Players of the Night:
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens: Here’s a name you haven’t seen often in these parts this season. But Pacioretty had two goals tonight, the opener for the Canadiens and the game-winner with 1:18 left in the third period to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. He also added an assist on Montreal’s other goal. Truth be told, Pacioretty has been sizzling lately with six goals and an assist in his past six games.
John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks: Gibson had a quiet night for the most part until the third period, but he was stellar when called upon and made 23 saves, including a second-period beauty (which you will see below) to help his team to a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings.
Highlights of the Night:
James Neal had all the moves to help the Vegas Golden Knights secure a point on the road in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers.
JAMES NEAL DANGLES AND WRISTS HOME A BEAUTY TO TIE IT LATE! pic.twitter.com/XSDmSBrAgy
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) January 20, 2018
John Gibson got just enough on this puck to redirect it off the post and out for quite the save:
Factoid of the Night:
Aleksander Barkov scored his League-leading fifth shorthanded goal of 2017-18, tied for the second-most in a single season in @FlaPanthers history. #NHLStats #VGKvsFLA pic.twitter.com/J0QRTKFoCm
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 20, 2018
MISC:
- No suspensions for Dustin Brown, Evgeni Malkin after separate incidents on Thursday.
- New domain names raise interesting Seattle name possibilities
- Ryan Ellis hasn’t missed a beat for the Predators.
- Nugent-Hopkins injury: blessing in disguise for the Oilers.
- Kevin Shattenkirk out indefinitely after electing for knee surgery.
- Erik Karlsson’s signature is a priority for Senators GM.
- No-NHL 2018 Olympics makes for unique preparation strategies.
Scores:
Panthers 4, Golden Knights 3 (OT)
Canadiens 3, Capitals 2
Ducks 2, Kings 1
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck
