goals, including two just two minutes apart early in the third period.
Blackhawks hold on to win again
The Chicago Blackhawks have played four games with interim head coach Derek King, and they have now won all four of them. They were able to hold off a late Seattle rally on Wednesday night to win their first road game of the season and extend their current winning streak. It was not the prettiest win as Marc-Andre Fleury had to bail them out in the second period, before Seattle made it a game with two late goals. It is still a significant swing from what we saw from the Blackhawks at the start of the season when they were giving up goals in the first five minutes of games.
Shorthanded Capitals keep rolling
No Nicklas Backstrom, no T.J. Oshie, no Lars Eller, no Anthony Mantha, and no problem for the Washington Capitals. They kept rolling on Wednesday night with a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings to pick up their fifth victory in their past six games (5-0-1) and extend their points streak to six games. They are now 10-2-5 on the season and continuing to play great hockey no matter who is out of the lineup. Hathaway scored two goals while Ilya Samsonov stopped all 34 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season. It is also his best start of the season. Just imagine how good this team could be if they could win an overtime game this season. The Capitals have a point in 15 of their 17 games this season.
Thursday’s big story
The game of the night on Thursday is in Anaheim where the the Carolina Hurricanes, with the league’s best record, visit the league’s hottest team. The Ducks enter Thursday’s game riding an eight-game winning streak and have been led by Troy Terry, the surprising offensive star of the season, who is currently on a 15-game point streak that has him among the league’s top scorers entering play on Thursday. He has already set new career highs in goals and points just 16 games into the season.
Wednesday’s NHL scores
Colorado Avalanche 4, Vancouver Canucks 2
Chicago Blackhawks 4, Seattle Kraken 2
Washington Capitals 2, Los Angeles Kings 0
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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.