Braden Holtby is up to his old tricks.

The Washington Capitals netminder picked up his league-leading eighth shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night to continue his latest streak of red-hot performances.

With his goose egg Thursday, Holtby has gone 4-0-0 in his last four starts, giving up just three goals in that span with an inhuman .976 save percentage.

Rewind a little further and it's clear that not only has Holtby been hot in the short term, he's been nearly perfect in the new year.

Since Jan. 1, Holtby has gone 18-0-1 in 21 starts, picking up five of his eight shutouts while posting a 1.75 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

Overall, the streak has pushed Holtby into contention for his second straight Vezina Trophy win. He currently sits second league-wide in wins (33), third in save percentage (.930), and first in goals-against average (1.95), as well as first in shutouts.

With the Capitals' latest win, the team is now 7-2-1 in its last 10 games and remains undefeated on home ice in 2017. The Capitals can thank Holtby for that.

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The Buffalo Sabres are nearly unbeatable when Jack Eichel produces.

After missing the start of the season with an ankle injury, the second-year phenom has hit his stride, and the Sabres are reaping the benefits.

Eichel's three-point (one goal, two assists) performance was the difference in Thursday's 6-3 win over Arizona, and it continued a trend of Sabres dominance when the 20-year-old puts forth a multi-point effort.

Since Feb. 1, Eichel's recorded 19 points in 15 games - tied with Patrick Kane for the highest individual output in the NHL over that span.

Largely in part to Eichel's surge, Buffalo's 16 points since the start of February are the eighth-highest total league-wide.

In just 43 games this season, Eichel sits two points off the Sabres' team lead with 40, in 11 fewer contests than frontrunner Ryan O'Reilly.

Eichel is scoring at nearly a point per game this season, and although it's a smaller sample size, it's a vast improvement from his 0.69 average in his stellar rookie season.

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Pierre Dorion is beginning to look like a genius.

After scoring his first goal in his first game as a member of the Ottawa Senators in the opening period, forward Alexandre Burrows was back at it, picking up his second late in the following frame.

Related: Burrows fires 1st goal as a Senator in debut

Burrows collected a pass from Mike Hoffman before firing a shot over the catching glove of Colorado Avalanche netminder Calvin Pickard, giving the Senators a 2-0 advantage.

All of a sudden, giving up prospect Jonathan Dahlen in the trade doesn't look so bad.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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Not Claude Giroux's finest moment.

Capitalizing on a flubbed pass off the Flyers captain's stick, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad pounced on the errant attempt, danced past Giroux, and zipped a slap shot past Steve Mason on Thursday night.

The shorty was just Ekblad's second tally in his last 34 games - quite the way to break a slump.

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It wasn't the prettiest goal in the world, but Alex Burrows will take it.

The Ottawa Senators recent acquisition picked up his first goal in his first game with his new club, beating Colorado Avalanche goaltender Calvin Pickard with a shot the netminder would rather have back.

As fate would have it, Burrows' - clearly overjoyed - parents were in attendance to see it all happen.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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Montreal Canadiens fans haven't forgotten P.K. Subban's impact.

The former Habs defenseman was back in Montreal on Thursday for the first time since the blockbuster deal that sent him to Nashville in exchange for Shea Weber.

Prior to the national anthems, the Canadiens played a moving video tribute to Subban, still clearly a fan favorite in the Bell Centre.

Subban felt the love.

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Welcome to the Arizona Coyotes, Teemu Pulkkinen.

Making his debut with the Coyotes on Thursday night, the 25-year-old finished off a pretty give-and-go with Max Domi 7:54 into the first period to give his newest club an early 1-0 lead over the Buffalo Sabres.

The Coyotes acquired Pulkkinen from the Minnesota Wild for future considerations, and early on, the deal appears to be paying off.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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The NHL trade deadline has come and gone, but Matt Duchene stayed put.

The Colorado Avalanche forward was a centerpiece of trade rumors all season, and while Wednesday's deadline kept him in Denver, Duchene believes he'll be on the move eventually.

"It's nice to put it behind me," Duchene told Mike Chambers of The Denver Post on Thursday. "There's probably a good chance something will happen this summer, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Amid all the banter regarding his potential departure from the team that drafted him third overall in 2009, Duchene's been candid about his situation.

Related: Duchene: I'm just ready for the trade deadline to be over

The 26-year-old is a premier offensive player on a truly awful team, and with two more seasons on his contract, don't expect his name to be left out of trade talks any time soon.

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The 2016-17 season will be Bob Miller's last as play-by-play broadcaster of the Los Angeles Kings.

The veteran of 44 seasons calling Kings broadcasts announced - due in large to his recurring health incidents over the last few years - that he will retire after calling two more games this season.

"Due to four separate health incidents the last year, quadruple bypass heart surgery, a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), a mild stroke, and a stent placed in my left carotid artery, and with doctor’s advice to slow down, it’s time for me to retire," Miller said.

"I have been fortunate to work in a career I’ve always wanted, to be a radio-TV sports announcer for 57 years, 44 of those years as the Los Angeles Kings play-by-play broadcaster. Not many of us get to enjoy five decades, 3,351 games, in a career that has brought so much joy and excitement."

Miller has been unable to call a game since Jan. 16 after suffering a mild stroke during All-Star weekend.

Miller's last two broadcasts will be during the Kings' final home game April 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks and April 9 when the Kings visit the Anaheim Ducks.

In honor of Miller, the game April 8 will be Bob Miller Appreciation Day at the Staples Center, and the club plans to further honor Miller early in the 2017-18 season.

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An Illinois man was so eager to snag a puck from Connor McDavid that he promised to shave his beard if the Edmonton Oilers captain made it happen.

Nick Cordell, who hadn't been without facial hair since 2008, brought a sign reading "@cmcdavid97 I will shave beard for a puck" to the Oilers' game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

Cordell got his puck, and n Wednesday he unveiled his clean-shaven face.

"This was one of the best experiences I've ever had at a hockey game," Cordell, a Detroit Red Wings fan, told Pat Pickens of NHL.com. "I was just in shock and awe when he gave me the puck, I couldn't believe it actually happened and never thought about backing out of the deal."

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