A light two-game Friday night, and the first one is already in the books: the Rangers won 5-1 in Vancouver, carried by an unlikely hero and a confident goalie. The second game, in Vegas, is still going as we write this.
Rangers 5, Canucks 1: Glenn Gawdin's night
Glenn Gawdin, 29, from Richmond, British Columbia, scored his first two NHL goals in front of family and friends at Rogers Arena. His first came after Filip Chytil knocked down a clearing pass from goalie Leevi Merilainen, and he added a second less than a minute after the Rangers' fourth goal. Four Rangers goals in the second period broke the game open.
J.T. Miller picked up two assists, Alexis Lafreniere scored his 10th goal of the season and added an assist, and Gabriel Perreault scored his 7th goal plus an assist. Oliver Bjorkstrand scored on the power play, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox each added an assist, and so did Vladislav Gavrikov.
In net, Dylan Garand stopped 27 of 28 shots and earned his 7th win in 15 games this season. He is looking more and more like the Rangers' number one goalie.
Filip Chytil's return was a quiet one: 17 minutes and 14 seconds of ice time, no points and two shots on goal, in his first game since October 29. He was back after a shoulder injury, and the 
Canucks had activated him from injured reserve earlier in the day.
For Vancouver, Elias Pettersson scored the only goal, his 5th of the season, with assists from Brock Boeser and Zeev Buium. Leevi Merilainen stopped 25 of 30 shots.
Predators 1, Golden Knights 2: still going in Vegas
As we write this, Vegas leads Nashville 2-1. Victor Olofsson and Rasmus Andersson have scored for the 
Golden Knights, with assists from Mitch Marner, Tomas Hertl, Ivan Barbashev and Parker Wotherspoon. Ryan O'Reilly scored for Nashville, with assists from Steven Stamkos and Mavrik Bourque. Juuse Saros has stopped 32 of 34 shots so far, and Adin Hill 19 of 20. We will update this recap as soon as the result is known.
What it means for your pool
Garand is the name to take from this night: another solid win, a .964 save percentage in this game, and the Rangers net is his for now. Lafreniere is up to 10 goals in 21 games and Perreault has 7 goals, two young Rangers forwards producing steadily. Gawdin will stay a great story of the night rather than a pickup to make right away, with only 7 minutes and 59 seconds of ice time. Chytil is one to watch as he returns: no points tonight, but he played over 17 minutes and he will find his rhythm. In Vancouver, Pettersson keeps producing, with 21 points in 21 games, but the Canucks lost again.
Sources
The facts in this article come from the NHL API, the game summaries on NHL.com and CanucksArmy.