Nine games on the Thursday schedule, and the night delivered action all around the league. A hat trick in Toronto, a historic double in Helsinki, eight goals in Dallas and two games settled in overtime. Here is the tour of the night, with two games still going as we write this, at 11:45 PM.
Hurricanes 4, Kraken 1: Aho doubles up in Helsinki
The day began at noon Eastern at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki, where Carolina beat Seattle 4-1 in the NHL Global Series in Finland. Sebastian Aho, playing in front of his home crowd, scored twice and tied Olli Jokinen for the most goals by a Finnish player in NHL history. Nikolaj Ehlers added a goal and an assist, Logan Stankoven had two assists, K'Andre Miller had two assists as well, and Juuso Valimaki also scored. Brandon Bussi stopped 12 of 13 shots. Frederik Gaudreau scored for Seattle.
Canadiens 5, Bruins 2: Fowler stands tall in Boston
Cole Caufield scored, Phillip Danault scored too, and Montreal won 5-2 in Boston. Josh Anderson and Jake Evans each had a goal and an assist, and Kirby Dach scored as well. On the other side, Casey Mittelstadt scored twice in the loss, with two assists from Elias Lindholm. The big point for poolers is in the Montreal net: Jacob Fowler stopped 30 of 32 shots and earned the win. The bad news for Montreal is the Chris Kreider injury, as he left in the third period after a collision with Michael Eyssimont. He could not put weight on his left leg as he left the ice and he did not return, and there is no official word on how serious it is yet. Mike Matheson had an assist in his return after missing six games with a lower-body injury, and Montreal stretched its point streak to twelve games. In Boston, Jeremy Swayman was pulled after allowing four goals on 17 shots, and Michael DiPietro finished the game with 13 saves on 14 shots.
Wild 5, Maple Leafs 2: the Boldy hat trick
Matt Boldy scored three times and Kirill Kaprizov had three assists in Minnesota's 5-2 win at Toronto. Danila Yurov added a goal and an assist, and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 26 of 28 shots. Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, and Zack MacEwen scored too. Anthony Stolarz allowed five goals on 25 shots. Boldy is on fire and Kaprizov fills the scoresheet night after night.
Senators 4, Avalanche 3 (overtime): Pinto, on his birthday
On his birthday, Shane Pinto scored twice, including the overtime winner, and Ottawa beat Colorado 4-3. Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson also scored, and Linus Ullmark stopped 26 of 29 shots. Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen and Parker Kelly scored for the Avalanche, and Scott Wedgewood stopped 22 of 26 shots in the loss. Pinto is playing with a lot of confidence right now, and it shows on the scoresheet.
Devils 5, Capitals 2: Hughes and Rodrigues lead the way
Jack Hughes scored, Evan Rodrigues had a goal and an assist, and New Jersey won 5-2 against Washington. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 28 shots and earned the win. Stefan Noesen, Lenni Hameenaho and Vladislav Kolyachonok also scored for the Devils. Ryan Leonard scored on the power play for Washington, and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored too.
Lightning 3, Blue Jackets 1: Hagel doubles up in Columbus
Brandon Hagel scored twice and added an assist, Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Nikita Kucherov had two assists in Tampa Bay's 3-1 win at Columbus. Dennis Hildeby stopped 28 of 29 shots. Matthew Knies scored for Columbus. Hagel and Guentzel produce night after night, and Hildeby did the job when called upon.
Panthers 5, Red Wings 4: Lundell doubles up in the third
Anton Lundell scored twice, Carter Verhaeghe had three assists and Florida beat Detroit 5-4. Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling also scored, and Akira Schmid stopped 24 of 28 shots. Lucas Raymond, Marco Kasper and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit, and Moritz Seider added two assists. Lundell is taking on a bigger role in the Florida attack, and he is a name to watch closely.
Blackhawks 3, Sabres 2 (overtime): Donato ends it, Lyon solid in his return
Frank Nazar scored twice, including a power-play goal, and Ryan Donato ended it in overtime to give Chicago a 3-2 win against Buffalo. Spencer Knight stopped 21 of 23 shots. On the other side, Alex Lyon was playing his first game of the season after coming back from injury, and he did well with 22 saves on 25 shots despite the overtime loss. Tage Thompson and Owen Power scored for Buffalo, and Jack Quinn had two assists.
Jets 8, Stars 3: the Winnipeg festival
The offensive festival of the night came from Winnipeg, which beat Dallas 8-3. Mark Scheifele scored twice and added an assist, Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists, Gabriel Vilardi a goal and two assists, and Dawson Mercer two goals. Stuart Skinner stopped 30 of 33 shots. Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which pulled Jake Oettinger after six goals on 27 shots. The Jets' top line is on fire.
Two games still going
As we write this, St. Louis and Utah are tied 0-0 in the third period, and the Islanders lead 3-2 at Los Angeles in the second period. We will update this recap as soon as the results are known.
What it means for your pool
Boldy, Kaprizov, Aho, Scheifele, Connor and Vilardi are the names to ride after this night. The Chris Kreider injury is the file to watch: he could not put weight on his left leg after a collision with Michael Eyssimont, and Montreal has not shared an update yet. Pinto celebrated his birthday with two goals and a winner, Nazar keeps trending up in Chicago, and Lundell is earning a bigger role in Florida. In goal, Fowler, Hildeby and Skinner just earned solid wins, and Lyon looked good in his return despite the loss. Swayman and Oettinger were pulled mid-game, something to watch at their next outing.
Sources
The facts in this article come from the NHL API and the game summaries on NHL.com.
