Three Stars:
1. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues: The steady defenseman helped the Blues earn a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers and extend their winning streak to six games Wednesday. Pietrangelo recorded a goal and two assists as St. Louis completed the second game of a three-game swing through western Canada. Last week on NBCSN, NHL insider Bob McKenzie said that Pietrangelo’s contract situation was a bit tricky as he remains the only major pending UFA the Blues need to deal with this upcoming summer.
2. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers: The 37-year-old goaltender picked up his 452nd NHL victory and is two behind Curtis Joseph for fifth on the NHL all-time wins list. With Alexandar Georgiev pushing for more playing time, Lundqvist could not afford a subpar performance after sitting the previous three games. The Swedish netminder stopped 35 shots in the Rangers’ 5-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers: On any given night, McDavid is worthy of this honor based on his sheer talent. The Oilers’ captain netted a power-play goal and picked up his 17th assist as Edmonton dropped its second straight game.
Highlight of the night
Oilers forward Zack Kassian wired a wrist shot into the top corner after receiving a cross-ice pass from Leon Draisaitl.
Blooper of the night
Rangers forward Greg McKegg collected his own rebound after the puck took a funky bounce off the glass behind the net as he scored his first goal of the season.
Factoids
- According to NHL Stats and Information, since the NHL began to track ice time in 1997-98, tonight was the first game in which the Rangers did not have at least one skater who logged at least 20:00 of ice time (Adam Fox led the team with 19:56).
- Artemi Panarin is one of five Rangers players in the last decade to average at least a point-per-game through their first 13 games with the franchise. [NHLPR]
- Tony DeAngelo is the first Rangers defenseman to score five goals through his first 13 games since Brian Leetch (5-10—15 in 1988-89). [NHLPR]
- The St. Louis Blues established a franchise record for the fastest two shorthanded goals (0:26). [NHLPR]
Scores
Rangers 5, Red Wings 1
Blues 5, Oilers 2
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Scott Charles is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @ScottMCharles.