There were some harsh words for Anthony Mantha on Wednesday night.

The Red Wings forward received the brunt of his coach's criticism following Detroit's 6-2 blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

Mantha skated for just under 19 minutes, but was held off the scoresheet as he wrapped up the night with three shots and a minus-one rating.

That performance, or lack thereof, didn't sit well with Red Wings bench boss Jeff Blashill.

"It's a hard league if you don't show up with shift-to-shift intensity every single night," Blashill told reporters following the loss. "We've got some young guys that have really helped in our success, when we've had success, but with those types of minutes comes big-time responsibility.

"Anthony Mantha has got to be way better. Way better. It's not okay to just be a passenger when you're given the opportunity to be an impact player."

Mantha has been one of the Red Wings' top performers this season, as he leads the team with 10 goals and sits one point behind Dylan Larkin for top spot in club scoring. However, he failed to produce against Edmonton.

"(Mantha) is not alone, but he's a guy who I said to at the beginning of the year, 'For us to be great, you've got to be great,'" Blashill added. "He's gone through large stretches of being great. He hasn't been great the last two games."

The 23-year-old will soon have the opportunity to redeem himself, as the Red Wings face off against the New York Rangers on Friday.

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P.K. Subban apparently goaded former teammate Brendan Gallagher into taking an extra penalty during a brawl in the third period of Wednesday's contest.

Related - Watch: Predators, Canadiens get into heated brawl

During the altercation, the Montreal Canadiens forward gave Subban a face wash - one the Nashville Predators defenseman admitted was likely the result of him chirping Gallagher's size.

"I called him short, he didn't like that too much," Subban told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas postgame. "When I was talking to him I was just kind of looking over his head and I didn't think he'd like that too much. So I took the face wash, sometimes you've got to take it. Fortunately he got the extra minutes so that's why I was smiling."

Subban and Gallagher were each assessed a two-minute minor for roughing on the play, while Gallagher was also given a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct on Kyle Turris.

In the end, the Predators prevailed in a shootout, adding insult to injury for Gallagher and the Canadiens - who dropped their fifth straight game.

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The NHL schedule featured a whopping 15 games Wednesday, with every team in action except for the St. Louis Blues.

Regulation wasn't enough for a handful of those contests, with varying degrees of excellence on display in deciding the eventual victors.

Here's how we rank the six shootout- and overtime-winning goals.

6. Turris making friends in Nashville

Playing in his sixth game for his new team, Nashville center Kyle Turris beat Montreal goalie Antti Niemi to help P.K. Subban get the better of his old mates.

5. Anderson goes top shelf on Smith

Columbus' Josh Anderson found himself alone in front of the Calgary net, firing a Nick Foligno pass top shelf on Mike Smith.

4. Bjugstad's cheeky shootout move

Florida's Nick Bjugstad came in hot and dangled around a Frederik Andersen poke check to finish off a hot Toronto squad.

3. Lightning get to the Point

Tampa Bay knows how to move the puck. The Lightning made good on an overtime power play with this slap pass from Steven Stamkos to Brayden Point, who made no mistake to cap a comeback win over Chicago.

2. Boston's young defenseman gets offensive

It took 11 rounds and a rookie defenseman, but Boston prevailed over New Jersey thanks to this slick backhand effort from Charlie McAvoy.

1. Tavares' magic along the boards

Josh Bailey scored the goal, but what makes the Islanders' overtime winner so special is the work put in by John Tavares along the boards to make it happen. Even more impressive is the fact that the opposing player was Philadelphia's Sean Couturier, who could very well win a Selke Trophy one day.

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The kids came to play.

On a night when 30 of the NHL's 31 teams suited up - only the St. Louis Blues watched from the sidelines - a handful of freshmen stole the spotlight.

Vancouver Canucks rookie Brock Boeser and Washington Capitals first-year player Jakub Vrana led the way with a pair of goals apiece, while four other freshmen also found the back of the net Wednesday.

Jake DeBrusk of the Boston Bruins was the first to do so, as he picked up his fifth of the season by firing a perfect shot past New Jersey Devils netminder Cory Schneider. It marked his second goal in as many games.

The Bruins rookie wasn't the only first-year skater to tally in the game, as Devils forward Jesper Bratt recorded his sixth of the year. The point moved Bratt to 14 on the season, one behind teammate and 2016 first overall pick Nico Hischier.

In Brooklyn, two rookies connected to power the New York Islanders to a thrilling overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Josh Ho-Sang recorded his second goal of the season, and his third point in the last five games since being recalled from the minors Nov. 11.

Islanders forward Mathew Barzal also chipped in, collecting his fifth goal and 20th point. Barzal sits one point shy of Boeser for top spot in the rookie scoring race.

In a season that began with no clear favorite to take home the Calder, several candidates have put together solid cases for top rookie honors, and added to their respective resumes with Wednesdays performances.

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Things got a little chippy between the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Midway through the third period - after a collision in front of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne - a mini-brawl ensued with P.K. Subban and Brendan Gallagher front and center. After things had mostly settled down, Rinne gave Gallagher a shove and chaos erupted once again.

The shenanigans concluded with a total of five minor penalties handed out.

As for Rinne, he later apologized to Gallagher, according to Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

That's hockey for you.

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No disrespect, Buffalo, but your hockey team is terrible.

