The Blue Jackets exploded for four goals in six-and-a-half minutes to start the third period Thursday against the Penguins, and Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan's reaction to Columbus' seventh goal - Scott Hartnell's third of the night - was priceless:
As hats rained down on the ice, Sullivan kept his eyes peeled on the Blue Jackets bench, using a smile to try to get the attention of Columbus coach John Tortorella.
Hartnell's hat trick goal came just as a Blue Jackets power play expired, and Sullivan was apparently ticked off about Columbus' first power-play unit being on the ice in a 6-1 game.
According to the Blue Jackets broadcast, though, the Penguins did the same to Columbus last season, so it appears Tortorella was only returning the favor.
The game ended 7-1 Columbus, running the Blue Jackets' win streak to 11.
For the second time in recent weeks, the Pittsburgh Penguins' superstar center batted the puck out of the air and into the opposition's net. This time, he tracked down his own rebound off Sergei Bobrovsky to give his club an early lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The first player ever drafted by the Nashville Predators has called it a day.
David Legwand, who was selected second overall by the Predators in 1998, announced his retirement from professional hockey Thursday after 16 seasons.
Legwand appeared in a franchise-high 956 games with the Predators, and also holds team records in goals (210), assists (356), and total points (566).
In 2014, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, before signing a contract with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent that summer. Legwand was subsequently traded to the Buffalo Sabres - with whom he played his final NHL season in 2015-16 - after one year in Ottawa,
"What a great ride this was," Legwand said, "especially having the chance to play nearly 1,000 games for my drafting club in Nashville and seeing the growth of the game there; to fulfilling a dream of playing for my hometown Red Wings; to experiencing the positive vibe of playing in Canada’s capital of Ottawa; and to end with the talented players of the Buffalo Sabres in my final season."
Altogether, Legwand appeared in 1,136 NHL games, with 228 goals, 390 assists, and 618 points to his name.
In some respects, Thursday's clash between the Metropolitan Division-leading Pittsburgh Penguins and the team with the best points percentage in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets, is the first game on the season schedule with a heightened degree of importance.
The sides, who have developed a mutual distaste for one another since their venomous postseason clash a few springs back, each arrive at their first head-to-head matchup of the season on an absolute tear. Neither have a regulation loss in their last 10 games.
You would expect the Blue Jackets - objectively great so far, but, in the eyes of probably most, still considered a rung below the Penguins in terms of title contention - to treat this as a proving ground.
But you would be mistaken.
"It has nothing to do with that," Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella told Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch. "It's another game that's on the schedule and we are approaching it as we have all year long."
He added: "I need to worry about a team (which is) about to play its next game which is Game 31 in the regular season and that's all I care about."
Tortorella's stance was echoed by his players.
"We don't have measure-stick games on this team," Brandon Dubinsky said. "We measure our play within ourselves and within our locker room."
Still, there will be more eyeballs fixated on the Blue Jackets, who have almost unbelievably been the most dominant team in the NHL through 10 weeks. They can make a statement, intentional or otherwise.
It appears the Boston Bruins will pack a greater offensive punch on their two-game trip through the Sun Belt prior to the holiday break.
David Pastrnak, the breakout forward who owns a greater chunk of his team's total output than any player in the NHL, is expected back after using a two-game absence to clean out his elbow.
In addition, Frank Vatrano - the goal-per-game scorer in the American Hockey League last season - appears ready for his season debut.
Officially, both are "highly likely" to play against the Florida Panthers, according to coach Claude Julien.
Vatrano skated on a third-line unit with Austin Czarnik and Riley Nash at the morning skate Thursday.
He missed the first two-and-a-half months of the season after having offseason surgery on his foot.
Hammond exited versus the New York Islanders near the 17-minute mark last Sunday night. He suffered the injury as he spun back in his crease, reacting to a puck trickling behind him.
Mike Condon came on in relief, and will shoulder the load with Matt O'Connor in support, as Craig Anderson remains away from the club tending to personal matters.
Buffalo Sabres netminder Anders Nilsson had to resort to the stock, white mask after defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen took a chunk from his "gamer" in practice Thursday.
Anders Nilsson's helmet was fractured by a Ristolainen rocket; so now he's wearing this. pic.twitter.com/A3lvo2n5a7
Nilsson is expected to make a start with back-to-back games leading into the break.
The netminder devoted sections on his mask to "Hockey Fights Cancer," and also showed support for the LBGT community with a rainbow flag. Here's hoping he's got a similar design to unwrap over the holidays.
Each week, theScore looks at the teams, players, and other hockey figures trending upward and taking a step back.
▲ Evgeni Malkin
It feels like Malkin has set out to remind the hockey world what he can do when he's healthy.
The Russian superstar is third in NHL scoring with 37 points, including 15 in his last 10 games. He's three off Connor McDavid's lead.
More importantly, Malkin is healthy, suiting up in all 33 games so far this season for the surging Penguins. Malkin hasn't played 70 games since 2011-12 - his MVP year.
Pittsburgh has been a force to start the season, sitting first in the Metropolitan, and for the first time in a long time, it's reaping the benefits of a healthy and productive Malkin.
▼ New Jersey Devils
It's been a difficult year in New Jersey.
After making a huge splash over the summer in acquiring Taylor Hall, the Devils have come down from a decent start and floundered throughout December.
The club has dropped seven decisions in a row, prompting general manager Ray Shero to tell his troops to "play f------ harder." Not good.
Simply put, New Jersey isn't scoring, or keeping the puck out of its own net. Over the seven-game slide, the Devils have never managed to score more than two goals, and they've allowed three or more six times.
▲ Artemi Panarin
Panarin has never heard of a sophomore slump.
The reigning Calder winner is on a tear for the surging Chicago Blackhawks, accumulating 12 points (5G, 7A) over a six-game point streak.
The 25-year-old ranks fifth in league scoring with 35 points, and seems to have regained the chemistry he found last year with linemate Patrick Kane.
▼ Detroit Red Wings
If Detroit is to extend its playoff streak beyond a quarter-century, it's got some work to do.
A 3-5-2 stretch over their last 10 games has sunk the Red Wings to 13th in the Eastern Conference, only two points clear of the last-place Islanders with an extra game played.
Detroit's offense has sputtered, averaging only 2.27 goals per game (27th), while owning the NHL's worst power play (12.4 percent).
An aging core and a series of questionable moves from general manager Ken Holland have put the Red Wings in a vulnerable position for the first time in a generation.
