The Pittsburgh Penguins were flat in the second half of a back-to-back in their shootout loss Saturday versus the Buffalo Sabres, but there was no dip in the production of captain Sidney Crosby.
Zipping a pass from Chris Kunitz into the back of the net on a power play in the third period, Crosby kept his 82-goal scoring pace and matched Patrik Laine for the league lead with 12 goals.
Though he'd have to settle for a career-high 76 tallies should he maintain this scoring surge due to missing the first six games of the season, his league-best 1.33 points per game has him on track to surpass the 100-point threshold for the first time in three seasons.
Ending a mini three-game slide, the Montreal Canadiens prolonged the misery for their storied rivals.
The Canadiens defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Saturday at Bell Centre, winning for the 12th consecutive time in head-to-head competition across parts of four seasons.
Carey Price, who's anchored nine of those 12 victories, stopped 31 shots for his league-leading 11th win. He's the second Canadiens goaltender to win 11 of his first 12 starts to begin a season, joining Charlie Hodge.
Toronto's last win versus Montreal came on Jan. 18, 2014. Price allowed four goals on 29 shots that night.
As the clock approached zero during the third period of Montreal's 2-1 win Saturday, Emelin cross-checked James van Riemsdyk, sending him headfirst into the end boards.
It wasn't the only bit of animosity between the two rivals, as Leafs forward Matt Martin was penalized for a similar hit on Nathan Beaulieu minutes earlier.
A scary moment put hockey on the back burner ahead of Saturday's AHL contest between the Tuscon Roadrunners and the Manitoba Moose, as Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham collapsed moments before puck drop.
Medics cut Cunningham's jersey as he laid on his back, and performed chest compressions before he was taken to a local hospital. There's been no update on his condition.
The game has been postponed with no make-up date announced.
Cunningham, 26, was drafted in the fourth round by the Boston Bruins in 2010, and has spent the last three seasons in the Coyotes organization.
Connor McDavid busted out of his goal-scoring funk in a big way.
McDavid recorded his first career hat trick Saturday versus the Dallas Stars, his third deposited into a wide-open net after a fortuitous bounce on a broken rush.
The Edmonton Oilers captain snapped his career-high 10-game scoreless drought in the first period when his centering pass was knocked into the net off the blade of John Klingberg. He picked up his second goal in the middle frame, shoveling home a deft tip pass from Jesse Puljujarvi at the side of the goal.
The hat-trick goal gave McDavid a provisional share of the NHL's scoring lead.
The Winnipeg Jets' attack, which includes the NHL's leading point producer and leading goal scorer, has been muted.
The Boston Bruins prevented the Jets from placing a single even-strength shot on target in the second period Saturday night, and limited them to seven total through 40 minutes.
Here's what the flat-lining dominance looked like in chart form:
Jonathan Drouin potted his first goal in his second game back in the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup following a seven-game absence with an upper-body injury.
This is not how penalty shots are supposed to work.
Kunlun Red Star forward Yaroslav Alshevsky was awarded a penalty shot in the first period of a game against Sibir Novosibirsk, but wound up in the penalty box himself on a tripping call after colliding with goalie Danny Taylor.