So it comes as no surprise that one of the Sabres' biggest potential trade chips in Evander Kane is playing his way toward just that: a one-way ticket out of the Nickel City.

Despite being one of the better pure scorers in the game today, Kane has struggled to find a fit with both the Sabres and his last team, the Winnipeg Jets, having his name constantly mentioned in trade talks and rumors.

Now that the rumor mill has begun to swirl, once again with Kane in the mix, the 26-year-old Vancouver native is building the perfect case to be one of the next players shipped out of Buffalo.

Following the Sabres' seventh consecutive loss against the Minnesota Wild at KeyBank Center, Kane now has nine points in his last 10 games (five goals, four assists).

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

It should be noted that Kane is also set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, so it's understandable that he's currently playing some of the best hockey of his career.

As it stands, Kane is on pace for his highest goal total since netting a 30 spot with the Jets in 2011-12, as the talented winger is on pace to bag 44 goals this campaign.

Through 22 games, Kane has registered solid offensive numbers, racking up 12 goals and nine assists, which includes his league-leading three shorthanded tallies.

Simply put, the Sabres would be wise to cast Kane's name out into the open market now while his trade stock continues to skyrocket.

Realistically, there is no telling whether Kane wants to stay or go, but let's be honest: with the Buffalo losing at an embarrassing rate, his case to be traded gets stronger with each passing day.

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Sebastian Aho's early-season struggles appear to be in the rearview.

After putting together an impressive rookie campaign that saw him tally 24 goals and 49 points in 82 games - finishing fifth in rookie scoring - the Carolina Hurricanes forward struggled out of the gate to begin the season.

He went goalless through the club's first 15 games, contributing just eight assists. He's been on a mission since mid-November, though, and has strung together a five-game point streak that's seen him tally five goals and 10 points.

The streak has seen Aho vault into second in team scoring with 18 points, just three back of Teuvo Teravainen.

The Hurricanes have gone 5-2-1 in their last eight games and sit within striking distance of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They can attribute their recent success largely to the improved play of their budding star.

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Anton Khudobin is stepping up in a big way for the Boston Bruins.

The backup goaltender has been called upon to start the past three games in a row, with head coach Bruce Cassidy electing to give starter Tuukka Rask a bit of a break.

And Khudobin, who struggled mightily out of the gate last season, has rewarded Boston with wins in each of those three games.

His latest stellar performance came in a 3-2 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, wherein he made 40 saves in regulation and overtime, and stopped 10 of 11 shootout attempts.

For the season, Khudobin has posted a record of 6-0-2 with a save percentage of .938, the latter stat ranking him near the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Rask's record sits at 3-7-2 with a .897 save percentage.

Rask will likely regain a hold on the crease, but for now, Khudobin is Boston's man in net, and for good reason.

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The Shea Weber-P.K. Subban rivalry will take a back seat Wednesday night, as the Montreal Canadiens defenseman will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury, the team announced.

The contest would have been Weber's second in Nashville since being traded for Subban before last season, and the first time with both players in the lineup. Subban was injured during the Canadiens' lone trip to Nashville in 2016-17.

Weber was a late scratch Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars, a game the Canadiens dropped 3-1.

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One quarter into the 2017-18 NHL season and the league appears to have achieved what it most desired: more goals.

Thanks to stricter penalty rules, among other factors, goal scoring has gone up 12.4 percent from last season, with the current average at 6.1 tallies per game.

It's the highest mark at this point of the calendar since the 2005-06 season, but for some, the league-wide upward trend hasn't yielded the same results. Here are five players proven to be statistical anomalies so far:

Brent Burns, Sharks

After his 29-goal, Norris Trophy-winning output from last season, it's flat-out dumbfounding that Burns hasn't been able to find the back of the net once in his first 19 games.

Burns is still shooting quite a bit (82 on goal so far), but hasn't been able to break through for a Sharks team that ranks dead last with 46 goals for.

Jonathan Drouin, Canadiens

Drouin, by no means, has not been the biggest of the Canadiens' problems at the quarter mark of a disastrous season, but his production leaves something to be desired in his first season with his hometown team.

In fairness, Drouin ranks second on the Habs with 13 points overall, but considering his trade counterpart, Mikhail Sergachev, has five goals and 14 points so far as a rookie, it's reasonable to expect a little more.

Alexander Wennberg, Blue Jackets

A 59-point contract year resulted in a fresh six-year, $29.4-million extension for Wennberg in the offseason, but he has yet to live up to the price tag.

Though Wennberg's missed the Blue Jackets' three most recent games due to injury, he has just one goal on the season and hasn't lit the lamp in his last 14 contests. That $4.9-million cap hit will be hard to justify for Columbus unless he starts to be much more productive.

Bryan Little, Jets

While the high-flying Jets have managed the sixth-most goals in the NHL, Little has been one of Winnipeg's few offensive disappointments with just two goals through his first 20 games.

Little is deployed on a talented second line, and can usually be counted on for about 20 goals per season when healthy, but he'll need a sharp turnaround to reach what's expected of him.

Sam Bennett, Flames

After signing a $3.9-million bridge deal in September, Bennett's miserable production at the quarter mark has shown the Flames may have dodged a bullet by avoiding anything long term.

Bennett started the season with a 15-game pointless drought, and has only mustered one goal and two assists since. If anyone doesn't believe there's more goals to go around this year, it's him.

(Photos Courtesy: Getty Images)

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